NEW YORK, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Immtech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is pleased to announce today that General Wesley Clark (ret.) has joined Immtech as a strategic advisor. General Clark will provide counsel to Immtech’s management team as the Company develops its drug programs targeting various global health challenges, including malaria prevention and treatment.
General Clark is one of the country’s most distinguished retired military officers and a respected international voice in public affairs and diplomacy. He served as NATO Supreme Allied Commander from 1997 to 2000 and commanded troops in the campaign to end the Kosovo War, and he played a pivotal role in negotiating the Dayton Peace Accords to end the war in Bosnia.
“I am truly impressed by the private/public partnerships that Immtech has created as part of its effective business model to develop new treatments for global diseases,” said General Clark. “I look forward to working closely with Immtech’s leadership as the Company advances Immtech’s promising drug pipeline.”
General Clark served for 33 years with the United States Army, rising to the rank of 4-star general. He is a recipient of the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart, along with honorary Knighthoods from the British and Dutch governments. He was also made a commander of the French Legion of Honor, and in 2000 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
“We are honored to have General Clark join Immtech in this strategic advisory role,” said Eric L. Sorkin, Immtech’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “General Clark will enhance Immtech’s strategic work with international companies, foundations and governments. Few people have a better understanding of international cooperation, and we stand to benefit greatly from General Clark’s expertise.”
General Clark graduated top of his class from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and he holds a Master’s Degree from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He was a U.S. presidential candidate in the 2004 election and is presently Chairman and CEO of Wesley K. Clark & Associates, a strategic advisory and consulting firm. He is also Chairman of Rodman and Renshaw, a New York based investment bank.
Immtech’s first oral drug candidate, pafuramidine maleate, is currently in two phase II clinical trials for treatment and prevention of malaria. Each year malaria kills over one million people. It is also a significant threat to 125 million people who travel annually from developed countries to malaria endemic areas. Pafuramidine is also in two pivotal Phase III trials targeting the treatment of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP), a severe form of fungal infection in the lungs, and African sleeping sickness.
About Immtech Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Immtech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is focused on developing and commercializing drugs to treat infectious diseases. Immtech has advanced clinical programs that include new treatments for Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP), malaria, and trypanosomiasis (African sleeping sickness), and a well defined, expanding library of compounds targeting Hepatitis C, fungal infections, and bacterial infections. Immtech holds exclusive worldwide licenses to certain patents, patent applications and technology for products derived from a proprietary pharmaceutical platform. For additional information, please go to http://www.immtechpharma.com.
“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Immtech Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s business, including the future prospects for PCP, which are not historical facts are “forward- looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed under the headings “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” in Immtech’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2007 and in its other SEC filings and include: (i) Immtech’s ability to develop commercially viable products; (ii) Immtech’s ability to achieve profitability; (iii) Immtech’s ability to retain key personnel; (iv) the ability of Immtech’s scientists and collaborators to discover new compounds; (v) the availability of additional research grants; (vi) Immtech’s ability to obtain regulatory approval of its drug candidate, including PCP; (vii) the success of Immtech’s clinical trials; (viii) dependence upon and contractual relationship with partners; (ix) Immtech’s ability to manufacture or to have a third party manufacture its drug candidate at a reasonable cost; (x) Immtech’s ability to protect its intellectual property; (xi) competition and alternative technologies; (xii) Immtech’s ability to obtain reimbursement from third party payers for any product it commercializes; and (xiii) potential exposure to significant product liability.
Immtech Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACT: Media, Paul Hendley of Berry & Co., +1-212-253-8881; InvestorRelations, Sean Collins of CCG, +1-310-477-9800, ext. 202, both for ImmtechPharmaceuticals, Inc.
Web site: http://www.immtechpharma.com//
