NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 14, 2006--Amphion Innovations plc (LSE: AMP - News), a developer of companies in life sciences and technology, today announced that one of its Partner Companies, WellGen, Inc., has appointed Dr. Kathleen P. Mullinix as its new Chief Executive Officer. WellGen is a biotechnology company using nutrigenomics to discover and develop food ingredients for wellness products.
Effective immediately, Dr. Mullinix succeeds Dr. David A. Evans, who passed away suddenly on June 1, 2006.
Dr. Mullinix brings more than 30 years of industry experience to the CEO position at WellGen. Her background encompasses significant achievements in the biotechnology industry and considerable management experience in the government, academic and corporate sectors. She has been a successful entrepreneur throughout her career and has launched multiple successful ventures.
“We are truly fortunate to have Dr. Mullinix join our company at this juncture,” said Richard C.E. Morgan, Chief Executive Officer of Amphion Innovations plc, a leading investor in WellGen. “She is a proven executive with an exceptional blend of strategy and leadership skills, and experience in building and leading biotechnology companies that make her the right person for the job as the company enters its next stage of growth.”
WellGen holds exclusive licenses to technology that can identify health and wellness benefits of foods and food ingredients related to the expression of certain genes. WellGen also has license to a wide range of food and plant-based bioactive substances for the prevention and treatment of disease. The company has a growing intellectual property estate that includes issued patents and numerous pending patent applications, all related to its mission of using its nutrigenomics technology platform to identify proprietary dietary compounds that affect certain genes the company has targeted. WellGen is developing its compounds that are based on scientific evidence for multiple uses related to enhancing and maintaining wellness.
Dr. Mullinix added: “This is a tremendous time to be joining WellGen and I am honored to be a part of the organization. I am very excited to lead this company as we pursue the significant market opportunities that lie ahead.”
Prior to joining WellGen, Dr. Mullinix advised investors on biotechnology and pharmaceutical business opportunities with her company Kathleen P. Mullinix & Associates, which she founded in 2002. Before that, Dr. Mullinix served as the founder, chairman, CEO and president of Synaptic Pharmaceutical Corporation. There she led the company from its inception as she developed and implemented its strategies for scientific research, business, and intellectual property, making it a research-driven public biotechnology company and then an emerging pharmaceutical company.
Before founding Synaptic Pharmaceutical, Dr. Mullinix served for six years as vice provost for Columbia University. In this role, she brought Columbia to a leadership position in the commercial development of university intellectual property assets. Additionally, she was instrumental in the development of The Audubon Research Park, which has transformed the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center’s Washington Heights neighborhood.
From 1972-1981, Dr. Mullinix held two positions with the National Institutes of Health, and served the organization by assisting with strategic matters involving the scientific direction of the NIH intramural program and implementing a novel research program in molecular biology.
Dr. Mullinix holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry from Trinity College, a Ph.D. in chemical biology from Columbia University and was a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Jackson Laboratory, Cylex, a privately held diagnostics company, and Intellect Neuroscience, a privately held biotechnology company.
About WellGen
WellGen, Inc., based in New Brunswick, NJ, is a biotechnology company that is discovering and developing products for food, therapeutics, and dietary supplement markets. WellGen’s technical platform is a method of screening the effect of food and related substances on the expression of genes associated with human health conditions. The company has developed proprietary substances that help reduce risk and severity for a variety of diseases. Please visit our website at www.wellgen.com for more information.
About Amphion Innovations plc
Amphion Innovations plc is listed on the AIM Exchange in London under the symbol AMP. Amphion’s business is the formation, financing, management and development of life sciences and technology companies, working in partnership with corporations, governments, universities and entrepreneurs seeking to commercialize their intellectual property.
Contact: WellGen Patricia Lucas-Schnarre, 732-214-8834 ext. 319 or Amphion Innovations plc Josh Berkman, 646-747-7158 or Financial Dynamics Ben Atwell / John Gilbert, 44 207 269 7169
Source: Amphion Innovations plc
