Douglas A. Treco to Step Down as Senior Vice President, Research
Michael W. Heartlein Promoted to Vice President, Research
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/--
Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc. (Nasdaq: TKTX) today announced that Douglas A.
Treco, Ph.D. has resigned from his position as Senior Vice President,
Research, effective immediately, and will be acting as a Senior Advisor to the
company through June 30, 2003. In addition, Michael W. Heartlein, Ph.D. has
been promoted to the position Vice President, Research and will have overall
responsibility for TKT's research strategy, including the expansion of the
company's product pipeline beyond its current focus of lysosomal storage
disorders.
"It is with great pleasure that we recognize Michael through this
promotion. He commands broad scientific knowledge and a deep understanding of
TKT's technologies, and I am confident Michael has the skills to lead our
research organization while contributing largely to our goal of becoming the
preeminent rare disease company," said Michael J. Astrue, President and Chief
Executive Officer of TKT. "This was a difficult decision for Doug, and we
will miss him a great deal. Over fifteen years, Doug has been a creative
force within TKT, and we wish him continued success in the future."
About Michael W. Heartlein
Michael W. Heartlein, Ph.D., has held a variety of research positions at
the company since 1989 and most recently served as Vice President, Molecular
Biology. Prior to joining TKT, Dr. Heartlein held a hospital appointment in
genetics at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Boston and a faculty
appointment in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Heartlein received a
B.S. in Biology from Illinois State University and a Ph.D. in Genetics from
the University of Tennessee.
About TKT
TKT is a biopharamceutical company developing therapeutics for the
treatment of rare genetic diseases caused by protein deficiencies. The
company currently markets one product, Replagal(TM) (agalsidase alfa) for the
treatment of Fabry disease, in the European Union and certain other countries.
TKT is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts and has a majority-owned
subsidiary in Sweden, TKT Europe-5S AB, which is responsible for European
sales and marketing activities for Replagal. Additional information on TKT is
available on the company's website at http://www.tktx.com.
This press release contains forward-looking information regarding TKT's
management structure, as well as statements containing the words "believes,"
"anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," and similar expressions. There are
a number of important factors that could cause the company's actual results to
differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements,
including whether TKT will be able to successfully manage its research
strategy, and other factors set forth under the caption "Certain Factors That
May Affect Future Results" in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2002, which is on file with the Securities and
Exchange Commission and are incorporated herein by reference. The company
does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
Replagal(TM) is a trademark of Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc.
Contact:
Justine E. Koenigsberg
Director, Corporate Communications
(617) 349-0271
SOURCE Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.tktx.com
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CONTACT:
Justine E. Koenigsberg, Director, Corporate
Communications of Transkaryotic Therapies, +1-617-349-0271
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