Vaccinogen Elects Ronald Kaiser To Board Of Directors

FREDERICK, Md., Feb. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Vaccinogen, Inc., (OTC.QB: VGEN) a leading cancer immunotherapy company, announced today that Ronald W. Kaiser, a biotech executive leader with more than 35 years of financial and accounting expertise, has been elected to the company’s Board of Directors. Mr. Kaiser will also chair the company’s Audit Committee and serve on the company’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees.

“I’m delighted to be joining Vaccinogen’s Board of Directors,” said Mr. Kaiser. “This is a critical juncture in the company’s history as it works through the final stages of development for the first application of its OncoVAX® patient-specific cancer vaccine platform and simultaneously launches its fully human monoclonal antibody efforts.”

Mr. Kaiser has more than 35 years of multi-disciplinary experience in public and private finance, accounting, mergers and acquisitions and human resources, spanning diverse industries including specialty pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, transportation and information technology. He has led six IPOs that raised over $400 million on initial valuations totaling over $1.7 billion during his career. Mr. Kaiser has also served as an executive officer during the sales of five companies totaling over $1 billion.

Since 2008, he has served as a board member, Audit Committee chair and other committee member for Tangoe, Inc., a provider of Communication Life Cycle Management Services and, since the fall of 2012 as a board member, Audit Committee chair and other committee member for Acetylon Pharmaceuticals, a private cancer drug discovery company.

From 2009 to 2011, he served as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of MobileAccess Networks, Inc., a manufacturer and provider of mobile antenna technology, where he led the sale of the company to Corning Cable and Glass for a three-fold return on investment within a two-year period. Mr. Kaiser was previously the interim CFO and strategic consultant for Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he was charged with preparing the company for its IPO that resulted in a pre-money valuation of $500 million. As CFO and Treasurer for PharmAthene, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on countermeasures to terrorist biological threats, he established financial reporting and administrative departments within the company. In this role, he helped create, manage and drive government proposal processes, resulting in a $213 million contract from the Department of Defense.

In addition, Mr. Kaiser has held senior-level financial and management roles with American Communications Services, Inc. (ACSI), ADAK Communications, Inc., Charmilles Technology Manufacturing Corporation, Leeco Diagnostics, Inc., Somanetics Corporation, Photon Sources, Inc. and Deloitte Haskins & Sells (now Deloitte & Touche). Mr. Kaiser successfully managed the IPOs for OTG Software, Inc. and Trusted Information Systems, Inc. when he served as CFO and Treasurer. He holds dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in accounting and multi-disciplinary pre-law from Michigan State University.

“We are pleased to have Mr. Kaiser join the Vaccinogen Board. We are confident that with more than three decades of experience in building and managing successful companies he will be an enormous asset as we prepare for upcoming short- and long-term commercial and regulatory milestones for OncoVAX® and our proprietary fully human monoclonal antibody opportunities,” noted Andrew L. Tussing, Vaccinogen’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “His significant financial acumen, combined with his entrepreneurial spirit, will help us fulfill our mission to bring a first-in-class, highly personalized tumor vaccine to market and provide a new therapeutic option for millions of patients likely to experience recurrence of late-stage colon cancer and other malignancies that have been historically difficult to clinically manage.”

Vaccinogen Chairman of the Board, Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., MD, added, “We continue to add incredibly talented individuals to transform Vaccinogen’s board into a world-class group of biotechnology experts and business leaders. I am delighted that Ron is able to join our board and bring his great depth of experience in corporate governance and financial acumen to our team.”

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.