VIMRX names Richard E. Kouri, Ph.D. president and CEO of VIMRX Genomics, Inc.WILMINGTON, DE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 8, 1997-- -- VIMRX Genomics, Inc. Recently Formed as Partnership between VIMRX Pharmaceuticals and Columbia University's Columbia Genome Center -- VIMRX Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : VMRX) today announced the appointment of Richard E. Kouri, Ph.D., to the newly created positions of President and Chief Executive Officer of VIMRX Genomics, Inc. and Senior Vice President of Research of VIMRX Pharmaceuticals, effective immediately. Kouri most recently served as Director, Chief Operating Officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. , Chief Technical Officer and Senior Vice President of Gene Logic Inc., a genomics and biotechnology company which he co-founded in 1994. VIMRX Genomics, Inc. is a business and research collaboration between VIMRX Pharmaceuticals and Columbia University to develop novel current and future genes identified by the Columbia Genome Center. "Dr. Kouri spent 15 years building many biotechnology companies and his impressive breadth of business and technical experience is a perfect match to lead VIMRX Genomics, Inc.," said Richard L. Dunning, President and Chief Executive Officer of VIMRX. "Complementing his scientific experience in genomics research, he has broad experience in operational management, raising capital and research funding, forming research alliances, and strategic marketing." At Gene Logic, Dr. Kouri was responsible for commercializing two Yale University-based platform technologies that were directed at high-throughput gene expression profiling and transcription factor identification. Dr. Kouri also held academic positions as Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology molecular biology, scientific study of the molecular basis of life processes, including cellular respiration, excretion, and reproduction. The term molecular biology was coined in 1938 by Warren Weaver, then director of the natural sciences program at the Rockefeller at the University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut is the State of Connecticut's land-grant university. It was founded in 1881 and serves more than 27,000 students on its six campuses, including more than 9,000 graduate students in multiple programs. UConn's main campus is in Storrs, Connecticut. , as Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, and as Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of Pathology, University of Maryland University of Maryland can refer to:
He has been a business advisor to the Office of Technology Licensing at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, is a highly regarded medical school and biomedical research institute in the United States. and recently helped found VIVEX Therapies, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on new methods for clinical management of organ transplant patients. Dr. Kouri founded BIOS Laboratories Inc. in 1986, served as the company's 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. until 1994, and most recently served as Chairman of the Board. In earlier positions, Kouri gained extensive scientific, management and capital fund raising experience in three companies including roles as Director of Research for Microbiological Associates, Director of Research for International Biotechnologies, Inc., and Founder and Director for GenMap Inc. He has raised more than $23 million in private/public capital and more than $19 million in research funds for these companies. Dr. Kouri's academic credentials include a B.S. in Microbiology from Ohio State University Ohio State University, main campus at Columbus; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1870, opened 1873 as Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, renamed 1878. There are also campuses at Lima, Mansfield, Marion, and Newark. and both a M.S. in Radiation Virology virology, study of viruses and their role in disease. Many viruses, such as animal RNA viruses and viruses that infect bacteria, or bacteriophages, have become useful laboratory tools in genetic studies and in work on the cellular metabolic control of gene expression and a Ph.D. in Radiation Biology from the University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (UT), sometimes called the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UT Knoxville or UTK), is the flagship institution of the statewide land-grant University of Tennessee public university system in the American state of Tennessee. . He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology. Dr. Kouri has published more than 110 scientific papers and made hundreds of presentations at scientific conferences. He is a committee member of the American Association of Cancer Research, and is a member of the Human Genome Organization, The American Association for the Advancement of Science American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), private organization devoted to furthering the work of scientists and improving the effectiveness of science in the promotion of human welfare. and The Society for In-Vitro Biology. Formed as a genomics research collaboration, VIMRX Genomics, Inc. is owned 90 percent by VIMRX Pharmaceuticals and 10 percent by Columbia University. The new company will seek to capitalize on the explosion of new technology and information systems that, over the past few years, has permitted the identification of the genes and specific mutations associated with many genetically-based human diseases. The investigators are targeting many genes, including those associated with cancer, late-onset Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, manic-depressive disorder and glaucoma. Company headquarters will be located at the Audubon Center at Columbia University Medical School in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . To enhance the commercial potential of the collaboration, the company will partner with major health care companies and, as needed, will solicit equity investments in the new company from potential technology partners and other investors. VIMRX Pharmaceuticals Inc., (NASDAQ: VMRX), a biotechnology company based in Wilmington, Delaware, is comprised of a diverse portfolio of companies, technologies and compounds. Through its majority-owned affiliate, Innovir Laboratories (NASDAQ: INVR), VIMRX is developing oligozymes which control disease-triggering flaws in individuals' genetic chemistry for potential use as both therapeutic agents and as pharmaceutical research tools to aid in gene function analysis and drug discovery target validation. In addition, two compounds are in development: VIMRxyn(R) is chemically synthesized hypericin hy·per·i·cin n. A drug, produced synthetically or as an extract of Saint John's wort, used as an antidepressant and antiviral agent. hypericin studied for the treatment of HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. , brain cancer, hepatitis C, and blood sterilization; and VM201, a cardiovascular compound recently acquired from Columbia University, that selectively inhibits Factor IXa to manage blood clotting. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for certain forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from current expectations. Among the factors which could affect the Company's actual results and could cause results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements contained herein are the success of the Company's clinical trials and the development of competing therapies and/or technologies by other companies. NOTE TO INVESTORS AND EDITORS: VIMRx's press releases are available on the Internet through www.vimrx.com and through BusinessWire's web site at http://www.businesswire.com. The releases also are available at no charge through BusinessWire's fax-on-demand service at 800-411-8792. CONTACT: VIMRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. Laura A. Mastrangelo 302-998-1734 |
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