Pevion Appoints Didier Hoch, Former President of Sanofi Pasteur MSD, as Chairman of the Board
By Pevion Biotech Ag, PRNEWednesday, February 9, 2011
ITTIGEN, Switzerland and BERN, Switzerland, February 10, 2011 - Pevion Biotech Ltd. today announced the appointment of Didier
Hoch as Chairman of its Board of Directors. Until recently, Dr Hoch was
President of Sanofi-Pasteur MSD, where he played a pivotal role in launching
innovative vaccines, such as Gardasil(R), in Europe.
Prior to his position as President of Sanofi-Pasteur MSD from
2000 until 2010, Didier Hoch was Vice President Africa & Middle East at
Aventis Pharma International, and before that he was Deputy General Manager
at RhĂ´ne-Poulenc Rorer France. From 2003 until 2009 Dr Hoch was President of
the European Vaccine Manufacturers Association (EVM) and was Vice-President
in 2002 and in 2010. Furthermore, he is President of the Biotechnology
Committee of LEEM (the French pharma industry association) and President of
the Life Science Health Committee of MEDEF (the French global industry
association). He graduated in Medicine from the University of Lyon, France.
"I eagerly look forward to helping Pevion's team build on the
successes it has achieved to date," Didier Hoch said following his election
to become Chairman of Pevion. "Innovation is clearly what the vaccine
industry currently needs. Through its proprietary and partnered programs,
Pevion is a pioneer in the field of mucosal vaccines with its clinical stage,
first-in-class vaccines against candidiasis and HIV, respectively.
Furthermore, Pevion has novel vaccine approaches in clinical development to
address diseases with clear unmet medical needs."
"We welcome Didier Hoch to his new position as Chairman and
look forward to working with him," said Evert Kueppers, CEO of Pevion. "I am
convinced that Didier's in-depth expertise in developing and launching
innovative vaccines, such as Gardasil(R), will give us important input and
added value for the further in-house development of our clinical stage
Candida vaccine, for which we could recently announce excellent Phase I
interim data."
Pevion also announced that its shareholders have appointed
Daniel Richner, BZ Bank, as new member of the Board, replacing Dr Joseph
Manko. Dr Richner has been working in the financial industry for 24 years,
among others for the Lombard Odier Immunology Fund and HBM Bioventures. He
joined BZ Fund Management in 2010, where he coordinates investments in the
life sciences.
About Pevion Biotech Ltd.
Pevion Biotech Ltd. is an independent Swiss vaccine company
that develops innovative vaccines for unmet medical needs based on its
clinically and commercially validated virosome technology. Its proprietary
clinical pipeline includes a first-in-class candidiasis vaccine. A clinical
stage malaria vaccine candidate has been successfully outlicensed, and the
Company's technology has been licensed for use as an HIV vaccine currently in
human trials. Pevion has in-house development capability and expertise,
including a state-of-the-art and industrially scalable GMP manufacturing
process. Located near Bern, Pevion was founded in 2002 as an industrial
spin-off of Bachem AG (SWX: BANB) and Berna Biotech, now Crucell, (SWX: CRX),
and raised a total of CHF 45 million to date from its founders and investors,
BZ Bank, Core Capital Partners and BB Biotech Ventures.
About Virosomes
Virosomes are the only regulatory and market-approved vaccine
technology to fulfill carrier and adjuvant functions in one. Essentially,
virosomes represent reconstituted empty influenza virus envelopes, devoid of
the genetic material of the source virus. As such, virosomes do not replicate
and are therefore an ideal combination of carrier plus adjuvant for almost
any given antigen, including peptide or protein derived antigens. The
technology allows the surface display and delivery of difficult antigens and
thereby provides access to new indications and markets. Two virosome-based
vaccines (Epaxal(R) and Inflexal(R) V, marketed by Crucell Switzerland AG)
are licensed in over 40 countries, and more than 70 million doses of these
vaccines have been commercially distributed, thereby providing a solid safety
and efficacy track record.
Pevion Biotech Ltd. Worblentalstrasse 32 CH - 3063 Ittigen Switzerland www.pevion.com For further information, please contact: Evert Kueppers, CEO Phone: +41-31-550-44-44 info@pevion.com
Evert Kueppers, CEO, Phone: +41-31-550-44-44, info at pevion.com
Tags: February 10, Ittigen, Pevion Biotech Ag, Switzerland, Switzerland And Bern