MONTREAL, April 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Haemacure Corporation (TSX:HAE), a Montreal-based specialty bio-therapeutics company developing high-value human plasma-derived protein products for commercialization, announced today the appointment of two senior managers to its management team.
To further strengthen the Company's growing presence in the plasma fractionation industry, Haemacure has appointed Ms. Dawn Benson as Director of Quality Assurance and Quality Control and Mr. Kenneth P. Smith as Director of Manufacturing. Both Ms. Benson and Mr. Smith will work from Haemacure's manufacturing facility located in Sarasota, Florida.
Before joining Haemacure, Ms. Benson spent over 10 years in the quality assurance and quality control fields, having held quality assurance positions at several health care, consumer products and plasma fractionation companies. Mr. Smith brings to the team over 15 years of experience in the areas of production and supervision, most recently with another plasma fractionation company.
In addition to the senior managers hire, Haemacure has also staffed the production and laboratory teams necessary to commission the manufacturing facility.
"We are very excited to welcome all the new members of our growing team. Their valuable expertise will no doubt greatly contribute to achieving the milestones of commissioning our new manufacturing facility by mid-2008 and having a first patient undergo surgery in our planned pivotal Phase ll/Phase lll clinical trials during the first quarter of 2009," said Joseph Galli, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Haemacure. "We look forward to their contribution in insuring that Haemacure meets its milestones and value creation objectives" concluded Mr. Galli.
About Haemacure
Haemacure Corporation is a specialty biotherapeutics company developing high-value human plasma-derived protein products for commercialization. Haemacure's research and development effort is driven by its proprietary plasma protein extraction technology to develop next-generation products, including surgical hemostats. Haemacure's lead product candidate, Hemaseel(R)HMN, is a fibrin sealant planned to enter pivotal Phase II/Phase III clinical trials during the first quarter of 2009. Haemacure's second product candidate is thrombin, a component of its fibrin sealant, now in preclinical stage. Follow-on development will focus on surgical hemostats, wound healing, adhesion prevention, regenerative medecine, drug delivery and combination with biomaterials. Haemacure has discovered eleven additional specialty proteins and enzymes in one if its two plasma fractions and seeks to advance these proteins and enzymes through partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Haemacure operates offices in Sarasota, Florida through a wholly-owned subsidiary. The Corporation is traded under stock symbol HAE on the TSX.
Forward-looking Statements
Certain of the statements contained in this news release are forward-looking statements. Such statements, based as they are on the current expectations of management, inherently involve numerous risks and uncertainties, known and unknown. Some examples of known risks are: the impact of general economic conditions, general conditions in the biotech industry, changes in the regulatory environment in the jurisdictions in which Haemacure does business, stock market volatility, fluctuations in costs, and changes to the competitive environment due to consolidation or otherwise. Consequently, actual future results may differ materially from the anticipated results expressed in the forward-looking statements. Haemacure disclaims any intention or obligation to update these statements.
SOURCE HAEMACURE CORPORATION
