NES-ZIONA, Israel, March 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Modigene Inc. today announced the appointment of Phillip Frost, M.D., as Chairman of its Board of Directors. Modigene also announced the appointments of two new directors, Dr. Marian Gorecki and Steven D. Rubin, and the departures of current Board Chairman and director Dr. Eugene Bauer and current director Joel Kanter.
“The addition of Dr. Frost as Chairman and Dr. Gorecki and Mr. Rubin as directors is a very positive development for Modigene,” said Avri Havron, CEO of Modigene. “As the company now transitions into a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, we believe the enhanced commitment of Dr. Frost and the diverse, real-world clinical and commercial experience that he, Dr. Gorecki and Mr. Rubin bring will be of great value to Modigene and its shareholders.”
Dr. Frost has been a member of the Modigene Board of Directors since May 2007.
“After working closely with the Modigene team as a director over the past year, I am very pleased to be expanding my involvement in the company at this exciting time in its development,” said Dr. Frost. “In my new role as Chairman, I look forward to providing further leadership in working with the Board and management to build Modigene into a significant player in the therapeutic proteins market.”
Dr. Frost currently serves as Chairman and CEO of OPKO Health, Inc., a publicly-traded specialty healthcare company. He also serves as Chairman of Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., as Vice Chairman of Teva Pharmaceuticals, and as a director of Northrop Grumman Corporation and Continucare Corporation. He is a trustee of the University of Miami, the Scripps Research Institute, the Miami Jewish Home for the Aged and the Mount Sinai Medical Center; a regent of the Smithsonian Institute, and Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the American Stock Exchange. Previously, Dr. Frost was Chairman and CEO of IVAX Corporation, which he founded in 1987, until the company’s acquisition by Teva Pharmaceuticals in 2006. Dr. Frost holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.D. degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Dr. Marian Gorecki, a 30-year veteran of the biotechnology industry, is currently Chairman of Thrombotech, a company developing a peptide to mitigate the side effects of standard stroke treatments. Previously, Dr. Gorecki co- founded and served as General Manager and Board member of Bio Technology General (BTG), now Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc. He also served as Chairman and CEO of Mediwound Ltd., a biotechnology company developing enzyme-based products in the fields of burn and wound management. Dr. Gorecki was responsible for overseeing the clinical development, regulatory approval and commercialization of five biotechnology drugs that are currently marketed, as well as two that are now in Phase III trials. Dr. Gorecki is the inventor of 21 issued patents and author of 73 peer-reviewed scientific articles. He earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the Weizmann Institute of Science and served as a Research Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Steven D. Rubin, J.D., is currently Executive Vice President- Administration and a director of OPKO Health, Inc. He currently also serves as a director of SafeStitch Medical Inc., a medical device company, of Dreams Incorporated, a manufacturer and provider of licensed sports products, of Ideation Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, and of Longfoot Communications Corp. Previously, he was Senior Vice President and General Counsel of IVAX. Prior to IVAX, Mr. Rubin was Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Telergy Inc. Mr. Rubin holds a B.A. from Tulane University and a J.D. degree from the University of Florida, Gainesville.
Dr. Frost added, “On behalf of the Board, we also want to thank Dr. Eugene Bauer and Joel Kanter for their many past contributions as Board members of Modigene.” Dr. Bauer and Mr. Kanter have submitted their resignations from the Modigene Board to pursue other personal and professional interests.
Modigene’s technology is based on a short amino acid sequence, the Carboxyl Terminal Peptide (CTP). CTP occurs naturally in humans, and when attached to a therapeutic protein, extends the time that the protein is active in the body. The potential utility of the technology has been demonstrated by Organon, a unit of Schering-Plough, which licenses the CTP technology for fertility applications only. Phase II trials of its CTP follicle stimulating hormone product (FSH-CTP) demonstrated that a single injection provides the same clinical effect as seven consecutive daily injections of standard FSH. These trials also demonstrated that attaching the CTP peptide did not affect the therapeutic activity of FSH or cause a negative immune system response. Modigene has an exclusive license from Washington University for use of CTP with all therapeutic proteins except four fertility proteins. Modigene currently has three CTP-enhanced compounds in preclinical testing and a fourth in earlier stage development.
ABOUT MODIGENE
Modigene Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company applying its patented CTP technology to develop longer-acting, proprietary versions of already approved therapeutic proteins that currently generate billions of dollars in annual global sales. The CTP technology is applicable to virtually all proteins and Modigene is currently developing long-acting versions of human growth hormone, interferon beta and erythropoietin, which are in late preclinical development, as well as GLP-1. For more information on Modigene, visit www.modigeneinc.com.
Safe Harbor Statement: This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the results of current studies and preclinical experiments and the effectiveness of Modigene’s long-acting protein programs and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may affect Modigene’s business and prospects, including the risks that Modigene may not succeed in developing any commercial products based upon its long- acting protein technology, including any long-acting versions of human growth hormone, erythropoietin, interferon beta or GLP-1; that the long-acting products in development may fail, may not achieve the expected results or effectiveness and/or may not generate data that would support the approval or marketing of these products for the indications being studied or for other indications; that ongoing studies may not continue to show substantial or any activity; that the actual dollar amount of any grants from the OCS is uncertain and is subject to policy changes of the Israeli government, and that such grants may be insufficient to assist with product development; and other risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. The development of any products using the CTP platform technology could also be affected by a number of other factors, including unexpected safety, efficacy or manufacturing issues, additional time requirements for data analyses and decision making, the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation, the impact of competitive products and pricing and the impact of patents and other proprietary rights held by competitors and other third parties. In addition to the risk factors set forth above, investors should consider the economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors discussed in Modigene’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
shai@modigeneinc.com
CONTACT: Shai Novik, President, Modigene Inc., +1-866-644-7811,
shai@modigeneinc.com; or Media, Barbara Lindheim, GendeLLindheim BioCom
Partners, +1-212-918-4650
Web site: http://www.modigeneinc.com/
