ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Adeona
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE Amex: AEN), a developer of synthetic
DNA-based therapeutics and innovative disease-modifying medicines
for serious illnesses, announced today executive management
transitions and Board of Director appointments to strengthen and
expand the Company's leadership, as follows:
- Jeff Riley, a member of the
Adeona Board of Directors since March
2010 and Chairman of the Board since November 2011, was appointed as the Company's
President and Chief Executive Officer.
- Scott L. Tarriff and
Nelson K. Stacks were appointed
independent members of the Company's Board of Directors.
James S. Kuo will continue to
serve on the Company's Board of Directors, having resigned from his
day-to-day management positions to pursue other opportunities. Mr.
Riley has stepped down from Adeona's Audit and Nominations
Committees; independent director, Jeffrey
Kraws, was elected to the Nominations Committee and Mr.
Stacks was elected to the Audit Committee.
"As we align ourselves with our new focus on the emerging field
of synthetic biologics, these management transitions and board
appointments position Adeona to benefit from the expertise of each
of these experienced life science leaders. The Board of Directors
welcomes Jeff to the executive management team as he assumes the
responsibilities of CEO. Jeff's considerable management and
financial experience during his career will help shape the vision
and skills needed to lead Adeona to future success," said
Jeffrey Kraws, on behalf of the
Board of Directors. "We also thank Jim for his service to Adeona as
he transitions out of his management role, and appreciate the
continuity he will bring to the Company as a member of the
Board."
Mr. Riley has more than 20 years of experience in the
biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries during which he
negotiated numerous worldwide strategic corporate alliances,
established joint ventures, and assisted in obtaining venture
financings to support product development. Most recently, in
addition to serving as Adeona's Chairman, where he played an
integral role in the formation of the Company¹s recent
collaboration with Intrexon Corporation, he served as Managing
Director of 526 Ventures, a life science-focused venture capital
and advisory firm. Prior to this, Mr. Riley was a venture partner
with QIC Bioventures Fund, the life science-focused venture
component of the $70 billion
Australian-based Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC). Over his
career, he held senior positions within the mergers &
acquisitions and in country management groups at both SmithKline
Beecham and Pfizer. Additionally, he served as CFO and VP Corporate
Development for Nichols Institute Diagnostics, a division of Quest
Diagnostics, Inc. Mr. Riley holds a Bachelor of Science degree
in International Relations/Biology and participated in a
dual-degree graduate program (MBA/MIM) sponsored by Arizona State University and the Thunderbird School
of Global Management.
"This is a very exciting time for our Company. I have been
actively involved in the efforts to move Adeona forward as
Chairman, and look forward to leading Adeona into its new phase of
development in the area of synthetic DNA-based therapeutics,
continuing to build shareholder value and pursuing an important
contribution to the future of healthcare," stated Mr. Riley.
"Having served in leadership positions with several biotechnology
and pharmaceutical companies, and having experience with both
public and private equity investors, I am pleased to be taking on
an active leadership role."
Mr. Tarriff brings more than 25 years of pharmaceutical
experience to Adeona. In January
2007, he formed Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a hospital
specialty company focused on developing, distributing and
in-licensing injectable IV products. Prior to forming Eagle, Mr.
Tarriff served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
of Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc. During his tenure at
Par, he also served as the Executive Vice President of Business and
as President and Chief Executive Officer of Par Pharmaceutical,
Inc., the company's principal operating subsidiary. Mr. Tarriff
joined Par following a 12-year career at Bristol-Meyers Squibb,
where he held several positions of increased responsibility in both
the brand and generic divisions. He also served as a Director of
Clinical Data, Inc., a publicly-traded biopharmaceutical company
which was acquired by Forest Laboratories, Inc. in 2011. Mr.
Tarriff received an MBA from Rider College and an undergraduate
degree from Pennsylvania State
University.
Mr. Stacks is the CEO and Director of WaveGuide Corporation, a
first in kind point of care hand held NMR diagnostic technology
spin out from Harvard University for
infectious disease, circulating cancer and industrial applications.
Prior to WaveGuide, Mr. Stacks served as the President, CEO and
Director of Vascular Pathways Incorporated and as a venture partner
with QBF/QIC, an Australian life science venture and superannuation
fund. Over his career, Mr. Stacks has been a venture capitalist,
most recently as the General Partner at 3i Ventures and earlier at
Oak Investment Partners. Mr. Stacks is a member of the fourth class
of Kauffman Fellows and has invested
in all areas of healthcare and information technology. He also
previously served as the Chairman of Xbio Systems and as CEO and
Executive Director of Xenome Limited. Mr. Stacks received an MBA
from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College and a BA from The University of Rochester.
"Scott's extensive management and operational experience in the
pharmaceutical sector, and Nelson's management and equity
experience in the life science industry bring essential knowledge
and expertise to Adeona. We are pleased to welcome both of them to
our Board," continued Mr. Riley. "I look forward to working with
the entire team to build our portfolio of synthetic biologics
product candidates and to advancing our clinical programs for
serious illnesses."
About Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Adeona is a biotechnology company focused on the development of
synthetic DNA-based therapeutics and innovative disease-modifying
medicines for serious illnesses. Adeona is developing, or has
partnered the development of, product candidates to treat pulmonary
arterial hypertension, relapses in multiple sclerosis, cognitive
dysfunction in multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia and amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis (ALS). For more information, please visit
Adeona's website at www.adeonapharma.com.
In December 2011, Adeona announced
that the Board of Directors had taken several actions to prioritize
the company's focus on its recent entry into the emerging field of
synthetic biologics. As a result of its new primary focus, the
Board approved a proposed name change of the company to Synthetic
Biologics, Inc., to better reflect its new mission and primary
business. Such name change is subject to stockholder approval.
Synthetic Biologics is a trademark of Adeona Pharmaceuticals,
Inc.
This release includes forward-looking statements on Adeona's
current expectations and projections about future events. In some
cases forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology
such as "may," "should," "potential," "continue," "expects,"
"anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and
similar expressions. These statements are based upon current
beliefs, expectations and assumptions and are subject to a number
of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict
and include statements regarding our ability to continue to build
shareholder value. The forward-looking statements are subject to
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking
statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those reflected in Adeona's forward-looking
statements include, among others, a failure to successfully
integrate the new management and board of directors and other
factors described in Adeona's report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2010 and any other
filings with the SEC. The information in this release is provided
only as of the date of this release, and Adeona undertakes no
obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in
this release on account of new information, future events, or
otherwise, except as required by law.
SOURCE Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
