SAN DIEGO, June 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Ambit Biosciences (Nasdaq: AMBI), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovery and development of drugs targeting unmet needs in oncology, autoimmune and inflammatory disease, today announced the appointment of Jeffrey S. Hatfield to its Board of Directors and the resignation of board member Steven Elms.

"Jeff has a great deal of business and pharmaceutical expertise and we are excited to welcome him to Ambit's board of directors," said Michael Martino, CEO of Ambit. "He brings with him the experience gained over many years as an organizational leader in the industry and the know-how to help drive our next stage of development as a product-focused company."

Mr. Hatfield will fill the position left by Mr. Elms, who has served as a director on the Ambit board since 2001, where he acted as chairman from July 2005 to November 2009.

"Steve has provided us with more than a decade of leadership and we truly appreciate and thank him for his contributions to Ambit's strategic growth and development over the years, and wish him well in his next endeavors," said Faheem Hasnain, Ambit Board Chairman.

Mr. Hatfield currently serves as the CEO and board member of Vitae Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage company building a portfolio of compounds for diseases with significant unmet medical need. Prior to joining Vitae Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Hatfield worked as a senior executive at Bristol-Myers Squibb in a variety of positions and was directly associated with the success of products like Pravachol®, Plavix®, Avapro®, Abilify®, Reyataz® and Atripla®. Mr. Hatfield holds an M.B.A. from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor's degree in Pharmacy from Purdue University, where he is a Distinguished Alumni.

"Ambit has made great progress in advancing quizartinib and its pipeline assets through clinical development and I am delighted to be joining the team as we work to achieve the goal of providing an effective treatment for patients with AML. I look forward to contributing to the Company's direction and growth at this critical juncture," said Mr. Hatfield.

About Ambit Biosciences

Ambit is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of drugs to treat unmet medical needs in oncology, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases by inhibiting kinases that are important drivers for those diseases. Ambit's lead drug candidate, quizartinib (AC220), is a once-daily, orally-administered potent and selective, inhibitor of FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3) and is currently in a registrational Phase 3 clinical trial, referred to as QUANTUM-R, in patients with relapsed/refractory FLT3-ITD positive, acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Quizartinib is also being studied in newly diagnosed patients in combination with chemotherapy as well as maintenance following a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). In addition to quizartinib, Ambit's clinical pipeline includes AC410, an oral JAK2 inhibitor, and CEP-32496, a BRAF inhibitor licensed to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Ambit's preclinical portfolio includes a proprietary CSF1R inhibitor program.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements associated with Ambit's expectations regarding future development and therapeutic potential of quizartinib and Ambit's other drug candidates. These forward-looking statements are based upon Ambit's current expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, risks associated with the process of discovering, developing and commercializing drugs that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics. These and other risks concerning Ambit's programs are described in additional detail in Ambit's SEC filings. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made. Ambit undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made. 



    Ambit Contacts:

    Marcy Graham                                  Andrew McDonald, Ph.D.

    Executive Director, Investor Relations & Corp
     Comm                                         LifeSci Advisors, LLC

    Ambit Biosciences, Inc.                       Founding Partner

    858-334-2125                                  646-597-6987

    mgraham@ambitbio.com                          andrew@lifesciadvisors.com

SOURCE Ambit Biosciences