VIVALIS APPOINTS PHILIPPE ROUSSEAU AS CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
MARKETWIRE
Sep 08, 2009NANTES, FRANCEMARKETWIRE
Vivalis strengthens its management team with the appointment of Philippe Rousseau, as Chief Financial Officer
VIVALIS (PARIS: VLS), a biopharmaceutical company that provides the pharmaceutical industry with innovative cell-based solutions for the manufacture of vaccines and proteins and develops drugs to prevent and treat viral diseases, announces today the strengthening of its management team with the appointment of Philippe Rousseau as Chief Financial Officer.
Prior to joining VIVALIS, Philippe Rousseau served since 2002 as Chief Financial Officer of ExonHit Therapeutics S.A and was a member of the Management Board from 2004 to 2009, that he chaired from April to July 2008. After holding from 1994 to 1998 various positions at Paribas bank both in France and the USA, and at Mars & Co. in Paris, he then joined in 1998 Genset, a pioneering company in human genome research, where he was initially responsible of Investor Relations and then became Vice President of Finance. M. Rousseau graduated in finance from HEC (Hautes Etudes Commerciales) in France.
Franck Grimaud, CEO, and Majid Mehtali, CSO, co-managers of Vivalis said: "We are very pleased that Philippe joins VIVALIS'teams. We are going to benefit from the 15 years of experience that Philippe has gained in finance and in our industry both in Europe and the U.S.A. With his appointment, we complement our management team at a time when Vivalis experiences a strong growth and continues to achieve excellent commercial and scientific performance. We have the confidence that we have now built a solid, experienced and complementary managerial team to further support the successful development of the company."
About the EB66(R) line
The EB66(R) cell line, derived from duck embryonic stem cells, presents unique industrial and regulatory characteristics such as long-term genetic stability, immortality and cell growth to high cell densities in suspension in a serum-free medium (>20 millions cells/mL).
The BMF (Biologics Master File) for the registration of the EB66(R) cell line with the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) was filed on June 27, 2008.
The EB66(R) cell line is currently used or being tested by 75% of the major players in vaccines. VIVALIS has furthermore demonstrated that the EB66(R) cell line can be easily genetically modified, permitting the expression of recombinant proteins of potential interest. Moreover the glycosylation profile of monoclonal antibodies produced through EB66(R) cell lines is similar to the glycosylation profiles of human monoclonal antibodies with the added benefit of being distinguished by reduced fucose content. This latter characteristic is known to be associated with a higher level of antibody cytotoxic activity, particularly useful in the treatment of cancer cells.
About VIVALIS (www.vivalis.com)
VIVALIS (PARIS: VLS) is a biopharmaceutical company that provides innovative cell-based solutions to the pharmaceutical industry for the manufacture of vaccines and proteins, and develops drugs for the prevention and treatment of viral diseases. VIVALIS' expertise and intellectual property are exploited in three main areas:
1. The development and manufacturing of vaccines. VIVALIS offers research and commercial licenses for its EB66(R) cell line, derived from duck stem cells, to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for the production of vaccines. Vivalis receives upfront fees, milestone payments and royalties on its licensees' net sales.
2. The development of production systems for recombinant proteins and monoclonal antibodies. VIVALIS licenses its EB66(R) cell line for the production of recombinant proteins to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Vivalis receives upfront fees, milestone payments and royalties on its licensees' net sales.
3. The construction of a portfolio of proprietary products in the area of vaccines and anti-viral molecules (hepatitis C).
Based in Nantes (France), VIVALIS was founded in 1999 by the Grimaud group (1,450 employees), the second largest group worldwide in animal genetic selection. VIVALIS has established more than 30 partnerships and licenses with world leaders in this sector, including Sanofi Pasteur, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis Vaccines, Merck, CSL Kaketsuken, Merial, Intervet, SAFC Biosciences. VIVALIS is a member of the French ATLANTIC BIOTHERAPIES bio-cluster.