MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Aviron (Nasdaq: AVIR) today
announced that Dr. R. Gordon Douglas, Jr. has been elected to the company's
board of directors, effective immediately.
Dr. Douglas currently serves as a consultant to the Vaccine Research
Center at the National Institutes of Health. Prior to this role, he served as
president of Merck Vaccines, where in the decade of his service to Merck, the
vaccine business grew from $300 million to $1.2 billion annually and four new
products were launched.
During his career, Dr. Douglas has distinguished himself in the field of
infectious diseases as a practicing physician and academician focusing on
vaccines for influenza, among other areas. Between 1970 and 1982, Dr. Douglas
held increasingly important roles at the University of Rochester School of
Medicine. From 1982 to 1990, Dr. Douglas served as professor of medicine and
chairman of the department of medicine at Cornell University Medical College
and physician-in-chief at New York Hospital.
Dr. Douglas has published over 195 scientific papers and was co-editor of
the first three editions of the textbook "Principles and Practice of
Infectious Diseases." He has received numerous professional honors, most
recently the 2000 Maxwell Finland Award for Scientific Achievement from the
National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Dr. Douglas is currently
president of the American Clinical and Climatological Association. He is also
a member of many other organizations, including the Institute of Medicine, the
Association of American Physicians and the Infectious Disease Society of
America, of which he was president from 1991-1992.
Dr. Douglas is the chairman of the board of directors at VICAL, Inc. and
serves on several other boards of directors at biotechnology and non-profit
associations focused on infectious diseases, world health, vaccines and
pharmaceutical developments. Dr. Douglas holds a bachelor's degree from
Princeton University and a medical degree from Cornell University Medical
College.
"Dr. Douglas not only brings many years of experience as a physician,
academician and pharmaceutical executive, but an active interest in the
prevention of influenza. This extraordinary breadth of experience will be an
excellent addition to Aviron's board, especially as we prepare for submission
of our Biologics License Application for FluMist(TM) during the fourth quarter
of this year and as we move towards the commercialization of FluMist(TM),"
said C. Boyd Clarke, Aviron president and chief executive officer.
Dr. Douglas replaces Reid W. Dennis on Aviron's board of directors.
Aviron is a biopharmaceutical company based in Mountain View, California
focused on the prevention of disease through innovative vaccine technology.
Actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements
contained in this release. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
include, but are not limited to, failure to validate the manufacturing
process, facilities or equipment for the company's nasal influenza vaccine,
and the assessment by regulatory agencies that the company's future license
applications for its nasal influenza vaccine are incomplete or inadequate to
approve the product for marketing to one or more target populations.
Additional information concerning factors that could cause such a difference
is contained in Aviron's SEC filings, including its S-3 Registration Statement
and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999.
To receive an index and copies of recent press releases, call Aviron's
News-On-Call toll-free fax service, 800-758-5804, extension 114000.
Additional information about the company can be found at
http://www.aviron.com .
SOURCE Aviron
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http://www.aviron.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/114000.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 114000
CONTACT:
media or investors, Asha Jennings,
650-919-1429, or investors, Fred Kurland, 650-919-6666, both of
Aviron; or media, Claudette Hibbert of Fleishman-Hillard,
212-453-2000, for Aviron
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