Biomira Appoints Robert Kirkman President and CEO
Christopher Henney Named Chairman
Biomira Inc. announced the appointment of Robert L. Kirkman, MD, as President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Kirkman was also elected to the Board of Directors. In addition, the Company announced that Christopher Henney, PhD, has been named Chairman of the Board. Drs. Kirkman and Henney will commence their duties on September 5, 2006.
Dr. Kirkman was formerly Acting President and CEO of Xcyte Therapies, Inc of Seattle, WA, which concluded a merger with Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in March 2006. From 2004-2005, Dr. Kirkman was Chief Business Officer and Vice President at Xcyte, where he played a significant role in the Company's initial public offering and led business development and strategic planning activities.
From 1998 to 2003, Dr. Kirkman was Vice President, Business Development and Corporate Communications at Protein Design Labs, where he had a broad range of responsibilities, including expansion of PDL's pipeline through in-licensing, mergers and acquisitions. From 1981 to 1998, Dr. Kirkman worked at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA as a surgeon and subsequently as Chief, Division of Transplantation. His research demonstrating that antibodies directed against the IL-2 receptor would prolong allograft survival was instrumental in the approval of Zenapax(R) for the prevention of renal transplant rejection. Dr. Kirkman has a BA in Economics from Yale University and an MD from Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Christopher Henney has been elected Chairman of Biomira. Dr. Henney joined the Board of Directors in March 2005 and is the co-founder of three major publicly-traded U.S. biotech companies, Immunex, ICOS and Dendreon. Dr. Henney was Chairman and CEO of Dendreon from 1995 to 2004. He is Chairman of SGX Pharmaceuticals and Vice-Chairman of Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals. He has a PhD in experimental pathology from the University of Birmingham, England.
Biomira also announced that Robert Blair has been reappointed to the Board of Directors. Mr. Eric Baker, the outgoing Chairman of the Board, will remain on the Board.
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