Acorda Therapeutics Announces Additions to Senior Management Team.Business/Health Editors HAWTHORNE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 6, 2001 Acorda Therapeutics announced key additions to its senior management team today. Harold Safferstein, Ph.D., J.D., has joined the company as Vice President of Business Development, a new position reporting to the President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. . Dr. Safferstein was most recently Director, Lifecycle Management, Business Development and Strategic Planning for the Diabetes Franchise at Bristol-Myers Squibb and has served as Director, Worldwide Licensing for the Worldwide Medicines Group at Bristol-Myers Squibb. Prior to this, Dr. Safferstein served for several years as Director of Technology Transfer for the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI NHLBI, n.pr See National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. ) at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Safferstein will be responsible both for in-licensing of new products for development and for establishing strategic partnerships for the company's existing product pipeline. Dr. Safferstein received a B.A. degree in Biochemistry from Rutgers University, a Ph.D. in Neurobiology Neurobiology Study of the development and function of the nervous system, with emphasis on how nerve cells generate and control behavior. The major goal of neurobiology is to explain at the molecular level how nerve cells differentiate and develop their from the University of Louisville See also
1. ^ [1] 2. ^ [2] URL accessed on June 8 2006 3. , a J.D. from The American University, Washington College of Law The American University Washington College of Law (WCL) is a private ABA-certified American law school. It is located on Massachusetts Avenue in the Spring Valley area of Northwest Washington, DC. , and an M.B.A. from Columbia University. Dr. Safferstein is a member of the Maryland Bar. Acorda also announced the appointment of Elliot Gruskin, Ph.D. as Vice President of Research and Development, reporting to the Executive Vice President, R&D. Prior to joining Acorda, Dr. Gruskin served as Senior Director of R&D for the Life Sciences Division at U.S. Surgical Corporation. He will be responsible for directing Acorda's research laboratories and managing the Company's research collaborations. Dr. Gruskin received a B.S. degree in Biochemistry from the University of Rochester The University of Rochester (UR) is a private, coeducational and nonsectarian research university located in Rochester, New York. The university is one of 62 elected members of the Association of American Universities. , and a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University Medical School. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology, at Cambridge; coeducational; chartered 1861, opened 1865 in Boston, moved 1916. It has long been recognized as an outstanding technological institute and its Sloan School of Management has notable programs in business, , in the laboratory of Dr. Alexander Rich. In addition, Andrew R. Blight, Ph.D., previously the company's Vice President of Research and Development, has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Research and Development. In this capacity, Dr. Blight will be responsible for R&D direction and strategy, technology assessment, and scientific support of the Company's other departments, including clinical development, intellectual property, and marketing. Ron Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. , M.D., Acorda's President and CEO, commented, "I am delighted to welcome Hank Safferstein and Elliot Gruskin to Acorda's senior management team, and to announce new, expanded responsibilities for Andrew Blight. Dr. Blight is one of the world's leading scientists in spinal cord injury Spinal Cord Injury Definition Spinal cord injury is damage to the spinal cord that causes loss of sensation and motor control. Description Approximately 10,000 new spinal cord injuries (SCIs) occur each year in the United States. research, and has unparalleled expertise in SCI (Scalable Coherent Interface) An IEEE standard for a high-speed bus that uses wire or fiber-optic cable. It can transfer data up to 1GBytes/sec. (hardware) SCI - 1. Scalable Coherent Interface. 2. UART. modeling. Dr. Gruskin has an outstanding record of having directed research laboratories that have produced successful commercial products. Dr. Safferstein brings to Acorda an extraordinary combination of expertise in neuroscience, technology transfer and business development. These new appointments fill critical positions in our management team, and leave the company well-positioned to achieve its goals." Acorda Therapeutics, a privately held biotechnology company, is developing therapies for spinal cord injury (SCI) and related neurological conditions, including multiple sclerosis (MS). The Company's lead product, Fampridine-SR, is in late Phase 2 clinical trials for restoring neurological function in chronic SCI and in MS. Acorda's technology platform also includes a class of human monoclonal antibodies that have been shown to remyelinate the central nervous system in animal models. These antibodies are in preclinical development for multiple sclerosis. Additionally, Acorda is developing protein- and stem cell-based technologies for regeneration and repair of the spinal cord and brain. acorda@acorda.com |
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