Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Announces Leadership Changes
December 19 2014 - 8:50AM
Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation (Nasdaq:TKMR) (TSX:TKM), a
leading developer of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics,
announced today the appointment of Mr. Richard C. Henriques, Jr. to
the Company's Board of Directors. He will also be a member of the
Audit Committee.
Mr. Richard C. Henriques, Jr. recently served as Chief Financial
Officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In this role,
Mr. Henriques was responsible for finance, strategy and information
technology. Mr. Henriques's previous experience includes more than
25 years with Merck & Co. Inc. During this time, he held
several executive leadership positions in Finance for the Global
Human Health Division and other Global Operations in the United
States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa,
Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Mr. Henriques holds a BA in
Oriental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA
with a concentration in Finance from the Wharton School of
Business.
Dr. Mark J. Murray, Tekmira's President and CEO, said "We are
extremely pleased to add Richard to our Board of Directors. He
brings a wealth of experience in corporate governance, strategic
planning and global financial operations. We look forward to
working with Richard as we accelerate our growth as a leading RNAi
company."
The Company also announced that Dr. Ian MacLachlan, Executive
Vice President and Chief Technical Officer, will be resigning from
the Company, effective Dec 31, 2014. "Ian has been an instrumental
member of our leadership team since the very early days of our
Company. Over the years he led many of the developments in our LNP
technology, and most recently led our efforts to develop an
anti-Ebola virus therapeutic. We thank him for his important
contributions and dedicated service to Tekmira and we wish him well
in his future endeavors," said Dr. Mark J. Murray, Tekmira's
President and CEO. Dr. MacLachlan will maintain a consulting
relationship with the Company going forward.
About RNAi and Tekmira's LNP
RNAi therapeutics have the potential to treat a number of human
diseases by "silencing" disease causing genes. The discoverers of
RNAi, a gene silencing mechanism used by all cells, were awarded
the 2006 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. RNAi trigger
molecules often require delivery technology to be effective as
therapeutics. Tekmira believes its LNP technology represents the
most advanced and widely adopted delivery technology for the
systemic delivery of RNAi triggers. Tekmira's LNP platform is being
utilized in multiple clinical trials in various disease areas by
Tekmira and its partners. Tekmira's LNP technology (formerly
referred to as stable nucleic acid-lipid particles or SNALP)
encapsulates RNAi triggers with high efficiency in uniform lipid
nanoparticles that are effective in delivering these therapeutic
compounds to disease sites. Tekmira's LNP formulations are
manufactured by a proprietary method which is robust, scalable and
highly reproducible, and LNP-based products have been reviewed by
multiple regulatory agencies for use in clinical trials. LNP
formulations comprise several lipid components that can be adjusted
to suit the specific application.
About Tekmira
Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation is a biopharmaceutical
company focused on advancing novel RNAi therapeutics and providing
its leading lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology to
pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners. Tekmira has been working
in the field of nucleic acid delivery for over a decade, and has
broad intellectual property covering its delivery technology.
Further information about Tekmira can be found at www.tekmira.com.
Tekmira is based in Vancouver, Canada and Seattle, USA.
Forward-Looking Statements and Information
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" or
"forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable
securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements").
Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements
about Tekmira's strategy, future operations, clinical trials,
prospects, the plans of management, and RNAi (ribonucleic acid
interference) product development programs.
With respect to the forward-looking statements contained in this
news release, Tekmira has made numerous assumptions regarding,
among other things: LNP's status as a leading RNAi delivery
technology. While Tekmira considers these assumptions to be
reasonable, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant
business, economic, competitive, market and social uncertainties
and contingencies.
Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors which
could cause Tekmira's actual results, performance or achievements
to be materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements
contained herein. Known risk factors include, among others:
Tekmira's research and development capabilities and resources will
not meet current or expected demand; the possibility that other
organizations have made advancements in RNAi delivery technology
that Tekmira is not aware of; difficulties or delays in the
progress, timing and results of clinical trials; pre-clinical and
clinical trials may be more costly or take longer to complete than
anticipated; pre-clinical or clinical trials may not generate
results that warrant future development of the tested drug
candidate; and the possibility that Tekmira has not sufficiently
budgeted for expenditures necessary to carry out planned
activities.
A more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties facing
Tekmira appears in Tekmira's annual report on Form 10K and
Tekmira's continuous disclosure filings, which are available at
www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements
herein are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary
statement, and Tekmira disclaims any obligation to revise or update
any such forward-looking statements or to publicly announce the
result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements
contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments,
except as required by law.
CONTACT: Investors
Julie P. Rezler
Director, Investor Relations
Phone: 604-419-3200
Email: jrezler@tekmira.com
Media
Please direct all media inquiries to media@tekmira.com
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