Viragen Strengthens Board
New Director Adds Pharmaceutical, Wall Street and Legal Experience
PLANTATION, Fla., June 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Viragen, Inc.
(Amex: VRA) today announced the appointment of Mr. C. Richard Stafford to its
Board of Directors. Mr. Stafford brings over 40 years of management
experience from the legal, pharmaceutical and investment banking industries.
Mr. Stafford was a Vice President in charge of mergers and acquisitions
for Carter-Wallace, Inc., a former New York Stock Exchange-listed
international pharmaceutical, diagnostics and toiletries company. Carter-
Wallace paid dividends for over one hundred years until its acquisition in
2001 for more than $1.1 billion. He was involved in the restructuring and
sale of the company, which included the separation of the consumer products
from the pharmaceutical businesses.
Prior to joining Carter-Wallace, Mr. Stafford was President of Caithness
Corporation, an oil, gas and mineral exploration firm. At this time, he also
taught evening classes at New York Law School. He has also served as a Vice
President of Corporate Finance at the global investment banker, Bear Stearns,
as well as the Director of Corporate Development of the Bristol-Myers Company
and as an Associate at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy. He is a cum laude
graduate of Harvard College and a graduate of Harvard Law School.
"Richard Stafford is an outstanding addition to Viragen's Board of
Directors, bringing vast experience from helping lead world-class
organizations in industries directly related to our business," stated
Viragen's Chairman, Mr. Carl Singer. "We look forward to working with him as
we continue to implement commercial and scientific strategies designed to
build stockholder value."
Mr. Stafford stated, "As an emerging biotech company that is initiating
its drug sales program and has a portfolio of technology that is progressing
promisingly, Viragen represents a particularly exciting opportunity. I look
forward to working closely with the Board in helping guide this company to
evolve as one of the elite in this challenging industry."
It was also announced today that Dr. Douglas Lind has volunteered to
redefine his duties as part of Viragen's ongoing restructuring program to
contain costs. The Board was pleased to accept his offer to now serve as a
consultant, advising in matters for corporate strategy. Dr. Lind remains
committed to working with Viragen's Board and Senior Management on matters
related to financing, business development and other strategic activities. He
remains a member of the Board and adds valuable experience from his former
role as Senior Biotechnology Analyst from leading Wall Street firms Morgan
Stanley and PaineWebber.
In other Board related news, it was announced that Mr. Bryan King has
resigned from the Company's Board of Directors.
About Viragen, Inc.
Viragen is a biotechnology company specializing in the research,
development and commercialization of natural and recombinant protein-based
drugs designed to treat a broad range of viral and malignant diseases. These
protein-based drugs include natural human alpha interferon, monoclonal
antibodies, peptide drugs and therapeutic vaccines. Viragen's strategy also
includes the development of Avian Transgenic Technology for the large-scale,
cost-effective manufacturing of its portfolio of protein-based drugs, as well
as offering Contract Manufacturing for the biopharmaceutical industry.
Viragen is publicly traded on the American Stock Exchange (VRA).
Viragen's majority owned subsidiary, Viragen International, Inc., is publicly
traded on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board (OTC Bulletin Board: VGNI).
Viragen's key partners and licensors include: Roslin Institute, Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, National Institutes of Health, Cancer Research
UK, University of Nottingham (U.K.), University of Miami, America's Blood
Centers and the German Red Cross.
For more information, please visit our Web site at: www.Viragen.com
Viragen, Inc. Corporate Contact:
Douglas Calder, Director of Communications
Phone: (954) 233-8746; Fax: (954) 233-1414
E-mail: dcalder@viragen.com
The foregoing press release contains forward-looking statements that can
be identified by such terminology such as "expects", "potential", "suggests",
"may", "will", or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the
actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance
or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. In particular,
management's expectations regarding future research, development and/or
commercial results could be affected by, among other things, uncertainties
relating to clinical trials and product development; availability of future
financing; unexpected regulatory delays or government regulation generally;
the Company's ability to obtain or maintain patent and other proprietary
intellectual property protection; and competition in general. Forward-looking
statements speak only as to the date they are made. The Company does not
undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or
events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made.
SOURCE Viragen, Inc.
-0- 06/25/2003
/CONTACT: Douglas Calder, Director of Communications, Viragen, Inc.,
+1-954-233-8746, or fax, +1-954-233-1414, or e-mail, dcalder@viragen.com/
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(VRA VGNI)