GAITHERSBURG, Md., Dec. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boston Biomedica, Inc. (Nasdaq: BBII) announced today the appointment of Ronald J. Saldarini Ph.D. to its Board of Directors. Dr. Saldarini recently retired as President of Wyeth-Lederle Vaccines and Pediatrics, a business unit of American Home Products (AHP). At AHP he was responsible for the planning, coordination and strategic direction of their global vaccine and biological products businesses. Prior to AHP's acquisition of American Cyanamid in 1994, Dr. Saldarini held a variety of senior management positions at American Cyanamid, including President and Chief Executive Officer of Lederle-Praxis Biologicals.
Dr. Graham Allaway, President and CEO of Panacos, said: "We are delighted to have someone of Dr. Saldarini's caliber join our team. He brings a wealth of pharmaceutical industry experience, including management of innovative drug and vaccine development programs from discovery through product approval to the international marketplace. Dr. Saldarini's expertise in global business strategy will also be invaluable to Panacos as we grow."
During his distinguished career, Dr. Saldarini has been responsible for the development and introduction of several new vaccine products including the first acellular pertussis vaccine available in the U.S., the first Haemophilus influenza type b conjugate vaccine available in the U.S. for use in infants, and the first Rotavirus vaccine for the prevention of rotavirus gastroenteritis. His many honorary appointments include having been a member of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, the National Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines, and the Health and Human Services' Blue Ribbon Commission for the selection of the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.
"Panacos's focus on novel therapeutic approaches for HIV infection and other viral diseases certainly makes this company stand out from the crowd," said Dr. Saldarini. "Their cutting-edge technology to target viral fusion holds great promise for the development of new classes of antiviral drugs and vaccines. I am looking forward to working with the Panacos management team to help expedite clinical development of their product portfolio and to maximize its commercial potential."
Dr. Saldarini received his Ph.D. in Physiology and Biochemistry from the University of Kansas. He was an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow at the UCLA School of Medicine's Brain Research Institute before joining American Cyanamid.
Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware Corporation, was recently formed as a vehicle to develop Boston Biomedica's pharmaceutical programs and to attract the larger amounts of capital that will be required to move these programs rapidly and efficiently through the clinical development pathway. It is Panacos' goal to raise capital from strategic partners and venture investors, and to become an independent company during 2000.
Panacos's programs include its Natural Products Platform that has resulted in several families of small molecule drug candidates targeting Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). The most advanced of these compounds potently inhibit HIV infection and have novel mechanisms of action compared with approved drugs. Panacos's goal is to file an IND during 2000 to initiate clinical trials of at least one of its natural product drug candidates. Panacos's Viral Fusion Inhibitor Platform is aimed at identifying novel therapeutics for a variety of medically important viral diseases by targeting the first step in virus infection, fusion to a human cell. The Company's Vaccine Platform utilizes a proprietary approach for the generation of vaccines against HIV and other viruses, based on "fusion active regions" of the viruses' surface proteins that are critical to the infection process.
Statements contained in this news release that state 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 Panacos's actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those projected include the possibility that due to unforeseen technical and other difficulties. Panacos may not be able to develop its current technology into commercially successful products, Boston Biomedica may not be able to successfully raise the capital required for the development of Panacos's product lines or may not be able to establish Panacos as an independent company or such establishment mahan currently expected. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained from time to time in Boston Biomedica's SEC filings, including but not limited to Boston Biomedica's report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998 and on Form 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, June 30 and September 30, 1999. Copies of these documents may be obtained by contacting Boston Biomedica or the SEC.
Visit us at our website http://www.panacos.com
SOURCE Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Web site: http: //www.panacos.com
CONTACT: Graham P. Allaway, Ph.D., President and CEO, or Richard T. Schumacher, Chairman, or William R. Prather, M.D., VP Corporate Development, all of Panacos Pharmaceuticals Inc., 240-631-1395
