EWING, NJ--(Marketwire - January 27, 2009) -
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DOR BioPharma, Inc. (OTCBB: DORB) (DOR or the Company), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today that its President and Chief Executive Officer Christopher J. Schaber, PhD, has been elected to the Board of Directors of BioNJ, the trade association for New Jersey bioscience companies.
“The coming year will be an important one for BioNJ as our companies continue to face an uncertain economic business climate. We will need solid leaders and contributors like Dr. Schaber,” said Debbie Hart, President, BioNJ. “He has been a highly engaged member of BioNJ since DOR BioPharma relocated to New Jersey from Florida in 2007. I am thrilled that he has agreed to join our Board.”
“I am honored to join my distinguished peers on the Board of BioNJ,” stated Dr. Schaber. “I look forward to lending my experiences to help advance the biotech industry in New Jersey and supporting our many companies doing innovative, life-saving research. As a state, there is a wealth of expertise due to the large number of very talented people employed in the biotech and pharma industries, which of course is one of the major reasons we decided to relocate here.”
Dr. Schaber has been DOR’s President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of its Board of Directors since August 2006. He currently serves on the boards of both the Alliance for Biosecurity and BioNJ. Prior to joining DOR, Dr. Schaber served from 1998 to 2006 as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Discovery Laboratories, Inc., where he was responsible for overall pipeline development and key areas of commercial operations, including regulatory affairs, quality control and assurance, manufacturing and distribution, preclinical and clinical research, and medical affairs, as well as coordination of commercial launch preparation activities. During his tenure at Discovery Laboratories, Inc., he played a significant role in raising in excess of $160 million through both public offerings and private placements. From 1996 to 1998, Dr. Schaber was a co-founder of Acute Therapeutics, Inc., and served as its Vice President of Regulatory Compliance and Drug Development. From 1994 to 1996, Dr. Schaber was employed by Ohmeda PPD, Inc., as Worldwide Director of Regulatory Affairs and Operations. From 1989 to 1994, he held a variety of regulatory, development and operations positions with The Liposome Company, Inc., and Elkins-Sinn Inc., a division of Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories. Dr. Schaber received his BA from Western Maryland College, his MS in Pharmaceutics from Temple University School of Pharmacy and his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from The Union Graduate School.
About BioNJ
Founded in 1994 by New Jersey bioscience industry CEOs, BioNJ serves as the voice of bioscience companies located in New Jersey, seeks to advance their economic growth and development and works to encourage new and established companies from around the world to locate here. BioNJ represents companies engaged in biopharmaceutical, biomedical, bioagricultural and bioremedial endeavors. With 200 member companies, BioNJ is singularly focused on the growth and prosperity of New Jersey’s cluster.
About DOR BioPharma, Inc.
DOR BioPharma, Inc. (DOR) is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company developing products to treat life-threatening side effects of cancer treatments and serious gastrointestinal diseases, and vaccines for certain bioterrorism agents. DOR’s lead product, orBec® (oral beclomethasone dipropionate or BDP), is a potent, locally acting corticosteroid being developed for the treatment of gastrointestinal Graft-versus-Host disease (GI GVHD), a common and potentially life-threatening complication of hematopoietic cell transplantation. DOR expects to begin a confirmatory Phase 3 clinical trial of orBec® for the treatment of GI GVHD in 1H 2009. orBec® is also currently the subject of an NIH-supported, Phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in the prevention of acute GVHD. Oral BDP may also have application in treating other gastrointestinal disorders characterized by severe inflammation. Additionally, DOR has a Lipid Polymer Micelle (LPM™) drug delivery technology for the oral delivery of leuprolide for the treatment of prostate cancer and endometriosis.
Through its Biodefense Division, DOR is developing biomedical countermeasures pursuant to the Project BioShield Act of 2004. DOR’s biodefense products in development are recombinant subunit vaccines designed to protect against the lethal effects of exposure to ricin toxin, botulinum toxin and anthrax. DOR’s ricin toxin vaccine, RiVax™, has been shown to be well tolerated and immunogenic in a Phase 1 clinical trial in normal volunteers.
For further information regarding DOR BioPharma, Inc., please visit the Company’s website at www.dorbiopharma.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect DOR BioPharma, Inc.'s current expectations about its future results, performance, prospects and opportunities. Statements that are not historical facts, such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” or similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results in future periods to differ materially from what is expressed in, or implied by, these statements. DOR cannot assure you that it will be able to successfully develop or commercialize products based on its technology, including orBec®, particularly in light of the significant uncertainty inherent in developing vaccines against bioterror threats, manufacturing and conducting preclinical and clinical trials of vaccines, and obtaining regulatory approvals, that its cash expenditures will not exceed projected levels, that it will be able to secure partnerships or obtain financing within the next nine months to meet operating expenses and to conduct its upcoming confirmatory Phase 3 trial of orBec®, that product development and commercialization efforts will not be reduced or discontinued due to difficulties or delays in clinical trials or due to lack of progress or positive results from research and development efforts, that it will be able to successfully obtain any further grants and awards, maintain its existing grants which are subject to performance, enter into any biodefense procurement contracts with the US Government or other countries, that the US Congress may not pass any legislation that would provide additional funding for the Project BioShield program, that it will be able to patent, register or protect its technology from challenge and products from competition or maintain or expand its license agreements with its current licensors, or that its business strategy will be successful. Important factors which may affect the future use of orBec® for gastrointestinal GVHD include the risks that: the FDA’s requirement that DOR conduct additional clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of orBec® will take a significant amount of time and money to complete and positive results leading to regulatory approval cannot be assumed; DOR is dependent on the expertise, effort, priorities and contractual obligations of third parties in the clinical trials, manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution of its products; orBec® may not gain market acceptance if it is eventually approved by the FDA; and others may develop technologies or products superior to orBec®. These and other factors are described from time to time in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, DOR’s most recent reports on Forms 10-Q and 10-KSB. Unless required by law, DOR assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events.
Company Contact:
Evan Myrianthopoulos
Chief Financial Officer
(609) 538-8200
www.dorbiopharma.com
DOR BioPharma, Inc.
850 Bear Tavern Road, Suite 201
Ewing, NJ 08628