On June 17, 2016 OXiGENE, Inc. (Nasdaq:OXGN), a biopharmaceutical company developing vascular disrupting agents (VDAs) for orphan oncology indications, reported that it has changed its name to Mateon Therapeutics, Inc., effective immediately (Press release, OXiGENE, JUN 17, 2016, View Source [SID:1234513451]).

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On the NASDAQ Capital Market, the name change will be effective for trading purposes as of market open on June 20, 2016. At that time, shares of Mateon’s common stock will begin trading under the new ticker symbol "MATN". In connection with the name change, Mateon’s common stock has been assigned a new CUSIP number of 57667K109.

"Today’s name change signals a new day for vascular targeted therapies and our commitment to integrate them into the cancer treatment paradigm," said William D. Schwieterman, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Mateon. "Over the past year, we redefined our clinical and regulatory strategies to position the company and our lead product candidate, CA4P, on what we believe to be the shortest path towards approval in an indication with the highest probability of success."

Since joining the company in May 2015, Dr. Schwieterman has built a world-class management and clinical development team with deep expertise in drug development. Dr. Schwieterman concluded, "With our team and strategy now firmly in place, we are ready to build upon the work of the past and are committed to realizing the full potential of combination vascular targeted therapy in orphan oncology indications."

OXiGENE was named for its founding technology of oxygen-mediated radiosensitizers. The new company name, Mateon Therapeutics, is derived from the company’s location in San Mateo County, the birthplace of biotechnology.