March 14, 2001-- MitoKor today announced two appointments that strengthen the company's capabilities in R&D and business development. Jerry Weisbach, Ph.D., was appointed to MitoKor's Board of Directors and Barry Wolitzky, Ph.D., was appointed as Vice President of Preclinical Research and Development. Dr. Weisbach currently serves as company director, advisory board member and consultant to multiple corporations in the fields of chemistry, biotechnology and medicine. Dr. Wolitzky is a cell and molecular biologist with considerable experience in immunology, inflammation and oncology.
Dr. Weisbach brings over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry to MitoKor's Board of Directors. Dr. Weisbach has been a senior executive at several corporations including Smith, Kline and French Laboratories where he was Vice President of Research and Warner Lambert where he served as Corporate Vice President and President of the Parke Davis Research Division. While at Warner Lambert, Dr. Weisbach was influential in the development of several blockbuster drugs including Lipitor and Accupril. Following a brief tenure as a Professor at the University of Michigan, he was made Adjunct Professor and Director of Technology Transfer at the Rockefeller University. Dr. Weisbach received his Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Brooklyn College and earned both his Master's and Doctorate degrees from Harvard University.
``Dr. Weisbach brings a wealth of pharmaceutical research experience and outstanding expertise in business development issues to the Board of MitoKor,'' said Walter H. Moos, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MitoKor. ``The addition of such an accomplished pharmaceutical executive is vital as the Company proceeds toward additional corporate collaborations and begins to advance drug candidates into development.''
Dr. Wolitzky spent 13 years at Hoffmann-La Roche, most recently as Director of Oncology and Associate Director of Preclinical Research and Development. He later spent time at Coelacanth Corporation, a combinatorial chemistry company, as Vice President of Discovery, and helped to establish a number of strategic alliances and drug discovery collaborations. Dr. Wolitzky will be responsible for high throughput screening, pharmacology and preclinical development at MitoKor. Dr. Wolitzky has published over 40 manuscripts and earned his Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate degrees in Cell and Molecular Biology from the State University of N.Y. at Buffalo.
``Dr. Wolitzky will be a tremendous asset to MitoKor's research and development team,'' said Walter H. Moos. ``He will play an instrumental role as we move forward in our discovery of drugs for the treatment of diseases of aging. ''
MitoKor is a biotechnology company focused on the commercial applications of mitochondrial science. Mitochondria are the self-charging batteries and engines of cells, driving energy production, metabolism, and cellular life and death, as well as participating in other key signaling pathways. Mitochondria also house the ``other'' human genome, inherited only from the mother. Mitochondrial dysfunction is a major contributing factor in the pathophysiology of major diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, osteoarthritis and type 2 diabetes mellitus. MitoKor and its wholly owned subsidiary, Mimotopes, have established core competencies in biotechnology, combinatorial drug discovery, and diagnostic development technologies, as well as in mitochondrial proteomics and genomics, disease modeling and pharmacogenomics.
For more information, please visit our Web sites at www.mitokor.com and www.mimotopes.com. |
