NEW YORK, July 6 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- 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 tissue regeneration. For more information, please visit: http://www.neostem.com .
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.
For more information, please contact:
NeoStem, Inc.
Robin Smith, Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +1-212-584-4180
Email: rsmith@neostem.com
