MEDIA RELEASE PR35301
NeoStem, Inc. Appoints International Expert in Endocrinology and Pharmacology as Vice President
of Drug Development and Regulatory Affairs
NEW YORK, July 6 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
NeoStem, Inc. (Amex: NBS), which is pioneering the pre-disease
collection, processing and long-term storage of adult stem cells for future
medical need, announced today it has appointed Alan G. Harris, M.D., Ph.D.,
FACP, FRCP, as the Company's Vice President of Drug Development and
Regulatory Affairs.
Among his responsibilities in this position will be overseeing NeoStem's
therapeutic development activities and interfacing with the Chairman of the
Scientific Advisory Board to assist in the execution of the Company's
scientific vision. This will include overseeing the Company's regulatory
activities, working to advance NeoStem's intellectual property portfolio and
licensed technologies, assisting in the development of a chronic wound care
program and developing a regulatory pathway for commercializing stem cell
therapy, including assisting in developing very small embryonic like (VSEL)
stem cell therapy in multiple clinical indications. Upon the completion of
the Company's proposed acquisition of a 51% interest in Suzhou Erye
Pharmaceuticals Company, Ltd., which the Company anticipates closing no later
than the fourth quarter of 2009, Dr. Harris is expected to assist in bringing
new drugs to China to enhance Erye's pipeline in an effort to increase
revenues and provide a higher margin business through their already
established 30 province distribution.
Dr. Harris has over 20 years of experience working in clinical drug
development in multiple therapeutic areas in the pharmaceutical and
biotechnology industries, having conducted and overseen numerous clinical
trials in over 30 countries including China. He was recently Senior VP of R&D
and Chief Medical Officer at NPS Pharmaceuticals in NJ, where he successfully
launched two Phase III registration programs in Gastroenterology and
Endocrinology. Previously he served as Chief Medical Officer at Manhattan
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., after serving as Therapeutic Head of the Worldwide
Medical Endocrine Care group at Pfizer Inc, New York and, earlier, as Vice
President, Global Healthcare Research & Outcomes and Senior Director of
Medical & Scientific Affairs at Schering-Plough Corp., NJ, where he was
involved in the joint venture with Merck in the clinical development of the
novel cholesterol medication, ezetimibe (Zetia). Dr. Harris earned his MD
from the Louis Pasteur Faculty of Medicine, University of Strasbourg, France,
and his Ph.D. in endocrinology from Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The
Netherlands. He was appointed Associate Professor of Medicine at UCLA School
of Medicine and Director of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology in the
Department of Medicine and Medical Director of the Dept of Technology
Development and Transfer and Clinical Trials at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Dr. Harris during his tenure at Sandoz (Novartis) Pharma in Switzerland,
developed octreotide (Sandostatin(R)) for the treatment of hormone producing
tumors of the gut and pituitary. He is currently Adjunct Professor of
Pharmacology at NYU Medical School and Visiting Professor of Medicine in the
Dept of Endocrinology at Liege University Medical School, Belgium and in the
Dept of Clinical Pharmacology at the University Hospital of Lausanne in
Switzerland. Dr. Harris is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians,
the Royal College of Physicians (UK), the Royal Society of Medicine (UK) and
the American College of Clinical Pharmacology. He has served on the editorial
boards of several international peer reviewed medical journals and has
authored 119 peer reviewed scientific papers in the fields of endocrinology,
diabetes mellitus, gastroenterology, oncology, cardiology, allergy,
immunology and respiratory medicine. He served on the NIH Center for
Scientific Review Special Emphasis Panel for Clinical Cardiovascular Sciences
Study Section and is currently a Trustee of the NYU Hospital for Joint
Diseases.
Robin Smith, M.D., MBA, NeoStem's Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are
extremely pleased to have Dr. Harris join our management team at NeoStem. His
extensive achievements in the academic and entrepreneurial worlds of medicine
indicate the range of his talents that will support the multifaceted growth
of our company that we anticipate over the coming years."
Dr. Harris stated, "I look forward very much to working with Dr. Smith
and her team on the exciting and creative medical and business opportunities
that NeoStem has under way, both in the United States and abroad. This is an
extraordinary young company with great potential for leadership in the
burgeoning field of stem cell therapies, and I'm delighted to play a part in
its development."
About NeoStem, Inc.
NeoStem is developing a network of adult stem cell collection centers
that are focused on enabling people to donate and store their own
(autologous) stem cells when they are young and healthy for their personal
use in times of future medical need. The Company has also entered into
research and development through the acquisition of a worldwide exclusive
license to technology to identify and isolate VSELs (very small
embryonic-like stem cells), which have been shown to have several physical
characteristics that are generally found in embryonic stem cells and is
pursuing other technologies to advance its position in the field of stem cell
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements reflect management's current expectations, as of the date of this
press release, and involve certain risks and uncertainties. The Company's
actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these
forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Factors that could
cause future results to materially differ from the recent results or those
projected in forward-looking statements include the "Risk Factors" described
in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2008 and the Company's other periodic filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company's further development is
highly dependent on future medical and research developments and market
acceptance, which is outside its control.
CONTACT:
NeoStem, Inc.
Robin Smith, Chief Executive Officer
T: 212-584-4180
E: rsmith@neostem.com
SOURCE: NeoStem, Inc.
CONTACT: Robin Smith
Chief Executive Officer of NeoStem, Inc.
+1-212-584-4180
rsmith@neostem.com
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