Mersana Therapeutics, Inc. Announces the Appointment of Robert J. Fram, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer

Mersana Therapeutics, Inc. Announces the Appointment of Robert J. Fram, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer

May 11, 2007

    CAMBRIDGE, Ma., May 11 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Mersana
Therapeutics, a cancer therapeutics company, announced
today the appointment of Robert J. Fram, M.D., F.A.C.P. in
the newly created position of Chief Medical Officer. Dr.
Fram will oversee all clinical and medical activities at
the company as it moves forward with the clinical
development of its lead compound, XMT-1001, and future
compounds emerging from Mersana's research group.

    "We are very pleased to welcome Bob to our senior
management team," commented Julie Olson, Ph.D.,
President and CEO of Mersana.  "His extensive
experience in oncology drug development as well as his
background in clinical oncology practice will be of great
value as we begin our transition from a research
organization to a product development company."

    "I'm excited to be joining Mersana at this
critical juncture in the company's development as it moves
its lead compound, XMT-1001, into the clinic," said
Dr. Fram. "I believe that the company's polymer
delivery platform has the potential to improve the
therapeutic and safety profiles of many important oncology
drugs and to better position them for commercial
development."

    Dr. Fram has twenty-eight years experience in medical
oncology, of which eight years have been in the
biopharmaceutical industry. Most recently, he was Vice
President, Clinical Development at ImmunoGen, leading their
antibody-based clinical programs in oncology. Prior to
ImmunoGen, Dr. Fram led oncology clinical development
programs for small molecule anticancer drugs at Vertex
Pharmaceuticals, Ilex Oncology, and Knoll Pharmaceuticals.
He graduated from Harvard College (A.B., 1971) and Harvard
Medical School (M.D., 1976). Dr. Fram completed his
post-doctoral training in Internal Medicine at Columbia
Presbyterian Medical Center and in Hematology and Oncology
at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's
Hospital in Boston. He is board certified in Hematology,
Oncology, and Internal Medicine and has served on the staff
at Dana Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School and
as an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of
Massachusetts Medical School and at the University of
Maryland Cancer Center. He was a Clinical Associate
Professor of Medicine at the Brown University Medical
School. Dr. Fram has contributed to 80 publications in the
fields of experimental therapeutics and Hematology/Oncology
including journal articles, book chapters, and published
abstracts.

    About Fleximer Technology

    Fleximer technology improves the therapeutic index of
cytotoxic compounds useful as anti-cancer agents by
uniquely combining biodegradability with "biological
stealth" properties, making Fleximer materials and
their conjugates long-circulating and non-immunotoxic.
Fleximer molecules are characterized by solubility in
water, stability in common manufacturing procedures and in
normal physiological conditions, and non-enzymatic
biodegradability upon uptake by cells.  

    About Mersana Therapeutics, Inc.

    Mersana, a privately held, venture-backed company, is
developing novel oncology agents based on clinically
validated drugs through the use of Fleximer(R), a
proprietary bio-degradable and bio-inert material that
enhances the pharmacokinetics, safety, and solubility of
drugs. Mersana has an exclusive license from the
Massachusetts General Hospital for its core technologies.
Mersana's pipeline includes compounds with activity against
multiple tumor types and human proof-of-concept that are
improved by its proprietary technologies. Mersana's
investors include Fidelity Biosciences, ProQuest
Investments, Rho Ventures, Harris & Harris Group and
PureTech Ventures.


    For more information, please contact: 
 
    Pete Leone
    COO of Mersana
    Tel: [phone]