MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Aviron (Nasdaq: AVIR), today
announced the appointment of C. Boyd Clarke as President and Chief Executive
Officer (CEO), effective immediately. Mr. Clarke succeeds J. Leighton Read,
the founder of Aviron, who remains Chairman of the Board.
Mr. Clarke joins Aviron from U.S. Bioscience, Inc. where he had served as
CEO since March 1998. U.S. Bioscience recently completed a successful merger
with MedImmune, Inc. Mr. Clarke joined U.S. Bioscience as President and Chief
Operating Officer in September 1996.
Prior to joining U.S. Bioscience, Mr. Clarke spent 19 years with Merck
& Co., Inc. in a series of increasingly responsible positions in four separate
divisions. His last five years at Merck were particularly focused on vaccines.
As the first president of Pasteur-Merieux MSD, based in Lyon, France,
Mr. Clarke helped establish the new joint venture between Pasteur-Merieux and
Merck as the largest marketer of vaccines in Europe. Subsequently, he assumed
a global role as a vice president of Merck Vaccines, with responsibility for
strategy, alliance management and business development.
"The appointment of Boyd Clarke as Aviron's new CEO represents an exciting
conclusion to the search process I initiated and announced earlier this year.
Our goal was to attract an individual with the commercial biologics experience
necessary to lead Aviron through the launch of FluMist(TM) and our other
innovative vaccines," Read said.
"Boyd Clarke has the unique combination of assets we were looking for. His
global vaccine experience and his successful leadership of a public
biopharmaceutical company position him ideally to help us address our
operating issues."
In addition to serving as President and CEO, Mr. Clarke will join the
Aviron Board of Directors.
"I am looking forward to working with Leighton and the Board to drive the
company through a successful license application for FluMist(TM)," Mr. Clarke
said.
"It is a particular delight for me to return to the world of vaccines with
a company such as Aviron. Not only does Aviron have an important portfolio of
vaccine technologies, but in FluMist(TM) there is a relatively near-term
possibility to revolutionize the way we think about preventing influenza.
"In the process, it is my objective that both patients and shareholders
will benefit. I look forward to working with the employees of Aviron, who have
brought FluMist(TM) this far, so that we can jointly realize the full
potential it represents."
Aviron is a biopharmaceutical company based in Mountain View, CA focused
on prevention of disease. The company's goal is to develop products that offer
cost-effective prevention of a wide range of infections that affect the
general population. The majority of Aviron's products under development are
live vaccines against viral infections. These include intranasal vaccines
under development for respiratory infections and their complications
-- influenza, parainfluenza (PIV-3), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV),
and injectable vaccines to prevent cytomegalovirus (CMV) and genital herpes
(HSV-2). FluMist(TM) is being co-developed with Wyeth Lederle, the vaccine
unit of American Home Products Corporation (NYSE: AHP). Aviron is also
developing, in collaboration with SmithKline Beecham Biologicals, a subunit
vaccine against Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) infection, a major cause of
infectious mononucleosis.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. 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 demonstrate stability or failure to validate the
manufacturing process 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 shelf S-3 Registration
Statement, Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998,
and subsequent Forms 10-Q.
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 located at
http://www.aviron.com.
SOURCE Aviron
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http://www.aviron.com
Company News On-Call:
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CONTACT:
media, Louise Leavitt of Fleishman-Hillard,
212-453-2000, for Aviron; or Karen Gilbert, 650-919-6578, or
investors, John Bluth, 650-919-3716, or Fred Kurland,
650-919-6666, all of Aviron
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