FREDERICK, Md., Feb. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Vaccinogen, Inc., (OTC.QB: VGEN) a leading cancer immunotherapy company, announced today that Hakan Edstrom, a healthcare industry veteran with more than 40 years of experience, has been elected to the company’s Board of Directors. He will also chair the company’s Compensation Committee in this new role and serve on the company’s Audit Committee.
“This is an extremely exciting time for Vaccinogen. I’m especially looking forward to helping the company advance the development of the OncoVAX® platform and launch the patient-specific vaccine into its first target market, stage II colon cancer,” said Mr. Edstrom. “I believe this truly personalized approach in oncology is the key towards providing better treatment for patients. We’ve learned over the years that cancer is a highly heterogeneous and personalized disease. I believe Vaccinogen is uniquely positioned to address this need through its tumor-cell vaccine approach which teaches the body to attack its own cancer cells and prevent recurrence of late-stage disease.”
Mr. Edstrom was recently named Chief Executive Officer of MannKind Corporation, following his 14-year tenure as President and Chief Operating Officer of the company. He previously held leadership roles with Bausch & Lomb, serving as Vice President and President of the Global Surgical Division and Senior Corporate Vice President of the America’s Region. Prior to these roles, Mr. Edstrom was also Chief Executive Officer of Chiron Vision which was acquired by Bausch & Lomb. He also held various executive positions with Pharmacia Corporation including President and Chief Executive Officer of Pharmacia Ophthalmics, Inc.
He has also served as the Director of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Biora Inc., Gimbel Vision International, Ixion Inc. and Q-Med AB. Mr. Edstrom was educated in Sweden and holds a Masters in Business Administration from the Stockholm School of Economics.
“We are pleased to welcome Mr. Edstrom to the Board of Directors,” said Andrew L. Tussing, Vaccinogen’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “The vast experience he brings to the Vaccinogen executive leadership team will help accelerate the company’s efforts to make OncoVAX® commercially available to millions of patients afflicted with various forms of cancer.”
Vaccinogen Chairman of the Board, Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., MD, also agreed and added, “We are thrilled to have Mr. Edstrom join our stellar team. His proven leadership record in the pharmaceutical industry and decades of experience building and sustaining innovative companies will play a critical part of our company’s success as we work to provide a first-in-class immunotherapy for the prevention of cancer recurrence.”
About Vaccinogen, Inc.
Vaccinogen, Inc. is a cancer vaccine company that is clinically testing OncoVAX®, a treatment designed to prevent the recurrence of colon cancer and potentially other solid tumors. It is a patented process that leverages a patient’s own live tumor cells to launch a broad immune response against minimal residual disease. The Company believes that OncoVAX®, at an optimal dose and regimen, is the first colon cancer vaccine to demonstrate effectiveness in preventing cancer recurrence after surgical resection by addressing the diversity of cancer cells inherent to each patient’s tumor. Five clinical studies of OncoVAX®, including a Phase III trial with the optimum dose and regimen, have been completed to date. The Company expects to begin enrolling patients in a pivotal Phase IIIb trial under an FDA Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) within sixty (60) days of obtaining adequate funding. More information is available at www.vaccinogeninc.com.
Forward Looking Statement
Some of the statements contained in this press release may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “anticipates”, “believe”, “plan”, “intend”, “expect”, “likely”, “may”, “should”, “will”, and similar references to future periods. Vaccinogen has based these forward-looking statements largely on its expectations and projections about future events and financial trends affecting the financial condition and/or operating results of our business. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties; particularly those risks and uncertainties inherent in the process of discovering, developing and commercializing drugs that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics. In addition, these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties outlined in our most recent periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. There are important factors that could cause actual results to be substantially different from the results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements. Vaccinogen does not undertake any obligation to update this forward-looking information.
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SOURCE Vaccinogen, Inc.
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