GAITHERSBURG, Md., Sep 8, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- MedImmune, Inc.
(Nasdaq: MEDI) announced today that it has promoted the following executives,
reflecting their expanded responsibilities: Edward J. Arcuri, Ph.D., senior
vice president, manufacturing operations; William Bertrand, J.D., vice
president, general counsel and corporate compliance officer; Peter A. Kiener,
D.Phil., vice president, research; Bernardus N.M. Machielse, senior vice
president, quality; and Caroline York, vice president, government affairs and
reimbursement. MedImmune also announced that David W. Robinson has joined the
company as vice president, oncology sales and marketing.
"As a result of MedImmune's continued growth, we have conducted a careful
examination of our business functions with an eye toward efficiency and
coordination across the business," said David M. Mott, the company's chief
executive officer. "We have created consolidated leadership roles within the
manufacturing, quality and research departments. We have also elevated the
role of the legal department, creating a new general counsel position, and
have created two new vice president-level functions within our growing sales
and marketing organization. It is gratifying that we are able to promote such
high-caliber individuals from within the company and to attract an individual
from the outside with the talent and experience that David Robinson brings."
Edward J. Arcuri, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Manufacturing Operations
As senior vice president, manufacturing operations, Dr. Edward J. Arcuri
oversees the manufacturing and supply chain functions for MedImmune, including
those involved in both antibody and vaccine production. Dr. Arcuri joined
MedImmune in January 2002 as part of the acquisition of Aviron and prior to
his promotion had responsibility for vaccine manufacturing. At Aviron, he had
most recently served as senior vice president and chief operating officer.
Prior to joining Aviron in 1999, he held several positions of increasing
responsibility at North American Vaccine, Inc., SmithKline Beecham, and Merck
& Co. Dr. Arcuri has more than 20 years' experience in manufacturing and
process development, and holds a bachelor of science degree in biology from
the State University of New York at Albany and both a master's and doctorate
in biology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
"I am pleased with Ed's leadership of our FluMist manufacturing operations
since he joined us in January last year, and look forward to his expanded role
in managing our manufacturing and supply chain operations across the entire
company," said Mott.
William Bertrand, J.D., Vice President, General Counsel, & Corporate
Compliance Officer
"Bill Bertrand has done a tremendous job of building our legal department
since he joined us 18 months ago, and has made significant contributions to
many areas of the business. In his new role, Bill becomes our first general
counsel and will have responsibility for managing all corporate and patent law
matters, as well as for overseeing our corporate compliance activities," said
Mott.
Mr. Bertrand joined MedImmune in February 2002 from Pharmacia Corporation
where he held a variety of positions over his four-year tenure within the
legal department, most recently holding the title of associate general
counsel. In that role, Mr. Bertrand was responsible for global legal support
for various Pharmacia products. His experience at Pharmacia also included
advertising and promotion review, pricing issues, federal and state
governmental legislative issues, contract negotiation and drafting, and fraud
and abuse prevention and training. Prior to his experience at Pharmacia, Mr.
Bertrand was in private practice with a large Michigan-based law firm. He has
a bachelor's degree in biology from Wayne State University and a juris
doctorate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Peter Kiener, D.Phil., Vice President, Research
In his expanded role as vice president of research, Dr. Peter Kiener will
now oversee research operations at the MedImmune Vaccines facility in Mountain
View, California in addition to his prior responsibilities directing
MedImmune's Gaithersburg, Maryland-based research operations. Prior to
joining MedImmune two years ago, Dr. Kiener spent 17 years with Bristol Myers
Squibb (BMS), most recently holding the title of director, immunology,
inflammation, and pulmonary drug discovery. Dr. Kiener received a doctor of
philosophy degree in biochemistry from University of Oxford and a bachelor of
science degree from Lancaster University. He has authored or co-authored 78
scientific publications.
"This is an exciting time for MedImmune's research organization with new
products entering the clinic, on average, at a rate of one per quarter over
the next two years," said Mott. "We look to Peter to drive the focus, hard
work, collaboration and coordination of research efforts, promoting a strong
interaction among scientists at our two research sites."
Bernardus N.M. Machielse, Senior Vice President, Quality
"The promotion of Ben Machielse to senior vice president reflects his
significant contributions to MedImmune, the tremendous growth of the quality
organization and MedImmune's strong commitment to quality assurance, quality
control, validation, and compliance operations," Mott said.
Since joining MedImmune in May 1999, Mr. Machielse has led the growth of
the quality department from 80 to more than 300 people, including the
incorporation of the quality-related activities from the U.S. Bioscience and
Aviron acquisitions. Throughout his tenure, Mr. Machielse has been an
important contributor to successful regulatory inspections, playing an
important role in the approval of FluMist(TM) (Influenza Virus Vaccine Live,
Intranasal) and promoting positive relations between the company and
regulatory authorities.
Prior to joining MedImmune, Mr. Machielse was vice president of quality
control and quality assurance for Xoma Corporation of Berkeley, CA. He also
spent several years in various manufacturing and quality positions at Centocor
BV in the Netherlands. Mr. Machielse holds a bachelor of science degree in
medical biology and a master of science degree in biochemistry from the
University of Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Caroline York, Vice President, Government Affairs & Reimbursement
As vice president, government affairs and reimbursement, Caroline York is
responsible for MedImmune's growing government affairs presence, reimbursement
strategies for marketed products, and sales and marketing compliance
processes. Ms. York has more than 17 years of healthcare experience with
companies such as Covance Health Economics & Outcomes Services. She holds a
master's degree in administration, with a specialization in healthcare, from
University of Maryland - University College.
"Since joining MedImmune in 1997 as manager of reimbursement," said Mott,
"Caroline has consistently exceeded expectations in her various roles as
senior manager, director and senior director. In the last twelve months, she
has built an impressive government affairs department while maintaining
oversight of the company's reimbursement strategy."
David W. Robinson, Vice President, Oncology Sales & Marketing
David Robinson joins MedImmune from GenVec, Inc. where he directed the
business development, licensing and marketing functions, while also leading
the development team for the company's oncology gene therapy product
candidate. Prior to GenVec, Mr. Robinson spent more than 17 years at
GlaxoSmithKline culminating with his role as vice president, oncology sales,
where he led a team of over 200 sales people that generated over $1.3 billion
in revenues. Mr. Robinson holds a bachelor of science degree in business
administration from Appalachian State University.
Said Mott, "David's significant experience in building world-class sales
and marketing organizations, especially in the oncology arena, will be a
strong asset to the growing MedImmune Oncology organization."
About MedImmune, Inc.
MedImmune is a leading biotechnology company focused on researching,
developing and commercializing products to prevent or treat infectious
disease, autoimmune disease and cancer. MedImmune actively markets four
products, Synagis(R) (palivizumab), FluMist(TM) (Influenza Virus Vaccine Live,
Intranasal), Ethyol(R) (amifostine) and CytoGam(R) (cytomegalovirus immune
globulin intravenous (human)), and has additional products in clinical
testing. MedImmune employs approximately 1,700 people, is headquartered in
Gaithersburg, Maryland, and has additional operations in Frederick, Maryland,
as well as Pennsylvania, California, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
For more information on the company, visit MedImmune's website at
www.medimmune.com.
This announcement may contain, in addition to historical information,
certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Such
statements reflect management's current views and are based on certain
assumptions. Actual results could differ materially from those currently
anticipated as a result of a number of factors, including risks and
uncertainties discussed in MedImmune's filings with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission. The company is developing several products for potential
future marketing. There can be no assurance that such development efforts
will succeed, that such products will receive required regulatory clearance or
that, even if such regulatory clearance were received, such products would
ultimately achieve commercial success.
SOURCE MedImmune, Inc.
Investors: Will Roberts, +1-301-527-4358 or John Filler,
+1-240-632-4086, or Media: Jamie Lacey, +1-240-632-4035, all of MedImmune
http://www.medimmune.com