Dr. Frank J. Bellizzi Appointed President of Zila's Pharmaceutical Division; New President to Lead Zila Pharmaceuticals in Beco
May 25 2006 - 8:30AM
Business Wire
Zila, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZILA) has appointed Frank J. Bellizzi President
of its wholly owned subsidiary, Zila Pharmaceuticals, Inc., as well
as Executive Vice President of Business Development for Zila, Inc.
"Frank's clinical background in oral care combined with his
significant experience building and transforming businesses is
ideally suited for leading Zila's effort to dramatically grow our
cancer detection business," said Douglas D. Burkett, Ph.D.,
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Zila. "Making
ViziLite(R) Plus & OraTest(R) the gold standard for oral cancer
detection, is the first step in our strategy to globally expand our
product line to address other forms of cancer." Dr. Bellizzi has
over 15 years of experience, within and beyond the Life Science
industry, across operations, finance, strategic business
development and investment banking. Most recently, Dr. Bellizzi was
Managing Director of Indalo Ventures, a specialty advisory and
investment firm he founded to incubate, launch and scale emerging,
high growth businesses. Early in his career, Dr. Bellizzi founded
the Urban Dental Education Project, an oral care education program
serving the Philadelphia public school system. He was also involved
in new product development studies and product testing for Johnson
& Johnson, Colgate-Palmolive and Pfizer oral care products. In
several senior-level positions in private equity investing and
consulting, Dr. Bellizzi focused on major Life Science sectors such
as pharmaceuticals, medical devices and health systems. In 1993, as
a member of the management consulting firm Booz, Allen &
Hamilton's Health Industries Practice, he facilitated a number of
high-profile engagements, including the merger integration of two
leading West Coast health systems and the acquisition strategy for
a leading New York health system. In addition, as Chief Financial
Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Streampipe, a rich media
software company, he architected all aspects of the company's
growth and successful sale. "For over four decades statistics for
oral cancer have remained unchanged. Two-thirds of oral cancer is
detected at stage three or four, at which point the five-year
survival rate is only 57%. The gravity of this situation is
underscored by a recent American Cancer Society report that cited
an increase in incidences and deaths from oral cancer while death
rates for several other cancers decreased. Zila Pharmaceuticals'
ViziLite Plus is a breakthrough technology that has the potential
to save tens of thousands of lives every year," said Dr. Bellizzi.
"I am pleased to be joining Zila at this very important time in its
development and am honored to be able to lead a company that has
technology with the potential to dramatically alter the oral cancer
landscape." Among other accomplishments spanning a varied, almost
two decade-long career, he has been a consultant to the American
Hospital Association as well as Merck and Schering-Plough, an
advisor to the Czech Republic's Ministry of Health, and a special
assistant in the United States Department of Health & Human
Services. Dr. Bellizzi holds an MBA from The Wharton School, a
Doctorate in Dental Medicine from The University of Pennsylvania,
and a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgetown University. About
Zila, Inc. Zila, Inc., headquartered in Phoenix, is an innovator in
preventative healthcare technologies and products, focusing on
enhanced body defense and the detection of pre-disease states. Zila
has three business units: -- Zila Pharmaceuticals, marketer of
products to promote oral health and prevent oral disease, including
ViziLite(R) Plus oral examination kits and Peridex(R) prescription
periodontal rinse. -- Zila Biotechnology, a research, development
and licensing business specializing in pre-cancer/cancer detection
through its patented Zila(R) Tolonium Chloride and OraTest(R)
technologies. -- Zila Nutraceuticals, manufacturer and marketer of
Ester-C(R) and Ester-E(R), branded, highly effective forms of
Advanced Protection vitamins C and E. For more information about
Zila, visit www.zila.com. This press release contains
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are based largely on
Zila's expectations or forecasts of future events, can be affected
by inaccurate assumptions and are subject to various business risks
and known and unknown uncertainties, a number of which are beyond
the Company's control. Therefore, actual results could differ
materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein. A
wide variety of factors could cause or contribute to such
differences and could adversely impact revenues, profitability,
cash flows and capital needs. There can be no assurance that the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release will, in
fact, transpire or prove to be accurate. For a more detailed
description of these and other cautionary factors that may affect
Zila's future results, please refer to Zila's Form 10-K for its
fiscal year ended July 31, 2005.
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