GAITHERSBURG, Md., Oct 19, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- MedImmune, Inc.
(Nasdaq: MEDI) announced today that it has promoted Edward Connor, M.D.,
formerly senior vice president of clinical development and chief medical
officer, to executive vice president and chief medical officer. In addition,
the company has appointed George Kemble, Ph.D., to vice president, viral
vaccines research and development, and general manager of MedImmune's
California facilities, and Dirk Reitsma, M.D., to vice president, clinical
development, oncology. MedImmune has also recently expanded its management
team with the additions of Mark Spring, vice president, finance and
controller, and Sam Yonren, M.D., vice president, product safety.
"Ed's promotion reflects his many contributions to MedImmune's success
over the past 10 years," said David M. Mott, president and chief executive
officer at MedImmune. "His dedication as a physician to our corporate mission
of advancing science for better health has helped to solidify MedImmune's
position as a leader in the biotech industry and in bringing innovative and
improved products to market."
As executive vice president and chief medical officer, Dr. Connor is
responsible for directing all medical activities for MedImmune, which include
clinical development, medical affairs and product safety. He also plays an
integral role in defining the strategic vision of the company.
Dr. Connor joined MedImmune in 1994 as director of clinical studies. He
has held positions of increasing responsibility for the last decade. Earlier
this year, Dr. Connor was appointed chief medical officer and was given
additional responsibilities for overseeing the medical affairs group. Prior
to joining MedImmune, Dr. Connor served as the chief of pediatric infectious
diseases, director of pediatric HIV research, and principal investigator of
the National Institutes of Health-funded pediatric AIDS clinical trials unit
at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. During that time,
Dr. Connor also served at a national level as chairman of the pediatric AIDS
clinical trials group and the perinatal HIV research committee. Dr. Connor
holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Villanova University in Villanova,
PA, and a doctorate from University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
"As MedImmune has grown, so has the breadth and depth of our management
team," Mott added. "I am pleased to recognize the hard work and
accomplishments of several of our leaders who have contributed to the
continued success of the company, whose talent and scientific expertise will
help fuel future growth."
Dr. George Kemble was promoted to vice president, viral vaccines research
and development, and general manager of MedImmune's California facilities in
August 2004. After working as a staff scientist and senior scientist, Dr.
Kemble was promoted to director of research in 1999, and senior director in
2002. Over the past 11 years, Dr. Kemble has been critically involved in
several programs within the company including the basic mechanisms of
attenuation and immunogenicity for FluMist(R) (Influenza Virus Vaccine Live,
Intranasal), as well as a vaccine to prevent mental retardation and hearing
loss in newborns caused by cytomegalovirus. Dr. Kemble holds a bachelor of
science in biology from Santa Clara University and a doctorate degree from the
department of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University.
Dr. Dirk Reitsma was appointed vice president, clinical development,
oncology in September 2004. He joined MedImmune as senior director in 2003
after a substantial career in oncology drug development at Novartis
Pharmaceuticals. Since joining MedImmune he has served in a number of
capacities in the oncology group including project director for the Vitaxin(R)
program in prostate cancer. Recently, Dr. Reitsma was appointed acting head
of oncology and has provided clinical development leadership to all of the
active oncology clinical programs. Dr. Reitsma received a bachelor's degree
in science from the Medical Faculty of Rotterdam and a medical degree from
Erasmus University in The Netherlands.
Mark Spring recently joined MedImmune as vice president, finance and
controller, with more than 20 years of experience in the finance and
accounting industry. He comes to MedImmune from Baxter International, Inc.,
where he was vice president, finance, global renal division, which included
responsibility for global financial reporting, analysis, budgeting and
forecasting for the division, and financial support for the global sales and
marketing, research and development, and manufacturing teams. As vice
president and controller at MedImmune, Mr. Spring is responsible for all
accounting operations, internal and external financial reporting, and finance
business support for commercial operations, research and development, and
manufacturing. Earlier in his career, Mr. Spring held senior finance
leadership roles at Dade Behring, Caremark and Price Waterhouse. Mr. Spring
holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Monmouth College and
is a certified public accountant.
Dr. Sam Yonren joined MedImmune as vice president, product safety,
reporting to Dr. Connor. Prior to joining MedImmune, Dr. Yonren was senior
director and head, product safety and risk management at Millennium
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Previously, Dr. Yonren held positions at Transkaryotic
Therapies, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer Central Research, Middlesex
University Hospital in London and was a clinical investigator in the AIDS
clinical trials unit at New York University. Dr. Yonren received his medical
training at the University of Lagos, Nigeria and Royal College of Physicians
in Ireland. He also received a certification in epidemiology and infection
control from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
About MedImmune, Inc.
MedImmune strives to provide better medicines to patients, new medical
options for physicians, rewarding careers to employees, and increased value to
shareholders. Dedicated to advancing science and medicine to help people live
better lives, the company is focused on the areas of pediatric infectious
diseases, cancer and inflammatory diseases. With approximately 1,900
employees worldwide, MedImmune is headquartered in Maryland. For more
information, visit the company's website at http://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.
Media: Jamie Lacey, +1-301-398-4035, or Investors: Peter Vozzo,
+1-301-398-4358, or John Filler, +1-301-398-4086, all of MedImmune, Inc.
http://www.medimmune.com