NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB: ATNM.OB) ("Actinium" or "the Company"), a biopharmaceutical Company developing  innovative targeted payload immunotherapeutics for the treatment of advanced cancers, today announced the appointment of Kaushik J. Dave, Ph.D., MBA., to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer effective September 16, 2013.  Dr. Dave also joined the Board of Directors of Actinium.  Dr. Dave has nearly 25 years of broad biotech and pharmaceutical experience at both large and emerging growth biopharmaceutical companies.  Concurrently with Dr. Dave's appointment, Mr. Sergio Traversa resigned from the positions of Interim President and Interim Chief Executive Officer of Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., effective immediately.  Mr. Traversa remains as a Director and Interim Chief Financial Officer of the Company.

A message released by the Board of Directors stated, "We are very pleased to add Kaushik's strategic biologics product development and business development experience to the Actinium team.  Kaushik brings to Actinium a proven track record of successful product development through FDA approval and his extensive background in strategic program management will be extremely valuable to us as we move our clinical pipeline towards approval.  We look forward to working closely with Kaushik in progressing Actinium's lead candidates Iomab-B and Actimab-A and together realizing the potential of Actinium's technology platform."

"It's an exciting time to join the Actinium organization," said Dr. Dave.  "Actinium's pipeline and work to date has been impressive; I look forward to further advancing the Company's robust product pipeline and business strategy.  Most exciting is preparing for the pivotal trial for Iomab-B, a bone marrow conditioning regimen which can significantly improve survival outcomes in the most severe patients afflicted with Acute Myeloid Leukemia or AML and the Phase I/II trial for Actimab-A as an induction therapy for AML.  Based on my depth of experience, I expect to make significant contributions leading Actinium's ongoing product and business development activities and also toward building a company that is well-positioned to capitalize on the expected demand for Iomab-B and Actimab-A and to realize the potential of its technology platform."

Dr. Dave joins Actinium Pharmaceuticals from Antares Pharmaceuticals Inc. where he was the Executive Vice President of Product Development.  As part of the core leadership team at Antares, he was instrumental in setting strategy, vision, product portfolio development and business development for that company over the past several years.  Dr. Dave led the clinical and regulatory approval of Anturol™ and was also a key contributor to the change in company vision to combination products using Antares' medical device technology which resulted in a robust pipeline that included development and New Drug Application submission for Otrexup which as an October 14, 2013 PDUFA date.  As a result of these efforts, Antares Pharma grew from a market capitalization of $40 million to about a half billion during his tenure.  Prior to Antares, Dr. Dave was Vice President Product Development at Palatin Technologies Inc. where he obtained approval of NeutroSpec™ (a radiopharmaceutical monoclonal antibody product).  Prior to Palatin, Dr. Dave was employed at Schering-Plough Inc. and Merck & Co. Inc. responsible for steering the development of several pharmaceutical product development programs.  Dr. Dave received his pharmacy degree from the University of Bath, UK and a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Kansas.  Dr. Dave also received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

About Actinium Pharmaceuticals

Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB: ATNM.OB) is a New York based biopharmaceutical company developing innovative targeted payload immunotherapeutics for the treatment of advanced cancers.  Actinium's targeted radiotherapy is based on its proprietary delivery platform for the therapeutic utilization of alpha emitting actinium-225 and bismuth-213 radiopharmaceuticals in conjunction with monoclonal antibodies.  The Company also develops other radiopharmaceuticals for select applications.

For more information:
Visit our web site www.actiniumpharmaceuticals.com

Contact:
Media:
Dennis S. Dobson Jr. of Dennis S. Dobson Inc.
Tel:  (203) 258-0159
Email: dsdobson@optonline.com
www.dobsonmediagroup.com

Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Investor/Media Relations: Corey Sohmer, (646) 459-4201
E-mail: ir@actiniumpharmaceuticals.com

Forward-Looking Statement for Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. The forward-looking statements may include statements regarding product development, product potential, or financial performance. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results may differ materially from those projected. Actinium Pharmaceuticals undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

SOURCE Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.