SAN DIEGO, July 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ceregene, Inc. announced
today that it has expanded its Board of Directors to 7 members with the
election of John P. Walker as an independent Board member. Mr. Walker serves
as an investment advisor to MDS Capital Corp and Executive Chairman of Guava
Technologies. He also is vice-chairman of Renovis Inc and a Board member of
Geron Corp. and several other private companies.
Mr. Walker brings over 30 years of biotechnology and pharmaceutical
experience to Ceregene. His previous experience includes being Chairman and
CEO of Bayhill Therapeutics; Chairman of Intramed, (now part of Baxter);
Chairman and Interim CEO of Centaur Pharmaceuticals, (now part of Renovis
Inc.); Chairman and CEO of AXYS and its predecessor company Arris
Pharmaceutical, (now part of Celera); Chairman of Signal Pharmaceutical, (now
part of Celgene); Chairman and CEO of Vitaphore Corporation, (now part of
Union Carbide); Chairman of Microcide Corporation; and President of The
Hospital Company of American Hospital Supply Corporation.
"Ceregene's refined focus on the delivery of nervous system growth factors
using a gene therapy delivery platform and their accomplishments to date make
them a very exciting company and I am pleased to join their Board and help
further their advancement as they continue their clinical trials in
neurodegenerative disorders," stated John Walker.
"We believe that Mr. Walker's vast experience in all aspects of biotech
company development, from start-ups to product licensure and sales, will
complement our current strong Board of Directors," stated Jeffrey M. Ostrove,
Ph.D., Ceregene's president and CEO and director. Mr. Walker will join the
current Board whose members include its chairman, Stephen A. Sherwin, M.D.,
chairman and CEO of Cell Genesys, Dennis Henner, Ph.D. of MPM Capital; David
Mack, Ph.D. of Alta Partners, Eugene Step, past president of the
pharmaceutical division of Eli Lilly and Mark Tuszynski, M.D., Ph.D.,
professor of neurosciences, University of California, San Diego.
Ceregene, Inc. is a San Diego-based biotechnology company focused on the
development of gene therapies for neurodegenerative disorders. Ceregene is in
the clinic with CERE-110, an AAV2 based vector expressing nerve growth factor
that is being tested as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. CERE-120 for
Parkinson's disease has regulatory approval and will be tested in the clinic
shortly and CERE-130 is in late preclinical development for ALS. Ceregene was
launched in January 2001 and is a minority-owned subsidiary of Cell Genesys,
Inc. (Nasdaq: CEGE), which is headquartered in South San Francisco, CA.
Ceregene closed a $32M Series B financing in August 2004 that was co-led by
Alta Partners and MPM Capital.
Contact: Jeffrey M. Ostrove, Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Ceregene, Inc.
858-458-8808
SOURCE Ceregene, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.ceregene.com
CONTACT:
Jeffrey M. Ostrove, Ph.D., President and
Chief Executive Officer of Ceregene, Inc., +1-858-458-8808
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