Avanish Vellanki has been appointed chief business officer and Gregory K. Chow has been named chief financial officer at Lorus Therapeutics, Inc. Mr. Vellanki will manage global business development, licensing and corporate strategy. Mr. Chow will have global responsibility for corporate finance and accounting functions. Both Mr. Vellanki and Mr. Chow will report to William G. Rice, Ph.D., chairman and chief executive officer of Lorus.
 
Mr. Vellanki mostly recently served as senior vice president in Investment Banking at Wedbush Securities in San Francisco, covering the biotechnology sector. Previously, he was a senior director of corporate development of Proteolix, Inc. (acquired by Onyx Pharmaceuticals), focused on the development of oncology therapeutics. He also served as vice president in the Global Healthcare Investment Banking team at Citigroup, and was an equity research analyst at Bear Stearns, covering the small/mid-cap biotechnology sector.
 
Mr. Chow previously served as managing director, and led the Private Placements team in the Life Sciences Investment Banking Group at Wedbush Securities. Prior to Wedbush, he was a director in the Private Placements / Equity Capital Markets Group at RBC Capital Markets, where he led the life science private capital activities. Prior to RBC, he directed the Private Capital Group at Wells Fargo Securities, and was a senior auditor at BDO Seidman, LLP. Mr. Chow is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of California.
 
“Mr. Vellanki and Mr. Chow represent critical additions to the team at this pivotal point in the Company’s transition in leadership and focus,” said Dr. Rice. “Avanish brings considerable experience from the life science and banking industries that will boost our abilities to build and advance our oncology pipeline and identify new markets for Lorus’ platform. Greg brings impressive corporate finance and capital raising experience for life science companies, as well as deep industry relationships essential to establishing a foundation for Lorus’ value and future growth.”