KVISTGAARD, Denmark, Sept. 30, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bavarian Nordic A/S (Copenhagen:BAVA - News) announced today the reorganization of the company’s primary business areas into two divisions; Cancer Vaccines and Infectious Diseases each led by its own Division President reporting to the President & CEO of the Company.
The establishment of two divisions facilitates a stronger and more effective management structure and offers a number of benefits to the company, including:
* Optimization of resource management and investments
* Acceleration of development and in-licensing of new products within cancer and infectious diseases
* Multiple funding options and separate strategic partnership opportunities
Reiner Laus, Executive Vice President and CEO of BN ImmunoTherapeutics, Inc., Bavarian Nordic’s wholly-owned cancer research unit in California, USA has been appointed Division President Cancer Vaccines. The division’s main short-term strategic objectives are driving PROSTVAC(TM) to the market through partnership, broadening the portfolio by acquisitions and developing new cancer targets.
Paul Chaplin, Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, has been appointed Division President Infectious Diseases. The division’s main short-term strategic objectives are the continued delivery of IMVAMUNE(R) under the contract with the US government, while also securing new IMVAMUNE(R) orders and developing new late-stage vaccine candidates for infectious diseases beyond biodefence, supported by partnerships and/or acquisitions.
In order to provide strong leadership and accountability within the new structure, the executive management will be consolidated. As a consequence, Executive Vice President Steen Vangsgaard & Executive Vice President Anders Gram will be leaving Bavarian Nordic. Morten M. Rasmussen will continue as Senior Vice President, Legal/IP reporting to Anders Hedegaard. The executive management team hereafter consists of:
* Anders Hedegaard, President & CEO
* Paul Chaplin, Executive Vice President and Division President Infectious Diseases
* Reiner Laus, Executive Vice President and Division President Cancer Vaccines
* Ole Larsen, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
The changes, which will have no immediate impact on the legal structure of the Group, will take effect as of today.
Bavarian Nordic’s President & CEO, Anders Hedegaard commented: “The establishment of divisions provides the optimum conditions for future growth within our primary business areas; cancer and infectious diseases, including our biodefence programmes. The new organizational structure is ideal for generating short-term results. At the same time we are looking into expanding our activities in both areas by seeking strategic partnerships, which facilitate separate collaboration agreements with global pharma companies.”
About Bavarian Nordic
Bavarian Nordic is a leading industrial biotechnology company developing and producing novel vaccines for the treatment and prevention of life-threatening diseases with a large unmet medical need. The company’s clinical pipeline targets cancer and infectious diseases, and includes seven development programmes. Two programmes under preparation for Phase III: PROSTVAC(TM), a therapeutic vaccine for advanced prostate cancer is being developed under a collaboration agreement with the National Cancer Institute, and IMVAMUNE(R), a third-generation smallpox vaccine is being developed under a contract with the US government.
Bavarian Nordic is listed on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen under the symbol BAVA.
For more information, please visit www.bavarian-nordic.com
Forward-looking statements
This announcement includes “forward-looking statements” that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of our control that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning our plans, objectives, goals, future events, performance and/or other information that is not historical information. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances after the date made, except as required by law.
