Healthcare Industry News: MannKind
News Release - May 25, 2006
Abraxis BioScience Bolsters Manufacturing and Global Operational Expertise With Key Senior Executives
LOS ANGELES--(HSMN NewsFeed)--May 25, 2006--Abraxis BioScience, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABBI ), an integrated, global biopharmaceutical company, today appointed three executives to its manufacturing and operational senior management ranks: Frank Harmon as executive vice president, global operations; Sam Trippie as senior vice president, manufacturing; and Jeff Silverman as vice president, operations integration and new technology development."Bolstering our manufacturing operations and global operational expertise has been of paramount importance and we are thrilled to add and promote senior executives with such a high caliber of experience and expertise," said Patrick Soon-Shiong, M.D., chairman and chief executive officer of Abraxis BioScience.
Harmon, joins Abraxis as executive vice president, global operations. In his role, Harmon will be responsible for overseeing the Global Manufacturing Operations as well as the Corporate Quality Assurance and Quality Control and the Supply Chain Organizations.
Harmon has approximately 30 years' experience within the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining Abraxis, he was the senior vice president, manufacturing operations for the Sterile Technologies Group at Cardinal Health where he was responsible for multiple sites throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. He has also served as vice president, biopharmaceutical operations for Aventis Behring. Harmon earned an MBA from St. Louis University and undergraduate B.S. degrees in Biology and Chemistry from Western Kentucky University.
Trippie, is being promoted to the position of senior vice president, manufacturing at Abraxis and will report to Harmon. In his role, Trippie will be responsible for the manufacturing operations in Chicago, Illinois; Grand Island, New York; Barceloneta, Puerto Rico; and Barbengo, Switzerland, as well as the SAP product material specifications, corporate engineering and packaging development.
Mr. Trippie joined the company in 1998 as vice president of manufacturing. He had previously served as vice president of manufacturing at Fujisawa USA, Inc., a pharmaceutical company. Prior to that, Mr. Trippie was vice president of manufacturing at Sanofi and held various positions in quality assurance and manufacturing at Baxter International. Trippie holds a B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Southwest Louisiana.
Silverman, joins Abraxis as vice president, operations integration and new technology development and will report to Harmon. In his role, Silverman will be responsible for technical support and product/process transfer as well as the evaluation of potential business opportunities to leverage Abraxis' broad and proprietary manufacturing capabilities. His deep experience at biologically based manufacturing companies such as Alpha Therapeutics, Cancervax and Cell Genesys provides a strong platform for the Abraxis biosimilar initiatives.
Silverman most recently served as vice president, manufacturing operations for CancerVax Corp., a biotechnology company focused on the development of cell based cancer vaccines. Prior to that, he served a similar role with Cell Genesys, Inc., with responsibility for technology transfer and production of oncolytic viruses and gene therapy products. Silverman spent several years with MannKind Corp. where he was focused on building the capital and technical infrastructure to develop and commercialize novel biologic solutions in the areas of allergy and diabetes. He held a number of management positions in the 20 years he spent at Alpha Therapeutics, primarily in the areas of Production Management, Engineering, and Technical Services. Silverman holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from California State University, Los Angeles, and an MBA from the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.
About Abraxis BioScience, Inc.
Abraxis BioScience, Inc. is an integrated global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to meeting the needs of critically ill patients. The company develops, manufactures and markets one of the broadest portfolios of injectable products and leverages revolutionary technology such as its nab(TM) platform to discover and deliver breakthrough therapeutics that transform the treatment of cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The first FDA approved product to use this nab platform, ABRAXANE®, was launched in 2005 for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. Abraxis trades on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol ABBI. For more information about the company and its products, please visit www.abraxisbio.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT
The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements regarding our expectations, beliefs, hopes, goals, intentions, initiatives or strategies, including statements regarding the expected cost benefits and the acceleration of the market penetration for ABRAXANE as a result of the co-promotion agreement, global expansion, and the accretive effect of these transactions to earnings. Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These factors include, without limitation, the continued market adoption and demand of ABRAXANE in North America and its potential market penetration outside of the U.S., the costs associated with the ongoing launch of ABRAXANE, the continued market acceptance of the new products acquired from AstraZeneca, AstraZeneca's ability to satisfy its obligations under the supply agreement, the difficulties or delays in developing, testing, obtaining regulatory approval of, and producing and marketing any other products, including those in the pipeline, the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation, the impact of competitive products and pricing, the availability and pricing of ingredients used in the manufacture of pharmaceutical products, the ability to successfully manufacture products in a time-sensitive and cost-effective manner, the acceptance and demand of new pharmaceutical products, the impact of patents and other proprietary rights held by competitors and other third parties. Additional relevant information concerning risks can be found in Abraxis BioScience's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 and other documents it has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Source: Abraxis BioScience
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