Biopharmaceuticals Personnel

 News Release - March 23, 2007

David Taylor, MD, Joins VaxInnate as Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Taylor's Extensive Experience in Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research Will Support Advancement of Avian and Seasonal Influenza, malaria vaccines

CRANBURY, N.J.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--VaxInnate announced today the appointment of David N. Taylor, MD as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Formerly CMO and VP, Medical Affairs for Salix Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Taylor is an internationally-recognized authority in infectious disease and vaccine research, and brings to VaxInnate over 22 years of expertise gained from his distinguished service with the U.S. military. As VaxInnate CMO, Dr. Taylor will oversee all clinical and medical operations of the company as it advances the development of its vaccines for human and avian flu, malaria, and other prophylactic and therapeutic applications.

"David is joining VaxInnate at a pivotal time in the evolution of vaccine development, and a particularly exciting time at VaxInnate. Using recombinant DNA techniques to develop vaccines for seasonal and pandemic flu, and also malaria, VaxInnate has the potential to help tackle several key issues facing the clinical and public health communities," said Alan Shaw, President and CEO of VaxInnate. "We expect David's expertise in infectious diseases will add tremendous value to our vaccine programs as we complete pre-clinical research and prepare to advance our human and avian flu vaccine candidates through clinical trials and to market."

As CMO, Dr. Taylor will provide the clinical insight and expertise in the vaccine and infectious disease fields to advance and elevate the use of the company's TLR technology platform to produce vaccines by simple, low-cost, highly-scalable recombinant DNA techniques. The company's TLR technology enhances the immunogenicity of a series of antigens, which can be combined into a number of different influenza products. In addition, the manufacturing process for such vaccines is clean, highly efficient and scalable, and helps to avoid the pitfalls of egg-based or cell-culture influenza vaccine production.

"VaxInnate is in a position to positively impact public health through breakthroughs in vaccine development and manufacturing, so it is certainly an exciting opportunity to be able to actively drive the development of the company's vaccine programs," said Dr. Taylor. "VaxInnate's proprietary technology has the potential to dramatically improve the vaccine and infectious disease landscapes in terms of both potency and production capabilities for the national and international communities. Joining VaxInnate is a natural fit for me, as my career path in both medicine and public service aligns well with the company's goal to meet urgent public health needs."

Prior to his role at Salix Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Taylor served as Research Professor in the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. During his career with the U.S. Public Health Service and U.S. Army, he served in a number of positions in the Division of Communicable Diseases and Immunology at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), including acting Division Director, Clinical Director, Department of Enteric Infections, as well as founder and first Chief of the Department of Clinical Trials. Dr. Taylor also served at the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences in Bangkok, Thailand, and was Director of the Cholera Vaccine Project at the Naval Medical Research Institute detachment in Lima, Peru. Dr. Taylor has authored over 200 publications, and received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School.

About VaxInnate

VaxInnate is a privately-held biotechnology company focused on developing novel, proprietary vaccines for both pandemic and seasonal influenza. The company's Toll-like receptor (TLR) technology platform allows for genetic engineering of the vaccines using recombinant DNA techniques. This technology physically links TLR agonists to vaccine antigens, which allows the conjugated vaccine to trigger an adaptive immune response. VaxInnate is using its TLR platform technology to enhance the immunogenicity of a series of antigens which will be combined into a number of different influenza products. The technology platform is also being investigated for development of vaccines for other diseases. For more information on VaxInnate, please visit http://www.vaxinnate.com.

Source: VaxInnate

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