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Biopure Corporation Expands Senior Management Team, Adds Critical Care Expert, General Counsel, HR Veteran And Department Directors
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Biopure Corporation, the
developer of the first FDA-approved "blood substitute," has expanded its
senior management by adding Dr. William D. Hoffman to its medical team, hiring
Jane Kober as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary, adding
Carolyn R. Fuchs as vice president of Human Resources, and bringing on two new
department directors. Since January, the privately held biopharmaceutical
company has grown from 145 to 171 employees to support the commercialization
of the company's FDA-approved oxygen-carrying fluid, or "blood substitute,"
for use in dogs and the advanced clinical testing of a similar product for use
in humans.
"By the end of 1998, we will aggressively expand the distribution of our
veterinary product, Oxyglobin(R) [hemoglobin glutamer -- 200 (bovine)] (A), to
community veterinarians nationwide. We will also accelerate Phase III
clinical testing of our human product, Hemopure(R) [hemoglobin glutamer -- 250
(bovine)], and will prepare an application for submission to the FDA," said
Carl Rausch, president, chief executive officer and chairman of Biopure. "To
this end, we will continue to hire quality individuals whose expertise
contributes to the company's growth during this critical stage of
development."
William D. Hoffman, M.D.
William D. Hoffman, M.D., is a well-known critical care expert who joined
Biopure in January. He oversees the company's clinical activities, research
protocols, medical education and product development, and spearheads
publication of company-sponsored clinical research. He is also on staff in
the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at Beth Israel Hospital in
Boston.
Dr. Hoffman previously served as director of the Surgical Intensive Care
Unit at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, where he directed patient care and
headed one of the nation's largest critical-care fellowship programs. He also
conducted clinical research, which included investigating the physiologic
effects of hemoglobin-based oxygen-carrying fluids in patients during and
after major aortic reconstructive surgery.
Dr. Hoffman also served as senior investigator for the Department of
Critical Care Medicine at the National Institutes for Health, where he was a
member of the transfusion committee and the medical ethics committee. He has
held faculty positions at the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins
University, and Georgetown University. He is a former diplomat of the
American Board of Anesthesiology, and has twice received the Henry Christian
Award for excellence in research from the American Federation for Clinical
Research. He has also written more than 150 scientific presentations,
articles, and book chapters.
Dr. Hoffman completed his anesthesiology residency at the University of
Massachusetts Medical Center, obtained his medical degree at the University of
Massachusetts Medical School, and received his undergraduate degree in Physics
from Carnegie-Mellon University.
Jane Kober
Jane Kober joined Biopure in May as senior vice president, general counsel
and secretary. She was formerly a partner at LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae
L.L.P. and at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey in New York City. Ms. Kober received
her law degree from Case Western Reserve University and has a master of arts
degree from the University of Chicago.
Carolyn Fuchs
Carolyn R. Fuchs joined Biopure in June as vice president of Human
Resources. Her 20 years of experience in human resources, training and
organizational development include positions with Fidelity Investments,
Procter & Gamble and, most recently, NMC Homecare, Inc. -- a subsidiary of
National Medical Care -- where she managed the HR integration for six
corporate acquisitions. She has also been a consultant for several Fortune
500 companies, including General Motors, and has designed and nationally
implemented training programs for healthcare administrators. Ms. Fuchs
received her master of education degree from the University of Massachusetts.
Department Directors
Gretchen Taintor joined Biopure in April as associate director of Clinical
Research. Previously, she held positions in clinical research planning and
management at Hybridon Inc., Seragen, BioSurface Technology (now Genzyme
Tissue Repair), and Parexel International. In each of these positions, she
played a key role in defining the infrastructure and developing standard
policies and procedures supportive of successful clinical research operations.
Ms. Taintor received her master of science degree in Molecular Biology and her
bachelor of science degree in Microbiology from the University of
Massachusetts.
Douglas Sayles joined Biopure in June as associate director of Marketing
Communications. He is responsible for directing Biopure's corporate and
product-based external communications. He previously worked at Cone
Communications in Boston and at GTFH Public Relations (now Grey Healthcare
Group) in New York City, where he developed and implemented medical
communications programs for pharmaceutical, biotechnology and managed care
companies. Mr. Sayles received his bachelor of arts degree in English from
Bucknell University.
Biopure Corporation
On January 28, Biopure received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration to market Oxyglobin for the treatment of anemia in dogs.
Oxyglobin is a sterile, room temperature stable, intravenous solution
consisting of ultrapurified, chemically modified hemoglobin that, when
administered, transports oxygen from the lungs to tissues via plasma (the
fluid portion of blood). Biopure's product for human use, Hemopure, is in
advanced clinical trials in the United States and Europe, where it is being
tested for its ability to eliminate and/or reduce the need for blood
transfusions before, during and after surgery.
Biopure Corporation is a privately held, biopharmaceutical company
focusing on the identification, ultrapurification, manufacture and marketing
of room-temperature-stable therapeutic proteins for veterinary and human use.
The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., and has three state-of-the-
art manufacturing facilities, totaling 80,000 square feet, in Cambridge,
Mass., Dover, N.H., and Souderton, Pa. Biopure Corporation can be found on
the World Wide Web at biopure.com.
NOTE(A): For Oxyglobin prescribing information, call 617-234-6826 or visit
oxyglobin.com
SOURCE Biopure Corporation
Web Site: biopure.com
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