Vical Announces Management Changes
SAN DIEGO--(BW HealthWire)--April 13, 2000--Vical Incorporated (Nasdaq:VICL) announced today that Alain B. Schreiber, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, will be leaving the Company at the end of June. The Board of Directors has commenced a search for a replacement. During the transition, R. Gordon Douglas, Jr., M.D., Chairman of the Board of Vical, is assuming a more active role in managing the strategic direction of the Company. Deirdre Y. Gillespie, M.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer, is being elected Chief Operating Officer and is assuming additional operational responsibilities.
Dr. Douglas joined the Vical Board in May 1999, and was elected Chairman of the Board in December 1999. Dr. Douglas retired in April 1999 from Merck & Co., Inc., where he had been President of Merck Vaccines since 1991, and a member of the Merck Management Committee. Prior to joining Merck in 1989, Dr. Douglas was a physician and academician. His teaching and administrative affiliations included Baylor College of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine, and Cornell University Medical College. His medical practice included affiliations with The New York Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, The Rockefeller University Hospital and North Shore University Hospital. He has served as a visiting professor at a number of medical schools and as a consultant to several pharmaceutical and biomedical companies.
Dr. Douglas is a graduate of Princeton University and Cornell University Medical College. He received his medical staff training at The New York Hospital and Johns Hopkins Hospital and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine, the Association of American Physicians, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and numerous other organizations.
Dr. Gillespie has 12 years of pharmaceutical product development and marketing experience in the United States and Europe. She joined Vical as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer in March 1998. Prior to joining Vical, Dr. Gillespie served as Vice President of Business Development for 3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals, Inc. From 1991 to 1996, she held various management positions with the DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Co. From 1986 to 1990, Dr. Gillespie directed clinical research activities for Sandoz Pharma AG. Dr. Gillespie received a B.Sc. in Pharmacology and Therapeutics and an M.D. from London University. Dr. Gillespie received her M.B.A. from the London Business School with a specialization in marketing and international management.
Dr. Douglas stated that "Dr. Schreiber has provided significant guidance and direction to Vical over the past eight years. The Board of Directors is most appreciative of Dr. Schreiber's contributions. In addition, we are pleased that Dr. Gillespie is assuming an expanded role in running the Company."
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements, and additional risks set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from those projected. These forward-looking statements represent the Company's judgment as of the date of this release. The Company disclaims, however, any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
For news releases and other information about the Company, visit the Vical web site at www.vical.com.
CONTACT:
Vical Inc.
Alan R. Engbring, Director, Investor Relations
or
Martha J. Demski, Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer
858/646-1127 |
