WATERTOWN, Mass., Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- V. I. Technologies, Inc.
(Nasdaq: VITX) today announced the election of Doros Platika, M.D. to its
Board of Directors. The addition of Dr. Platika increases the size of VITEX's
Board from nine to ten.
Dr. Platika, age 47, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Curis,
Inc. (Nasdaq: CRIS), a developer of biotechnology products based on
technologies in regenerative medicine that harness the body's inherent ability
to repair damage caused by disease, trauma or age. Created through the
July 31, 2000 merger of three companies, Curis has a portfolio of products
that span all stages of development from basic research to clinical testing to
regulatory review. Dr. Platika had been the Chief Executive Officer of
Ontogeny, Inc. since July 1996. Prior to joining Ontogeny, Dr. Platika
completed residencies in medicine and neurology at Massachusetts General
Hospital (MGH) where he rose to Chief Resident. He completed his post-
doctoral study at Massachusetts Institute of Technologies' Whitehead Institute
and at MGH in association with Harvard Medical School. Dr. Platika also
served on the faculties of Harvard Medical School and Albert Einstein College
of Medicine as head of gene therapy.
John Barr commented, "We are pleased to welcome Dr. Platika to VITEX's
Board. As a very successful biotech entrepreneur with a strong medical
background, Doros will be a valuable advisor to the Company. Skilled at
establishing strategic partnerships and managing products through the clinical
trial process, his experience will be particularly beneficial as we move
through the clinic with our INACTINE(TM) red cell pathogen inactivation
technology."
About VITEX
VITEX is a leading developer and manufacturer of a broad portfolio of
blood products that utilize its patented viral inactivation technologies
designed to ensure product safety. The technologies are tailored for all
blood component applications and other blood-derived products, including
plasma, plasma derivatives, red blood cells and platelets. The first of
VITEX's virally inactivated products, PLAS+(R)SD, is the only FDA-approved
method for viral inactivation of plasma.
Red cells are the most commonly transfused blood component with over 40
million units of red cells transfused each year in the major pharmaceutical
markets worldwide for an estimated market of $2 billion. Currently there are
no treatments to inactivate pathogens in red cells. VITEX's INACTINE(TM)
pathogen inactivation treatment has been shown to inactivate enveloped viruses
such as HIV, CMV, model viruses for HCV and HBV, as well as non-enveloped
viruses such as Porcine Parvo and SV40. The recent results on bacteria
inactivation and the demonstration of large safety margins establishes
INACTINE(TM) as the most comprehensive pathogen inactivation treatment which,
upon approval, will significantly improve the safety of the blood supply.
For further information, please visit the VITEX web site at
http://www.vitechnologies.com .
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters
discussed are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
statements involve risks and uncertainties, such as quarterly fluctuations in
operating results, the timely availability of new products, market acceptance
of the company's products, the impacts of competitive products and pricing,
government regulation of the company's products and other risks and
uncertainties set forth in the company's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results
to differ materially from any forward-looking statements made herein.
To receive additional information on V. I. Technologies, Inc., via fax, at
no charge, dial 1-800-PRO-INFO and enter code VITX.
SOURCE V. I. Technologies, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.vitechnologies.com
CONTACT:
John Barr, President and CEO of V.I.
Technologies, Inc., 617-926-1551, ext. 7256, web,
http://www.vitechnologies.com, or Alison Ziegler, Cecelia Heer, Deanne
Eagle, of The Financial Relations Board, 212-661-8030
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