GAITHERSBURG, Md., Feb. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- MedImmune today announced that
it has strengthened its leadership in research, human resources (HR) and
regulatory affairs with three key promotions and has also hired a new head of
vaccine manufacturing. Peter A. Kiener, D. Phil. has been appointed to
executive vice president, research; Katy Strei to vice president, people and
organization development, HR; and Eileen Valenta to vice president, operations
and compliance, regulatory affairs. In addition, Shou-Bai Chao, Ph.D. has
recently joined the company as vice president of vaccine manufacturing.
"As MedImmune prepares for the next phase of its corporate growth --
including dramatic acceleration within its product portfolio, it is imperative
that we have strong leadership at the helm of all aspects of our business, but
particularly within the research, HR and regulatory affairs functions," said
David M. Mott, chief executive officer and president.
"Peter is now driving forward our global research efforts, which span from
our core antibody research center in Maryland's biotech corridor to our
discovery and development center in Cambridge, UK to our vaccine research
facilities in the San Francisco Bay area of California. Katy is ensuring that
we have the right people -- with the right skills -- at the right time, which
is critical for us to deliver on the promise of our pipeline. Eileen's
contributions will grow significantly with our maturing product portfolio and
its need for regulatory affairs and compliance oversight. And, as we carry
forward the potential next-generation of innovative vaccines, Shou-Bai is a
welcome addition to the organization," Mott added.
Management Promotions
Dr. Peter Kiener has been promoted from senior vice president, research to
executive vice president, research, overseeing all global research activities
for the company. Since joining MedImmune in 2001, Dr. Kiener has made expert
and strategic contributions in supervising MedImmune's rapidly expanding
product portfolio, particularly in the areas of cancer and inflammatory
disease research as well as translational sciences. Prior to joining
MedImmune, Dr. Kiener spent 18 years with Bristol-Myers Squibb's (BMS)
Pharmaceutical Research Division, finally holding the position of director,
immunology, inflammation, pulmonary and oncology drug discovery at the BMS
facility in Princeton, NJ. Before his employment at Bristol-Myers, Dr. Kiener
previously served as assistant professor at the University of North
Texas/Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine's Department of Anatomy; as a
research associate at the Department of Biochemistry, University of
Massachusetts (Amherst); and as a postdoctoral research assistant, Medical
Research Council, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford.
Dr. Kiener holds a bachelor of science degree with honors in chemistry from
Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK, and a doctorate of philosophy in
biochemistry from the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, Oxford University,
Oxford, UK.
Ms. Katy Strei, who has been promoted from senior director, corporate
capabilities to vice president, people and organization development within
MedImmune's human resources function, brings nearly 20 years strategic
leadership and talent development experience to her role at MedImmune. She is
responsible for the strategy and implementation of the company's key people
processes and programs, including performance management, succession planning
and leadership development. In addition she oversees training and development
initiatives. Prior to joining MedImmune in 2005, Ms. Strei served as director
of executive development for Fannie Mae and had served in various training and
organization development roles at ManorCare Health Services and Sallie Mae.
She holds an undergraduate degree in sociology from Lawrence University; a
master's in organization development from American University; and completed
the leadership coaching program at Georgetown University.
Ms. Eileen Valenta has been promoted from senior director, product
promotion review, regulatory affairs to vice president, operations and
compliance, regulatory affairs. In her expanded role, she is responsible for
guiding product promotion review and for ensuring that overall operations of
the regulatory affairs group are compliant with federal guidelines and
consistent with the company's global regulatory strategy. Prior to joining
MedImmune in 2005, Ms. Valenta served as senior director, global regulatory
affairs specializing in advertising and promotion for Baxter Healthcare
Corporation, where she developed and managed promotional standards and
processes and drove strategy for promotional efforts in the U.S. and Europe.
Throughout her career she has served in regulatory affairs roles at Takeda
Pharmaceuticals North America, Wellmark International and Schering Plough
Animal Health Corporation (formerly Mallinckrodt Veterinary, Inc.). Ms.
Valenta earned a bachelor of science degree in biology from Colorado State
University and a master of business administration degree from the Lake Forest
Graduate School of Management. She is a member of the Drug Information
Association, Food and Drug Law Institute and the Regulatory Affairs
Professional Society.
New Leadership
As the newest senior addition, Dr. Shou-Bai Chao joins MedImmune as vice
president of vaccine manufacturing, responsible for all aspects of global
vaccine manufacturing and supply. Dr. Chao will also contribute to MedImmune's
commitments to pandemic preparedness. Prior to joining the company, Dr. Chao
most recently served as assistant vice president, technical operations and
product supply at Wyeth Biotech, where he gained experience bringing
FluMist(R) (Influenza Virus Vaccine Live, Intranasal) through development at
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. He was also responsible for global technical operations
for the flagship vaccine, Prevnar(R). He brings comprehensive perspective with
more than 15 years experience at Wyeth, Sanofi-Pasteur and Philom Bios in
global vaccine and bio/pharmaceutical process and product development,
manufacturing operations and quality assurance. Dr. Chao earned his doctorate
and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Industrial Biotechnology
Center, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
About MedImmune
MedImmune strives to provide better medicines to patients, new medical
options for physicians and rewarding careers to employees. Dedicated to
advancing science and medicine to help people live better lives, the company
is focused on the areas of infectious diseases; cancer; inflammatory diseases;
cardiovascular and metabolic diseases; pain and central nervous system
disorders and gastrointestinal diseases. With approximately 3,000 employees
worldwide and headquarters in Maryland, MedImmune is wholly owned by
AstraZeneca plc (LSE: AZN.L, NYSE: AZN). For more information, visit
MedImmune's website at www.medimmune.com.
SOURCE MedImmune
CONTACT: Media, Jamie Lacey, +1-301-398-4035, or Investors, Peter Vozzo,
+1-301-398-4358, both of MedImmune