GAITHERSBURG, Md., July 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Iomai Corporation , a biotechnology company developing novel, patch-based vaccines and immune stimulants, today announced the appointment of two new members to its Board of Directors. Thomas Martin Vernon, Jr., M.D. and F. Weller Meyer were elected by the Board on July 6. The company also announced that board member James F. Young, Ph.D. has resigned.
"We are delighted that Dr. Vernon and Mr. Meyer have joined our Board and are certain their expertise in vaccines, public health, and finance will serve us well," said Stanley C. Erck, President and Chief Executive Officer of Iomai. "Their experience will be valuable as we move forward with clinical development of our vaccine and immunostimulant patches and begin to commercialize our novel TCI technology. I also want to thank Jim Young for his major contributions to Iomai and recognize his dedication to the Board since joining in 2002."
Dr. Vernon was Vice President for Policy, Public Health and Medical Affairs at Merck & Co.'s vaccine until 2004. Since then, he has consulted on vaccine policy and public policy affairs for Chiron Corp., MedImmune Inc. and Digene Corp. Previously he was the director of health and human services at the Pew Charitable Trusts and executive director of the Colorado Department of Health. Dr. Vernon is a member of the CDC Foundation's National Advocacy Council, has served on the board of directors of the Partnership for Prevention and the National Center for Genome Resources, and is board chairman of the National Center for Healthy Housing and the American Social Health Association. A graduate of Harvard Medical School, Dr. Vernon was board- certified in internal medicine.
Mr. Meyer is the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Acacia Federal Savings Bank. He has led Acacia Federal for almost two decades, overseeing its rise from a bank with assets of $43 million to a $1.25 billion institution. In 1998, Mr. Meyer was appointed as a member of the Thrift Institutes Advisory Council by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, and he served as president of the Council in 2000. The published author of five books on mortgage and real estate finance, Mr. Meyer graduated from the University of Maryland and completed graduate studies at the American University and the University of Maryland.
About Iomai Corporation
Iomai Corporation discovers and develops vaccines and immune system stimulants, delivered via a novel, needle-free technology called transcutaneous immunization (TCI). TCI taps into the unique benefits of a major group of antigen-presenting cells found in the outer layers of the skin (Langerhans cells) to generate an enhanced immune response. Iomai is leveraging TCI to enhance the efficacy of existing vaccines, develop new vaccines that are viable only through transcutaneous administration and expand the global vaccine market. Iomai currently has four product candidates in development: three targeting influenza and pandemic flu and one to prevent E. coli-related travelers' diarrhea. For more information on Iomai, please visit www.iomai.com.
Some matters discussed in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" that involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include statements about the ability of Iomai's patches to stimulate stronger immune responses, enhance the efficacy of existing vaccines and expand the global vaccine market. Applicable risks and uncertainties include, among others, that results in future clinical trials may not replicate results seen in previous trials; that Iomai may not be able to enroll sufficient numbers of patients in future clinical trials; Iomai may be unable to obtain the regulatory approvals necessary to conduct additional clinical trials; that Iomai may encounter substantial difficulties in attempting to scale-up its manufacturing capacity; that development costs may exceed expectations; that Iomai may fail to adequately protect its intellectual property or may be determined to infringe on the intellectual property of others; and the risks identified under the heading "Risk Factors: in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2006 and its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, both of which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Iomai cautions investors and others not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. You are encouraged to read the Company's filings for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties which are filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov.
These statements speak only as of the date of this document, and Iomai undertakes no obligation to update or revise the statements.
Iomai CorporationCONTACT: Russell P. Wilson, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officerand General Counsel of Iomai Corporation, +1-301-556-4478, orinvestors@iomai.com; or Jennifer Larson of WeissComm Partners, Inc.,+1-415-409-2729, or jlarson@weisscommpartners.com
Web site: http://www.iomai.com//
