BOTHELL, WA, Sep 08, 2009 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- MDRNA, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA) announced today that June D. Ameen, RN,
MBA, will join the Company as Vice President, Corporate Development
reporting to the President & CEO. Ms. Ameen will lead the alliance
management, business development, technology evaluation and strategic
partnering efforts for the Company.
"We are extremely pleased to have June join our management team,"
said Michael French, President and CEO at MDRNA. "Recently, we engaged
a large pharmaceutical company in an early collaborative effort to
demonstrate the broad capabilities of both our proprietary RNAi drug
discovery engine and our world-class research team. We expect to
enter into similar relationships in the near future. June brings the
absolute right mix of strategic positioning and tactical execution
necessary to expand these early collaborative efforts into
significant multi-year, multi-target R&D collaborations. I look
forward to working with June to establish these R&D collaborations as
further validation of our industry leading RNAi-based therapeutics
platform."
Ms. Ameen has held progressively responsible positions in both public
and private life sciences companies for the past 20 years. Prior to
joining MDRNA, Ms. Ameen served first as Vice President, Alliance
Management and then Vice President, Business Development and
Alliances of Entelos, Inc., a privately held systems biology company
based in Foster City, California. While there, she was responsible
for expanding the business from early-adopter technology-based
research partnerships to therapeutic focused co-development
collaborations with major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
As Vice President, Business Development and Alliances, annual
revenues increased from less than $3 million to over $21 million in
two years. Prior to Entelos, Ms. Ameen was with PAREXEL International
Corporation in several positions focused on client relations and
alliance management. In her capacity as Vice President and General
Manager, Ms. Ameen had operational and P&L responsibility for
generating $35 million in annual revenues with Fortune 200
pharmaceutical companies. Ms. Ameen has an M.B.A. from Babson
College and a B.S.N., magna cum laude, from Boston College.
About MDRNA, Inc.
MDRNA is a biotechnology company focused on the development and
commercialization of therapeutic products based on RNA interference
(RNAi). Our goal is to improve human health through the development of
RNAi-based compounds and drug delivery technologies that together
provide superior therapeutic options for patients. Over the past
decade, we have developed substantial capabilities in molecular
biology, cellular biology, lipid chemistry, peptide chemistry,
pharmacology and bioinformatics, which we are applying to a wide
range of RNAi technologies and delivery approaches. These
capabilities plus the in-licensing of key RNAi-related intellectual
property have rapidly enabled us to become a leading RNAi-based
therapeutics company with a pre-clinical pipeline in key therapeutic
areas including oncology, metabolic disorders and inflammation.
Through our capabilities, expertise and know-how, we are
incorporating multiple RNAi technologies as well as peptide- and
lipid-based delivery approaches into a single integrated drug
discovery platform that will be the engine for our clinical pipeline
as well as a versatile platform for establishing broad therapeutic
partnerships with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. We are
also investing in new technologies that we expect to lead to safer
and more effective RNAi-based therapeutics while aggressively
building upon our broad and extensive intellectual property estate.
By combining broad expertise in siRNA science with proven delivery
platforms and a strong IP position, MDRNA is well positioned as a
leading RNAi-based drug discovery and development company. Additional
information about MDRNA, Inc. is available at
http://www.mdrnainc.com.
MDRNA Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in this news release may be forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Federal Securities laws that are
subject to certain risks and uncertainties and involve factors that
may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or
suggested. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those in forward-looking statements include, but are
not limited to: (i) the ability of MDRNA to obtain additional
funding; (ii) the ability of MDRNA to attract and/or maintain
manufacturing, research, development and commercialization partners;
(iii) the ability of MDRNA and/or a partner to successfully complete
product research and development, including preclinical and clinical
studies and commercialization; (iv) the ability of MDRNA and/or a
partner to obtain required governmental approvals; and (v) the
ability of MDRNA and/or a partner to develop and commercialize
products that can compete favorably with those of competitors.
Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those projected or suggested in any forward-looking
statements are contained in MDRNA's most recent periodic reports on
Form 10-K and Form 10-Q that are filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. MDRNA assumes no obligation to update and
supplement forward-looking statements because of subsequent events.
Contact:
Matthew D. Haines
Senior Director
Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
(212) 209-3874
Email Contact
McKinney|Chicago (Media)
Alan Zachary
(312) 944-6784 x 316 or
(708) 707-6834
Email Contact
SOURCE: MDRNA, Inc.
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