RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., May 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Icoria,
Inc. (Nasdaq: ICOR) announced that at a meeting yesterday its Board of
Directors accepted the resignation of Heinrich Gugger, Ph.D. as President and
CEO and named Doug Morton, Ph.D., Interim CEO.
Morton, an Icoria Board member since March 2004, joined Icoria's Office of
the President in March to help the company build its healthcare business. As
Interim CEO, he will continue to refine the company's strategy and business
development efforts, focusing specifically on near-term opportunities to
commercialize Icoria's biomarker discovery platform. A former senior
executive with Pfizer and Pharmacia Corporation, Morton is also Chief
Executive Officer of Southwest Michigan Innovation Center, a biotech
incubator, a position he will retain while Icoria seeks a permanent CEO with
diagnostics experience and a healthcare background.
Icoria also named Barry Buzogany, currently its Vice President, General
Counsel and Secretary, as Chief Operating Officer. He will oversee the day-
to-day operations of Icoria.
Thomas Colatsky, Vice President, Healthcare Research, was named Chief
Scientific Officer. Colatsky will continue to oversee Icoria's healthcare
research team as well as have increased responsibility for commercializing the
company's biomarker discovery platform and building collaborations with other
companies. Both Colatsky and Buzogany have extensive experience in the
healthcare industry.
Heiri Gugger, who joined the company as President and CEO in July 2002,
redirected what was then Paradigm Genetics while building the system biology
platform that forms the foundation of Icoria's biomarker discovery efforts.
The first quarter sale of Icoria's agricultural genomics assets to Monsanto
marked the concluding step of the company's transformation from an
agricultural genomics company into a healthcare biotechnology company. Heiri
Gugger will remain a member of Icoria's board of directors, supporting Doug
Morton for a transition period through the end of June.
"As Icoria narrows its focus on healthcare, we need leadership that has
experience in the diagnostics and pharmaceutical industry. Heiri's job of
transforming Icoria is now complete," said G. Steven Burrill, Chairman of the
Board. "The board thanks Heiri for his contributions over the past three
years, especially his role in the successful Monsanto sale."
As part of its change in strategy, Icoria also announced the departure of
Keith R. Davis, Vice President, Agricultural Biotechnology, and Jim Bucci,
Vice President, Human Resources, effective June 30.
"Keith and Jim helped build a tremendous research organization and we
regret that in the new, leaner organization their services are no longer
required," said Burrill. "They deserve a great deal of credit for helping
make the organization what it is today."
New Focus
After selling its agricultural genomics assets to Monsanto Company on
March 23, 2005, Icoria announced that it would focus exclusively on healthcare
and exit the agricultural business at the conclusion of its existing
contractual obligations with Pioneer Hi-Bred and DuPont Crop Protection.
Fifty-seven Icoria employees joined Monsanto as part of that transaction, and
Icoria expects further headcount reductions as it exits the agricultural
business.
The company is now focusing on using its unique technology platform to
discover novel, multi-parameter biomarkers for use in developing diagnostics
and to eventually identify drug targets, leads and drug/diagnostics
combinations for collaborators and customers, as well as its internal
development programs.
About Icoria
Icoria, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery of novel,
multi-parameter biomarkers using its unique multi-platform approach. Icoria
is using these biomarkers internally to develop multi-analyte diagnostics that
can be used to define and grade pathology or disease state with a high level
of specificity and sensitivity. Icoria also uses its technology to help its
collaborators and customers develop better, safer drugs and diagnostics and to
identify targets, leads and drug/diagnostic combinations for liver injury,
metabolic disorders and cancer.
This press release contains forward-looking statements including but not
limited to the Company's expectations for its biomarker discovery platform.
Such forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations
and are subject to a number of risks, factors and uncertainties that may cause
actual results, events and performance to differ materially from those
referred to in the forward-looking statements. These risks, factors and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to Icoria's ability to identify
biomarkers, Icoria's early stage of development, history of net losses,
technological and product development uncertainties, reliance on research
collaborations, uncertainty of additional funding and ability to protect its
patents and proprietary rights. Certain of these and other risks are
identified in Icoria's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December
31, 2004, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company
does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date
of this release to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in
our expectations, except as may be required by law.
Note: Icoria and the Icoria logo are trademarks owned or used by Icoria,
Inc.
SOURCE Icoria, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.icoria.com
CONTACT:
Media-Public Relations of Icoria, Inc.,
+1-919-425-2999; or Brian Ritchie of Noonan Russo,
+1-212-845-4200
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