Healthcare Industry News: Metabasis Therapeutics
News Release - June 12, 2007
Metabasis Therapeutics Announces Election of George F. Schreiner to Its Board of Directors
SAN DIEGO--(HSMN NewsFeed)--Metabasis Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MBRX ), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs for the treatment of metabolic and liver diseases by targeting the liver and liver pathways, announced today that Dr. George F. Schreiner, chief executive officer of Raven Biotechnologies, Inc., was elected to the Company's Board of Directors at its annual shareholder meeting held on June 1, 2007. Dr. Schreiner brings to Metabasis extensive key executive management and drug discovery and development experience amassed during his career in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, as well as from his years in academic medicine.Dr. Schreiner joined Raven Biotechnologies, Inc., a private biotechnology company focused on the discovery and clinical development of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies directed against cancer targets, in 2006. Before joining Raven, Dr. Schreiner served for nearly 10 years in executive management roles at Scios, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company and now a member of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies. He joined Scios in 1997 as vice president of cardio-renal research and served on the corporate management committee until 2000, when he was promoted to chief scientific officer and vice president. In that role, he was responsible for all research operations, preclinical development and strategic clinical planning at Scios.
In 2003, his role at Scios expanded to include chief medical officer and senior vice president of research and development. Dr. Schreiner served as president of Scios from 2004 until his departure from the company in 2006. While at Scios, he also joined several of Johnson & Johnson's senior committees, including the Drug Evaluation Committee, the New Product Development Committee, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Development Committee.
Before his tenure at Scios, Dr. Schreiner was one of four scientific founders of CV Therapeutics, Inc., where he was vice president, Medical Science, and Preclinical Research. In that role, he participated in all phases of drug development from the bench to the bedside.
Dr. Schreiner received an A.B. from Harvard College, an M.D. from Harvard Medical School and a Ph.D. from Harvard University. He is an inventor of numerous patents, an author of many publications, and is the recipient of several honors and appointments in the medical community.
In addition to announcing Dr. Schreiner's election to the Company's Board of Directors, Metabasis also announced that Dr. Heinz W. Gschwend's term as a member of the Company's Board of Directors concluded at the Company's annual shareholder meeting held on June 1, 2007. Dr. Gschwend joined Metabasis' Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Board in August 1999, bringing 33 years of experience in pharmaceutical research, drug discovery and development, as well as executive management and leadership in the field.
"Dr. Schreiner's background in drug discovery and development, and corporate strategic planning will be of great value to the Board of Directors and the Company," stated David Hale, Chairman of the Board at Metabasis. "His familiarity with the unique challenges and opportunities in building a biopharmaceutical company with a clear strategic focus will be of great assistance to Metabasis in its next stage of growth."
"We are very pleased that Dr. Schreiner will be joining Metabasis' Board of Directors," said Dr. Paul Laikind, Metabasis' president and chief executive officer. "His strong leadership skills, experience in building a successful biotechnology company and unique perspective on the industry will be a tremendous asset as we continue to develop Metabasis into a leading biopharmaceutical company. Moreover, as I welcome George to the Board, I want to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Gschwend for his eight years of service on the Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Board. During his tenure, he contributed invaluable insight and guidance to our team. The entire Metabasis team wishes him the best in all of his future endeavors."
About Metabasis (www.mbasis.com):
Metabasis Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs to address some of the world's most widespread and costly chronic diseases. By applying our proprietary technologies and scientific expertise, including unique capabilities for targeting the liver and liver pathways, the Company has established a pipeline that includes preclinical and clinical product candidates targeting metabolic diseases such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia and obesity, as well as liver diseases such as hepatitis and primary liver cancer. Metabasis has developed several proprietary technologies for use in discovering and optimizing drugs, including the NuMimetic(TM) and HepDirect® technologies. Metabasis is continuing to identify and develop new product candidates using its proprietary technologies and expertise.
Forward-Looking Statements:
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical in nature constitute "forward-looking statements." Such statements include, but are not limited to, references to the future growth and development of Metabasis. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause Metabasis' actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of Metabasis' Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the year ended March 31, 2007. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Metabasis is providing this information as of the date of this release and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Source: Metabasis Therapeutics
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