EPALINGES, SWITZERLAND--(Marketwire -04/11/12)- Mymetics Corporation (OTC.BB: MYMX.OB - News), a leader in the development of mucosal and virosomal-based vaccines for infectious diseases, announced today the appointment of Grant E. Pickering as President and Chief Executive Officer of Mymetics Corporation and the election of Dr. Christopher S. Henney as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mymetics further announced the appointments of Ulrich Burkhard of the Marcuard Family Office and Mr. Pickering to its Board of Directors. These changes are made in connection with the efforts of Mymetics to obtain additional financing and to advance the development of its vaccine platform.
Mr. Pickering replaces Jacques-Francois Martin, who will continue to support Mymetics in an advisory function. In connection with the new board appointments, Jacques-Francois Martin, Martine Reindle, Christian Rochet and Sylvain Fleury have resigned from the Mymetics board. Dr. Fleury will continue in his role as Chief Science Officer along with the remainder of the senior management team consisting of Ronald Kempers, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, and Dr. Toon Stegmann, Chief Science Officer of the wholly owned subsidiary Mymetics BV.
Mr. Pickering, CEO of Mymetics, commented: “Chris and I strongly believe in the company’s virosome vaccine platform and its portfolio of vaccine candidates to prevent RSV, HIV and influenza. Our first priority will be to secure the financial resources necessary to further validate the platform in the clinic, as we endeavor to build a world-class biotech company in the vaccine field.”
Dr. Henney added: “I look forward to working with Grant and the board and I’d like to thank Jacques-Francois Martin and the other outgoing board members for their contribution to the company. Mymetics’ novel virosome vaccine platform appears to have the potential to address a variety of important infectious diseases that have yet to be addressed with prior vaccine technologies.”
About Grant Pickering, MBA
Mr. Pickering has served since January 2011 as an Executive-in-Residence at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a venture capital firm located in Menlo Park, California. Since February 2008, Mr. Pickering has served as President and CEO and a Director of Juvaris BioTherapeutics, Inc., a developer of adjuvanted vaccines for infectious disease that out-licensed its technology to Colby Pharmaceutical Company for human health in 2011 and to Bayer AG for animal health in 2008. In January 2006, Mr. Pickering founded and served as the President and CEO of Pharmada, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing late pre-clinical and clinical stage small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. Previously, Mr. Pickering held multiple senior management roles and was a corporate officer at Dendreon Corporation, a publicly traded biotechnology company, from 2000 to 2005. Prior to 2000 Mr. Pickering held various sales, marketing and business development positions with Johnson & Johnson, Glaxo, Inc. and Algos Pharmaceutical Corporation, a publicly-traded biotechnology company that was sold to Endo Pharmaceuticals for $205 million in 1999. Mr. Pickering received his B.S. degree from The Pennsylvania State University and his MBA from Georgetown University with honors.
About Christopher Henney, Ph.D., D.Sc.
Dr. Henney serves as chairman of the board of directors of Oncothyreon Inc. and Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and vice-chairman of the board of directors of Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., all development-stage publicly traded biotechnology companies. From 1995 to 2003, Dr. Henney was chairman and CEO of Dendreon Corporation, a publicly-traded biotechnology company that he co-founded and from 2003 to 2005 continued as executive chairman. Dr. Henney was also a co-founder of Immunex Corporation and ICOS Corporation, both publicly-traded biotechnology companies. Dr. Henney was the chairman of SGX Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company acquired by Eli Lilly in 2008. Dr. Henney received a Ph.D. in experimental pathology from the University of Birmingham, England, where he also obtained his D.Sc. for contributions in the field of immunology. In 2011, he received the honorary degree of Doctor of the University from his alma mater for contributions to the biotechnology industry. Dr. Henney is a former professor of immunology and microbiology and has held faculty positions at Johns Hopkins University, the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
About Mymetics
Mymetics Corporation is a Swiss-based biotechnology company registered in the US (OTC.BB: MYMX.OB - News) developing next-generation preventative vaccines for infectious diseases. Mymetics’ core technology and expertise are in the use of virosomes, lipid-based carriers containing functional fusion viral proteins with the ability to be combined with rationally designed antigens. The company’s vaccines are designed to induce protection against early transmission and infection, focusing on the mucosal immune response as a first-line defense, which for some pathogens may be essential for the development of an effective prophylactic vaccine. Mymetics currently has five vaccines in its pipeline: Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Influenza, HIV-1/AIDS, Malaria and Herpes Simplex Virus. The company’s influenza, HIV-1 and malaria vaccines have completed Phase I clinical trials in healthy human volunteers, while the RSV and HSV vaccine candidates are in preclinical development. For further information, please visit www.mymetics.com.
Forward-looking statements
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a “safe harbor” for forward-looking statements, which are identified by the words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan” and similar expressions. The statements contained herein which are not based on historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect our actual results, performance or achievements in the future and, accordingly, such actual results, performance or achievements may materially differ from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by or on our behalf. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks associated with our ability to successfully develop and protect our intellectual property, our ability to raise additional capital to fund future operations and compliance with applicable laws and changes in such laws and the administration of such laws. See Mymetics’ most recent Form 10-K for a discussion of such risks, uncertainties and other factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward- looking statements which speak only as of the date the statements were made.
Contact:
Mymetics Corporation
Grant Pickering
President & CEO
206-999-9129
gpickering@mymetics.com
www.mymetics.com
Media United States
Rathbun Communications
Julie Rathbun
206-769-9219
julie@rathbuncomm.com
Media Europe
Dynamics Group
Christophe Lamps
Senior Partner
Mobile: + 41 79 476 26 87
cla@dynamicsgroup.ch
