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Appointment of Pharmaceutical Directors and Executives |
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Obio Pharmaceutical Announced Appointment of Pharmaceutical Directors and Executives
(Hong Kong, February 4, 2009) — Obio Pharmaceutical Holdings Ltd (“Obio”/
“the Company”) announced the appointment of three seasoned professionals as the
directors of the Company in preparation for the anticipated launch of antiviral drug TG21
and diabetes drug candidates.
The Company appointed Mr. Abraham Chan and Dr. Jess Thoene as directors,
Dr. Bill Piu Chan, the existing director, as Chief Technical Officer and Mr. Cheng Kin Chung
as director and Chief Finance Officer.
“Together, these pharmaceutical executives bring over 50 years of combined
experience in every facet of drug development and commercialization to our Board,”
stated Mr. Eddie Chan, director of Obio.
Mr. Abraham Chan Yu Ling has devoted more than a decade to Traditional
Chinese Medicine’s (TCM) research and development. Mr. Chan is a renowned
businessman in the TCM industry and the Hong Kong medical industry. He is also a founder
of Purapharm, a company manufactures and sells TCMs. Mr. Chan was a member of the
Strategic Commission, HKSAR and currently serves as a part-time member of the Central
Policy Unit of the HKSAR. He is a graduate from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor
degree in Applied Science and having more than 20 years of experience in the industry, Mr.
Chan’s experience will certainly help connect the Company with the industry.
Mr. Abraham Chan Yu Ling stated, “Obio has a very good spectrum of drug
candidates. I believe that Obio has the right process and the product technology to enter
into a new era for the improvement of the health and well being of patients with flu and
metabolic syndrome. Hopefully, my experience in the medical industry will help Obio
expedite the channel sales of its products and connect to the medical industry in Hong
Kong. I am very pleased to be a member of the Obio team.”
As the executive director and Chief Financial Officer of Obio, Mr. Cheng Kin
Chung is also currently the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Poly Genius
Consulting Limited, a firm specializing in governance, risk and compliance management.
Mr. Cheng holds a Master degree in Professional Accounting of the Hong Kong Polytechnic
University. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Cheng was the Chief Financial Officer and
subsequently the Chief Information and Investment Officer of a listed electronic group in
Hong Kong; and a partner at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and also acted as a Business
Development Director of the Corporate Finance arm of the same firm.
Mr. Cheng was once nominated as Biotechnology Industry Leader when
served at Deloitte. Mr. Cheng's financial, IT, investment and biotechnology background
and knowledge will unquestionably bring in tremendous value to the Company's
development in his specialized areas. Mr. Cheng is a member of the Hong Kong Institute of
Certified Public Accountants, the Institute of Chartered Accountant of England and Wales,
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Hong Kong Securities Institute.
“Obio’s vision, the drug development process, and the drug candidates in the
pipeline amaze me. I am willing to bring in my management and corporate finance
expertise to the board for broadening the capital base and formalizing the board practice
to enhance the corporate governance structure and to serve the community.” Mr. Cheng
said.
Dr. Jess Thoene is a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation
and the American Pediatrics Society. From 1988 to 1989, he served as the Chairman of the
U.S. National Commission of Orphan Diseases and the Chairman of the Board of the
National Organization for Rare Disorders. From 2000-2006 he served as the Karen Gore
Professor of Pediatrics, Director of the Hayward Genetics Center and Human Genetics
Program at Tulane University Health Sciences Center. He is currently Active Professor
Emeritus at the University of Michigan in the Division of Pediatric Genetics.
Dr. Thoene is a native of California and attended undergraduate studies at
Stanford University and medical school at Johns Hopkins University. His pediatric residency
was in the Harriet Lane Home Pediatric program at Johns Hopkins and he completed a
3-year fellowship in metabolic genetic disease at the University of California, San Diego. His
research interests include investigation of the pathophysiology of cystinosis, and
understanding the molecular biology of lysosomal transport. Clinically, he is interested in the
diagnosis and treatment of inborn errors of metabolism with particular emphasis on urea
cycle disorders, organic acidemias, and cystinosis.
Without doubt, Dr. Thoene’s valuable experience in the genetics space and
research interests will bring the Company into another milestone. Dr. Thoene remarked that
Obio’s enthusiastic and passionate research and discovery team impressed him and the
Company’s effort and energy will get recognition from the world’s medical industry soon.
Dr. Bill Piu Chan is currently Professor and Director of the Beijing Institute of
Geriatrics and a member of American Academy of Neurology. He has been appointed as
the Deputy Director and Principal Investigator of Chinese National Human Genome Center
Beijing since 2001. He is the Vice President of the Chinese Society of Gerontology and
Geriatrics, council member of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics
(IAGG), and Secretary of the IAGG Asia-Oceania Region. He was the President of the
Society of Chinese Neuroscientists in America from 1998 to 2000 and the Secretary of
Asia-Pacific Society for Neurochemistry from 2000 to 2006. In 2002, he attained First Award
for Scientific Achievement from both Ministry of Education and Chinese Medical
Association in China.
Dr. Chan graduated from Human Medical College in Changsha and became
a neurologist after the fellowship training. He later acquired his PhD on neurosciences from
Sun Yan-Sen University of Medical Sciences in Guangzhou followed by postdoctoral training
at the Parkinson's Institute in Sunnyvale, California of USA where he spent more than 10
years as senior scientist before returned back to China. Dr. Chan is well known for his clinical
and basic research on Parkinson’s disease and geriatric disorders.
Dr. Chan stated, “I am glad to be a member of the management team of
Obio. My research interests and Obio’s match perfectly, I am sure that the chemical effect
of our co-operation will contribute to the success of the Company and the relief of millions
of patients worldwide.”
The board welcomes all new members to the team and is looking forward to
working together with them to achieve the corporate objectives, most importantly, to
relieve the millions of patients worldwide by a systematic and responsive drug discovery
process.
About Obio Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited
Obio is a Hong Kong-based international pharmaceutical company. Obio targets to
research, develop and commercialize novel medicines for the underserved diseases
affecting millions of patients worldwide. Obio is a knowledge-based, technology-driven
pharmaceutical company, dedicated to focusing on the research and development of
novel drugs, and bring them into the market through co-development with other prestigious
pharmaceutical companies.
Obio’s research centre is located at Beijing and researches are often contracted to outside
prestigious medical institutes for confirmation of experiment data.
Details please refer to www.obiopharma.com .
For more information, please contact
JOVIAN Financial Communications Ltd
Angel Y Y Yeung / Alice Choi
Tel： +852 2154 7898 Fax: +852 2854 2012
Email: alice.choi@joviancomm.com / angel.yeung@joviancomm.com
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