RICHMOND, Calif., April 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. , a leader in the research and development of novel zinc finger DNA-binding proteins (ZFPs) for therapeutic gene regulation and modification, announced the appointment of William R. Ringo to the position of chairman of the Company's board of directors effective April 16, 2010.
Until his retirement on April 30, 2010 as previously announced, Mr. Ringo is Senior Vice President of Business Development, Strategy and Innovation at Pfizer Inc. where he has had responsibility for guiding Pfizer's overall strategic planning and business development activities. Prior to joining Pfizer in 2008, he held a number of senior roles in the biopharmaceutical industry in both management and board capacities. He was President and CEO of Abgenix, Inc., a biotechnology firm focused on developing human antibodies as agents to treat cancer and other serious diseases, which merged with its partner Amgen in 2006. Prior to Abgenix, Mr. Ringo was the non-executive chairman of the board of directors of InterMune, Inc., after serving as interim CEO.
"I have been closely following Sangamo's progress over the past several years and am impressed with the significant advances that the company has made in developing its novel technology for gene regulation and gene modification," said Mr. Ringo. "I am very pleased to join Sangamo's board of directors and look forward to working with the board and the leadership team to enhance development of therapeutic applications of Sangamo's proprietary ZFP technology and in the further maturation of the Company."
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding Sangamo's current expectations. These forward looking statements include, without limitation, references to the development of Sangamo's clinical pipeline, establishing Sangamo's ZFP technology as a novel therapeutic product development platform and election of directors. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include the early stage of ZFP Therapeutic development, uncertainties related to the timing of initiation and completion of clinical trials, and whether clinical trial results will validate and support the safety and efficacy of ZFP Therapeutics. Further, there can be no assurance that the necessary regulatory approvals will be obtained or that Sangamo will be able to develop commercially viable gene based therapeutics. Actual results may differ from those projected in forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties that exist in the Company's operations and business environments. These risks and uncertainties are described more fully in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are made as of this date and will not be updated.
CONTACT: Elizabeth Wolffe, Ph.D., of Sangamo BioSciences, Inc.,
+1-510-970-6000 x271, ewolffe@sangamo.com
Web site: http://www.sangamo.com/
