WEST BRIDGEWATER, Mass., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boston Biomedica, Inc. (Nasdaq: BBII) today announced the appointment of Mr. J. Donald Payne to the Company's Board of Directors effective Friday, January 2, 2004. In addition, the Company also announced that Mr. Payne will serve on the Board's Audit Committee as its Chairman.
Mr. Payne has been appointed to fill the Class II Board vacancy caused by the recent resignation of Mr. William A. Wilson. Mr. Wilson, a Board member since June 2001 and Chairman of the Board from February 2003 to October 2003, resigned on October 3rd to pursue other activities. Mr. Payne will serve the remainder of Mr. Wilson's Board term, which is set to expire at the 2004 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
About Mr. Payne
Since September 2001, Mr. Payne has been President and Director of Nanospectra Biosciences, Inc., an early-stage, privately-held medical device company developing products for cancer, ophthalmology, and bio-defense diagnostics. From September 1998 to May 2001, Mr. Payne served as Senior VP and CFO of Sensus Drug Development Corporation, a bio-pharmaceutical company sold to Pharmacia in 2001. Prior to Sensus, from March 1997 to September 1998, Mr. Payne served as VP and CFO of LifeCell Corporation, a publicly held bio-engineering company. From May 1992 to February 1997, Mr. Payne was VP Finance and CFO of Aprogenex, a biotech company engaged in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of medical device products using a proprietary DNA probe technology. Mr. Payne also worked for 10 years at UMC Petroleum Corporation and its predecessor entities, where he was CFO of its private and public entities. Prior to UMC, Mr. Payne worked for Arthur Andersen in audits of public and private companies.
Mr. Payne graduated summa cum laude from Texas A&M University in May 1976 with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. Mr. Payne also graduated summa cum laude from the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Administration at Rice University in May 1992 with a Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA). He is a Certified Public Accountant in Texas, and a member of the AICPA and Financial Executives Institute.
Mr. R. Wayne Fritzsche, Chairman of the Board of Boston Biomedica, Inc., commented: "We are very pleased that Don has joined the BBI Board, and further pleased that he has agreed to chair our Audit Committee. Don brings with him an extensive background in accounting and finance in the life sciences field, experience that will be extremely useful as we continue to work with our investment bank and others in our goal to increase shareholder value. In addition, his operating and management experience as President of a bioscience company, and his work with several privately-held life sciences companies, makes Don a rare and opportune find for the Company. We feel that this experience will serve all BBI stakeholders well."
About Boston Biomedica, Inc.
BBI provides products and services to the diagnostics and life sciences industry to evaluate, monitor, and ensure the quality of infectious disease test results, to improve the preparation of specimens for genomic/proteomic testing, and to safely store and retrieve rare and valuable biological specimens. The Company also manufactures reagents used in test kits and provides a broad range of routine and esoteric research services to governments and industry. BBI operates in three states, and conducts research in new applications for our patented Pressure Cycling Technology (PCT). In 2000, the Company launched Panacos Pharmaceuticals and maintains a significant passive investment in this novel antiviral drug development company.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements contained in this news release regarding the Company's or management's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future are "forward-looking'' statements. It is important to note that the Company's actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that Boston Biomedica will have future growth, that shareholder value will be increased, or that Mr. Payne will have a significant impact on the success of the Company. Mr. Payne's appointment as a Director is expected to expire on the date of the 2004 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and there can be no assurance he will be reelected to the Board at that meeting. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, and risk factors, are contained in the Company's recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002, and on Form 10-Q's for the quarters ended March 31, June 30, and September 30, 2003. Copies of these documents may be obtained by contacting the Company or the SEC at www.sec.gov.
Visit us at our website http://www.bbii.com
Please email us at IR@bbii.com if you prefer to receive future announcements electronically
Investor Contact:
R. Wayne Fritzsche, Chairman
Kevin W. Quinlan, President & COO
Boston Biomedica, Inc.
(508) 580-1900 (T)
(508) 580-1110 (F)
SOURCE Boston Biomedica, Inc.