EAST NORRITON, Pa., Sept. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Tengion, Inc. (Nasdaq: TNGN) today announced that it has appointed industry veteran Scott Flora to its Board of Directors. Mr. Flora brings to Tengion more than 20 years of experience building and managing successful wound healing and surgical device businesses. He most recently served as Global Business Unit President of Surgical Devices at Covidien.
Tengion also announced today that Gary Kurtzman, M.D., Managing Director, Life Sciences Group at Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., is stepping down from the Tengion Board of Directors after three years of service. Safeguard Scientifics was a private venture capital investor in Tengion, participating in the Company’s Series C round in November 2008.
“We are excited to welcome Scott with his extensive industry experience and expertise to Tengion’s Board. As we continue to advance our regenerative medicine product candidates, his perspectives on strategic collaborations, product development, and new product launches in the medical and surgical device arenas will be invaluable resources for our Board and the Company,” said David Scheer, Chairman of the Tengion Board of Directors. “We are also extremely thankful and appreciative of Gary’s contributions and counsel to the Board. He has been a committed supporter of Tengion and our programs.”
Mr. Flora spent five years at Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products, where he led one of its largest units and significantly grew its business through new product development and strategic mergers and acquisitions. His team included 10,000 employees, a global sales force of 1,000, seven manufacturing sites and four R&D facilities. Prior to Covidien, Mr. Flora spent fifteen years at Smith & Nephew, most recently serving as President/General Manager of Orthopedics Reconstruction. Mr. Flora earned his B.S. from Milliken University and is today a member of the university’s Board of Trustees. He has also completed programs at INSEAD, Wharton and Yale.
“Tengion is advancing an exciting platform and I believe that there is a real opportunity at the Company to build collaborations, create new markets and ultimately to benefit patients,” said Mr. Flora. “I look forward to working closely with the Board and the management team to help realize Tengion’s full potential.”
About Tengion
Tengion, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, has pioneered the Organ Regeneration Platform™ that enables the Company to create proprietary product candidates that are intended to harness the intrinsic regenerative pathways of the body to produce a range of native-like organs and tissues. Tengion’s product candidates seek to eliminate the need to utilize other tissues of the body for a purpose to which they are poorly suited, procure donor organs or administer anti-rejection medications. An initial clinical trial is ongoing for the Company’s lead product candidate, the Neo-Urinary Conduit™, an autologous implant that is intended to catalyze regeneration of native-like bladder tissue for bladder cancer patients requiring a urinary diversion following bladder removal. The Company’s lead preclinical candidate is the Neo-Kidney Augment™, which is designed to delay or prevent the need for dialysis or transplantation in patients at risk for kidney failure. Tengion has also applied its technology in two Phase II clinical trials for Tengion’s Neo-Bladder Augment™ for the treatment of neurogenic bladder. Tengion has worldwide rights to its product candidates.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements set forth above may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to the Company’s: (i) plans to develop and commercialize its product candidates, including the Neo-Urinary Conduit and the Neo-Kidney Augment; (ii) expectations regarding the initial clinical trial of the Neo-Urinary Conduit; and (iii) expectations regarding planned preclinical studies of the Neo-Kidney Augment. Although Tengion believes that these statements are based upon reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its knowledge of its business and operations, there are a number of factors that may cause actual results to differ from these statements. For instance there can be no assurance that: (i) the Company’s Neo-Urinary Conduit clinical trial will not be placed on clinical hold by the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA; (ii) patients enrolled in the Company’s Neo-Urinary Conduit clinical trial will not experience additional adverse events, which could delay clinical trials or cause the Company to terminate the development of the Neo-Urinary Conduit; (iii) the Company will be able to successfully enroll patients in its clinical trials, including its initial clinical trial for the Neo-Urinary Conduit; (iv) the results of the clinical trial for the Neo-Urinary Conduit will support further development of that product candidate; (v) data from the Company’s ongoing preclinical studies will continue to be supportive of advancing its preclinical product candidates; (vi) the Company will be able to progress its product candidates that are undergoing preclinical testing, including the Neo-Kidney Augment, into clinical trials; and (vii) the Company will be able to obtain the capital it needs to develop its product candidates and continue its operations. For additional factors which could cause actual results to differ from expectations, reference is made to the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The forward looking statements in this release are made only as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intention or responsibility for updating predictions or expectations in this release.