NEW YORK, Dec. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Callisto Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Amex: KAL; FWB: CA4) today announced that, effective January 1, 2007, Dr. Geoffrey Henson will become a consultant to the company. Dr. Henson has extensive experience in early stage clinical development of oncology drugs. "I am very pleased to have Geoff as a consultant to Callisto as the company embarks on the next phase of its evolution," said Callisto Chief Executive Officer Dr. Gary Jacob. "The company will benefit immediately from Dr. Henson's expertise in oncology drug development and also his experience in previous clinical trials of Atiprimod. Geoff will be of great help to Callisto due to his knowledge of Atiprimod, as he is a co-discoverer of Atiprimod's potential in oncology." Dr. Henson has been involved in drug discovery and development for over 20 years and has been a consultant to several biotechnology companies. He currently serves as CEO and a board member of FermaVir Pharmaceuticals (OTC:FMVR.OB) (BULLETIN BOARD: FMVR.OB) . Dr. Henson was a founder and Chief Operating Officer of AnorMED, a Canadian biopharmaceutical company recently acquired by Genzyme for approximately $584 million, where he was responsible for all drug development and corporate operations at AnorMED during his tenure as COO. Prior to the spin-off of AnorMED, Dr. Henson held a number of management and scientific positions in the Biomedical Research Group at AnorMED's parent company, Johnson Matthey. Previously, Dr. Henson did extensive research in biochemistry and immunology and was a researcher and a member of the Basel Institute for Immunology in Basel, Switzerland. Dr. Henson did his post doctoral research at the Roswell Park Memorial Cancer Institute. About Callisto Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Callisto is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of new drugs to treat various forms of cancer and other serious afflictions. Callisto's drug candidates in development currently include anti-cancer agents in clinical development, in addition to drugs in pre-clinical development for other significant health care markets, including ulcerative colitis. One of the Company's lead drug candidates, Atiprimod, is in development to treat advanced carcinoid cancer, a neuroendocrine tumor, and relapsed multiple myeloma, a blood cancer. Atiprimod is presently in a Phase II clinical trial in advanced carcinoid cancer patients, and in Phase I/IIa human clinical trials in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma patients, and advanced cancer patients, respectively. Another anti-cancer drug, L-Annamycin, is being developed as a treatment for forms of relapsed or refractory acute leukemia, a currently incurable blood cancer. Callisto initiated a clinical trial of L-Annamycin in adult relapsed or refractory acute lymphocytic leukemia patients in 4Q 2005. L-Annamycin, a new compound from the anthracycline family of proven anti-cancer drugs, has a novel therapeutic profile, including activity against resistant diseases and significantly reduced cardiotoxicity, or damage to the heart, compared to currently available drug alternatives. Callisto also has drugs in preclinical development for gastro-intestinal inflammation, and cancer. Callisto has exclusive worldwide licenses from AnorMED Inc. and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center to develop, manufacture, use and sell Atiprimod and L-Annamycin, respectively. Callisto is also listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CA4. More information is available at http://www.callistopharma.com/. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements made in this press release are forward-looking. Such statements are indicated by words such as "expect," "should," "anticipate" and similar words indicating uncertainty in facts and figures. Although Callisto believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. As discussed in the Callisto Pharmaceuticals Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2005, and other periodic reports, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of the following factors, among others: uncertainties associated with product development, the risk that products that appeared promising in early clinical trials do not demonstrate efficacy in larger-scale clinical trials, the risk that Callisto will not obtain approval to market its products, the risks associated with dependence upon key personnel and the need for additional financing. DATASOURCE: Callisto Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CONTACT: Dan D'Agostino of Callisto Pharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-212-297-0010, ext. 227, Web site: http://www.callistopharma.com/

Copyright