John Conley Named Vice President, Business Development
Kerry Flynn Promoted to Vice President, Intellectual Property and Licensing
Cambridge, Mass., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Transkaryotic
Therapies, Inc. (Nasdaq: TKTX) today announced the appointment of John Conley
as Vice President, Business Development. Mr. Conley, who has held a variety
of senior executive positions within the biotechnology industry, will have
responsibility for out-licensing initiatives for Dynepo(TM), TKT's Gene-
Activated(R) erythropoietin product for the treatment of anemia as well as
certain other business development activities. He is expected to hold this
position until TKT establishes a partnership for Dynepo and the company hires
his successor.
TKT also announced today the promotion of Kerry A. Flynn from Vice
President, Business Development to the newly created position of Vice
President, Intellectual Property and Licensing. In this new role she will
oversee patent litigation, manage TKT's intellectual property portfolios, and
have responsibility for all aspects of intellectual property licensing as well
as ongoing out-licensing initiatives at TKT.
"I am delighted to add John to the TKT team during this critical window of
opportunity. He is a consummate biotechnology professional, and we're
grateful to have him on board," said Michael J. Astrue, President and Chief
Executive Officer of TKT. "Kerry spearheaded our business development efforts
over the past two years, including our important deals with Aventis and
Genzyme. I am very pleased that she will be bringing the same leadership
qualities to our intellectual property activities."
Prior to joining TKT, Mr. Conley was a co-founder of Alnylam
Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology startup developing human therapeutics from
the technology of RNA interference and served as Vice President of Strategy
and Finance and Chief Financial Officer from mid-2002 through early 2004 when
the company made its initial public offering. Before Alnylam, he consulted to
the banking and advisory services firm of JSB Partners and worked at Biogen
for over ten years in marketing, business development, and finance. Most
recently at Biogen, he served as Treasurer and managed their gene therapy
programs through its investment in Genovo, which was sold to Targeted Genetics
in 2000. Prior to Biogen, he was a Manager at the strategy consulting firm of
Bain and Company. Mr. Conley received his Bachelor of Science in Economics
from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his Master's of
Business Administration from Yale University School of Management.
Ms. Flynn has played a significant role in establishing TKT's business
development function since joining the company in 2002 as Senior Director,
Business Development. Prior to joining TKT, Ms. Flynn was Chief Intellectual
Property Counsel at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Associate General Counsel
at Biogen, Inc. She was also an Intellectual Property Associate at the law
firm of Testa, Hurwitz and Thibeault and the law firm of Finnegan, Henderson,
Farabow, Garrett & Dunner. She is Chair of the Greater Boston Chapter of the
Licensing Executives Society, and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Boston
University Law School. Ms. Flynn has a J.D. from Western New England College
School of Law and a B.A. in Biology from Smith College.
About TKT
Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company primarily
focused on researching, developing and commercializing treatments for rare
diseases caused by protein deficiencies. Within this focus, the company
markets Replagal(TM), an enzyme replacement therapy for Fabry disease, and is
developing treatments for Hunter syndrome and Gaucher disease. In addition to
its focus on rare diseases, TKT intends to commercialize Dynepo(TM), its Gene-
Activated(R) erythropoietin product for anemia related to kidney disease, in
the European Union. TKT was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, with additional operations in Europe, Canada and South America.
Additional information about TKT is available on the company's website at
http://www.tktx.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding TKT's
management structure, as well as statements containing the words "believes,"
"anticipates," "plans," "expects," "estimates," "intends," "should," "could,"
"will," "may," 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 establish a partnership for Dynepo; whether TKT
will be able to successfully manage its intellectual property estate, and
other factors set forth under the caption "Certain Factors That May Affect
Future Results" in the company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August
9, 2004 with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are incorporated
herein by reference. While the company may elect to update forward-looking
statements at some point in the future, the company specifically disclaims any
obligation to do so, even if its expectations change.
Gene-Activated(R) is a registered trademark and Replagal(TM) is a
trademark of Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc. Dynepo(TM) is a trademark of
Sanofi-Aventis SA.
For More Information Contact:
Justine E. Koenigsberg
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
(617) 349-0271
Daniella M. Lutz
Corporate Communications Manager
(617) 349-0205
SOURCE Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc.
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CONTACT:
Justine E. Koenigsberg, Senior Director,
Corporate Communications, +1-617-349-0271, or Daniella M. Lutz,
Corporate Communications Manager, +1-617-349-0205
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