Myriad Pharmaceuticals Elects Timothy R. Franson, M.D. to Its Board of Directors
SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 15, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(Nasdaq:MYRX) announced today that it has elected Timothy R. Franson, M.D. to
its Board of Directors. Dr. Franson's term is effective as of September 10,
2009. With the addition of Dr. Franson, Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. now has
five independent Directors elected to its Board.
Dr. Franson was with Eli Lilly and Company for over 20 years, most recently as
Vice President of Global Regulatory Affairs until his retirement from the
Company in 2008. Previous positions held at Lilly include Director of
Anti-Infectives, Executive Director of Regulatory Affairs for North American
Regulatory, Chemistry Manufacturing Control, Planning & Global Operations and
Vice President of Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs-US. Dr. Franson has
served as chair of the Clinical Steering Committee and as a member of the
Regulatory Affairs Coordinating Committee of the Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers' Association (PhRMA) and, until recently, chaired PhRMA's FDA
Committee Staff Work Group (2000-2008). He was co-chair of the joint
FDA-industry working group addressing clinical aspects of the FDA Modernization
Act of 1997, including the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) renewal; from
2000-2003 he co-chaired the overall industry-FDA committees for PDUFA-3 renewal.
Dr. Franson is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, was
Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where he
was a member of the Governor's Task Force on AIDS, and he was also an Assistant
Professor of Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine.
"We believe that Dr. Franson represents an excellent strategic fit with our
Board of Directors," said Adrian Hobden, President and Chief Executive Officer
of Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. "We look forward to his insight and guidance,
garnered from his extensive background and experience in drug development, as we
prepare to commercialize new therapeutics for individuals affected by AIDS and
cancer."
About Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on
discovering, developing, and commercializing novel small molecule drugs that
address severe medical conditions, including cancer and HIV infection. Our
pipeline includes clinical and pre-clinical product candidates with distinct
mechanisms of action and novel chemical structures that have the potential to be
first-in-class and/or best-in-class therapeutics. For more information visit
www.myriadpharma.com.
The Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. logo is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6327
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These "forward-looking
statements" are based on management's current expectations of future events and
are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by
forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to: the risk that we may be unable to further identify, develop and
achieve commercial success for new products and technologies; the risk that we
may be unable to discover drugs that are safer and more efficacious than our
competitors; the risk that we may be unable to develop and maintain
manufacturing capabilities for our products; the possibility of delays in the
research and development necessary to select drug development candidates and
delays in clinical trials; the risk that clinical trials may not result in
marketable products; the risk that we may be unable to successfully finance and
secure regulatory approval of and market our drug candidates, or that clinical
trials will not be completed on the timelines we have estimated; uncertainties
about our ability to obtain new corporate collaborations and acquire new
technologies on satisfactory terms, if at all; the development of competing
products and services; the risk that we may be unable to protect our proprietary
technologies; the risk of patent-infringement claims; risks of new, changing and
competitive technologies and regulations in the United States and
internationally; and other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors"
contained in our Form 10 which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, as well as any updates to those risk factors filed from time to time
in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K. All
information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Myriad
Pharmaceuticals undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by
law.