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Protox appoints Fahar Merchant as Vice President, Corporate Development
Wednesday, March 2nd, 2005 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Protox Therapeutics Inc. ("Protox" or the "Company")
today announced that Fahar Merchant, PhD, has been appointed Vice President, Corporate Development of the Company.
Dr. Merchant will be responsible for both in-licensing and out-licensing activities associated with the Company's
targeted toxin platform and negotiating other strategic alliances.
"We are pleased to have an executive of Dr. Merchant's caliber join our team," said Tazdin Esmail, President and CEO of Protox.
"Fahar has previously built a successful biotechnology company based on protein toxins and negotiated its sale to significant
European drug development corporation. He has the experience and international network which will help Protox achieve its short
and long term strategic objectives."
Dr. Merchant holds a BSc in Biochemistry and Pharmacology from Aston University and an MSc in Biotechnology from the University of
Birmingham in the United Kingdom. He received a PhD in Biochemical Engineering from the University of Western Ontario.
Dr. Merchant established Avicenna Medica Inc. in Edmonton in 1992 as a contract manufacturing company focused on manufacturing
targeted toxins and protein therapeutics for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies entering into clinical trials.
In 1999, the City of Edmonton awarded Dr. Merchant the Ambassador's Award for his contributions to the City's high technology industry.
In 2000, Avicenna licensed from Amersham Health (now GE Health) and the U.S. National Institutes of Health exclusive worldwide rights for TransMID,
a targeted toxin for the treatment of end stage glioblastoma (primary brain tumours) that was in Phase II clinical trials.
In 2001, Dr. Merchant sold Avicenna to an LSE listed biopharmaceutical company, KS Biomedix plc, for $90 million. As part of the sale,
Dr. Merchant agreed to act as the Chief Technology Officer for the KS Biomedix Group for one year and, until September 2003, was a member
of its Board of Directors. KS Biomedix plc was subsequently acquired by the Xenova Group plc, a NASDAQ and LSE listed company.
ABOUT PROTOX: Protox Therapeutics Inc. is developing novel, cancer
therapeutics based on modified proteins engineered from the naturally
occurring bacterial toxin, Aerolysin. These modified Aerolysin proteins have
demonstrated the ability to target and kill cancer cells. The Company believes
that its targeted approach may produce cancer therapeutics that will have
greater efficacy and fewer side effects than existing cancer treatments.
For more information, contact:
Terry Vanderkruyk
Director, Investor Relations, Protox Therapeutics Inc.
Tel: 604-688-4376
Cell: 604-789-0844
Fax: 604-688-0173
tvanderkruyk@protoxtherapeutics.com
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