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Protox Announces Change to Senior Management
Monday, April 18th, 2005 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Protox Therapeutics Inc.
announced today that Dr. Fahar Merchant has been appointed President and CEO of
the Company, replacing Tazdin Esmail who has stepped down for health reasons.
Mr. Esmail will continue to sit on the Board of the Company as a director and will
provide ongoing guidance as a consultant.
Protox Chairman, Frank Holler, said "We are very sorry that Tazdin Esmail has
stepped down as President and CEO but fully understand that his focus right now has
to be on his health. Taz has made a substantial contribution to Protox as our
founding President and CEO and we wish him a full and speedy recovery.
Fortunately, Taz has built a very strong management team and has recently
recruited an individual with the requisite expertise and experience to step into this
role and continue the Company’Äôs progress."
Mr. Esmail expressed confidence in the Company’Äôs ability to realize its scientific and
business objectives. "I believe Dr. Fahar Merchant, previously our Vice President,
Corporate Development, has the experience and international network necessary to
help Protox achieve its short and long term strategic objectives. Fahar previously
built a successful biotechnology company based on therapeutic toxins, and sold that
company to a significant European drug development corporation for $90 million. As
a director of Protox, I look forward to working with Fahar to continue to advance our
technology and products in development towards commercialization".
Dr. Merchant founded Avicenna in 1992 and served as its President from 1992 to
2001. Avicenna was a contract research and manufacturing company focused on
developing biologics and therapeutic toxins. In 2000, Avicenna in-licensed exclusive
worldwide rights for the commercialization of the targeted therapeutic toxin,
Transmid™for the treatment of primary brain tumours. In 2001, Dr. Merchant sold
Avicenna to a LSE listed biopharmaceutical company, KS Biomedix plc. As part of
the sale, Dr. Merchant was appointed as the Chief Technology Officer for the KS
Biomedix Group 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.
"I look forward to leading the Protox team through its next stages of growth," said
Fahar Merchant, Ph.D., Protox President and CEO. "I believe the Aerolysin
technology platform being developed by Protox holds great potential for the
treatment of a variety of cancers. Our intention is to strategically position the
Company as a leader in the development of targeted therapeutics."
Dr. Merchant holds a B.Sc. in Biochemistry and Pharmacology from Aston University,
a M.Sc. in Biotechnology from the University of Birmingham and a Ph.D. in
Biochemical Engineering from the University of Western Ontario.
ABOUT PROTOX: Protox Therapeutics Inc. is developing novel cancer therapeutics
by engineering the naturally occurring bacterial toxin Aerolysin, which kills cells by
forming pores in them. The Company believes that its engineering approach will
produce targeted cancer therapeutics that 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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