GAITHERSBURG, Md., April 4, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- MedImmune, Inc.
(Nasdaq: MEDI) announced today that George M. Milne Jr., Ph.D., has been
appointed to its board of directors. Dr. Milne retired from Pfizer, Inc. in
2002 as executive vice president of global research and development (R&D).
While at Pfizer, Dr. Milne held a number of other senior management positions,
including president of central research, with global responsibility for human
and veterinary medicine R&D. He currently serves on the boards of numerous
corporations and private organizations, including Mettler-Toledo,
International Inc., Charles River Laboratories, Inc., Conor Medsystems, Inc.,
Aspreva Pharmaceuticals, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, The
New York Botanical Garden and the Institute for Exploration. Since 2003, Dr.
Milne has also been a venture partner at Radius Ventures, a venture capital
firm focused on the life science industry.
Wayne T. Hockmeyer, Ph.D., MedImmune's chairman and founder, stated: "Dr.
Milne is an outstanding researcher and a proven leader in the pharmaceutical
industry with expertise in the areas of inflammation and infectious diseases.
His commitment to fostering advances in healthcare, coupled with his insights
into the potential to apply new tools and technologies to improve productivity
and efficiencies in the drug development process, will be a great advantage to
MedImmune."
Dr. Milne's addition to the board of directors increases the number of
independent directors from six to seven individuals. Dr. Milne is replacing
Melvin D. Booth who is retiring after seven years as a director. Mr. Booth
also served as president and chief operating officer for MedImmune until he
retired from that position on January 1, 2004. Upon his retirement from the
board, Mr. Booth will continue to contribute to the company through his
involvement with MedImmune Ventures, Inc.
"Mr. Booth has been a meaningful contributor to the growth of our
organization during his years as a MedImmune executive and board member," said
Dr. Hockmeyer. "I am pleased that he is now joining MedImmune Ventures where
he will assist in evaluating and managing new investments that align with
MedImmune's strategic goals."
About MedImmune Ventures, Inc.
MedImmune Ventures primarily seeks to invest in areas of strategic
interest to MedImmune, including infectious disease, immunology and oncology.
The fund, which was seeded with an initial $100 million in 2002, generally
invests up to $20 million per company with an average investment of $6 million
to $7 million. In February 2005, MedImmune's board allocated an additional
$100 million to the fund. The assessment of new investment opportunities is
conducted by a team of experts at MedImmune, led by Dr. Hockmeyer, that
includes members from the company's research and development, clinical, sales
and marketing, intellectual property, regulatory, corporate development, legal
and finance departments.
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 infectious disease,
cancer and inflammatory diseases. With approximately 2,000 employees
worldwide, MedImmune is headquartered in Maryland. For more information, visit
the company's website.
SOURCE MedImmune, Inc.
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