Published on January 25, 2008
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GendeLLindheim
BioCom Partners
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Steven
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Barbara
Lindheim
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OPKO
HEALTH ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MIAMI,
FL - January 25, 2008-
OPKO
Health, Inc. (AMEX: OPK) today announced the appointment of Thomas E. Beier
and
Richard C. Pfenniger, Jr. to its Board of Directors. The company also announced
the resignation of former Board member David Eichler. Mr. Pfenniger was
appointed to fill the vacancy created by Mr. Eichler’s resignation while Mr.
Beier is assuming a newly created Board position.
"The
addition of Tom Beier and Rick Pfenniger to OPKO’s Board of Directors ensures
the company will continue to benefit from a knowledgeable board with diverse
perspectives and experience," said Phillip
Frost, M.D., Chairman and CEO of OPKO. "I
look
forward to working with Tom and Rick and the entire Board of Directors as we
continue to aggressively
pursue our research and development programs and advance the clinical testing
of
bevasiranib, our lead agent for age-related macular degeneration.
We also
want to thank Dave Eichler for his past contributions as a Board member of
OPKO."
Richard
C. Pfenniger, Jr. joins the Board as Chairman of OPKO’s Audit Committee. Mr.
Pfenniger currently serves as the Chairman, CEO and President of Continucare
Corporation, a provider of primary physician and practice management services.
Prior to Continucare, Mr. Pfenniger was CEO and Vice Chairman of Whitman
Education Group, Inc. Previously, he was a Director of IVAX
Corporation. Mr. Pfenniger currently is a Director of two other
companies.
Thomas
E.
Beier will serve
on
OPKO’s Audit and Compensation Committees. Mr. Beier currently is a Director of
Ideation Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company formed for
the
purpose of acquiring businesses in digital media. Previously, he was Senior
Vice
President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of IVAX Corporation. Before
joining IVAX, Mr. Beier served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer of Intercontinental Bank.
OPKO’s
Board of Directors now includes ten members.
About
OPKO Health, Inc.
Miami-based
OPKO is a specialty healthcare company. Its lead investigational drug, the
pioneering gene silencing agent bevasiranib, has entered a pivotal Phase III
trial after successfully completing Phase II trials for wet age-related macular
degeneration and diabetic macular edema. OPKO is developing a preclinical
pipeline of novel agents for ophthalmic diseases, and it markets innovative
diagnostic imaging systems that complement the company’s therapeutic products.
For more information visit the company’s website at www.opko.com.
This
press release contains "forward-looking statements,” as that term is defined
under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA), which
statements may be identified by words such as “expects,” “plans,” “projects,”
“will,” “may,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “should,” “intends,” “estimates,” and
other words of similar meaning, including statements regarding the potential
benefits of bevasiranib, our ability to aggressively engage in R&D
activities and advance clinical testing of bevasiranib and our ability to
develop a preclinical pipeline of novel agents for ophthalmic diseases, as
well
as other non-historical statements about our expectations, beliefs or intentions
regarding our business, technologies and products, financial condition,
strategies or prospects. Many factors could cause our actual activities or
results to differ materially from the activities and results anticipated in
forward-looking statements. These factors include those factors described in
our
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as risks inherent
in funding, developing and obtaining regulatory approvals of new,
commercially-viable and competitive products and treatments, including the
risks
that enrollment of patients for the Phase III clinical trial for bevasiranib,
may not be successful, that the Phase III clinical trial itself may not be
completed on a timely basis or at all, that any of our compounds under
development, including bevasiranib, may fail, may not achieve the expected
results or effectiveness and may not generate data that would support the
approval or marketing of products for the indications being studied or for
other
indications. In addition, forward-looking statements may also be adversely
affected by general market factors, competitive product development, product
availability, federal and state regulations and legislation, the regulatory
process for new products and indications, manufacturing issues that may arise,
patent positions and litigation, among other factors. The forward-looking
statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date the
statements were made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update
forward-looking statements. We intend that all forward-looking statements be
subject to the safe-harbor provisions of the PSLRA.
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