Ronald Faris, Ph.D., Promoted to Chief Science Officer of Exten Industries
Tuesday February 17, 12:15 pm ET
WARWICK, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 17, 2004--Exten Industries, Inc. (Exten) (OTCBB:EXTI - News) announced today that Ronald Faris, Ph.D., has been promoted to Chief Science Officer of Exten Industries.
Dr. Faris, who continues as President and Chief Science Officer of Exten's wholly owned subsidiary, MultiCell Technologies, will now manage all of the science-related activities of the corporation. Jerry Newmin, Exten Chairman and CEO, stated, "Ron Faris has proven to be an outstanding scientist and leader. Dr. Faris holds several patents, is widely published and is at the forefront of liver cell and adult stem cell technology. He understands the opportunities of Exten's technology and continues to develop new applications for our cell lines. Our intellectual property portfolio has been strengthened and is expanding, and we believe that several of the Company's new development programs will result in additional patent opportunities. We are pleased to have someone of the caliber of Dr. Faris overseeing all our current and future scientific projects."
After earning a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Virginia Tech, Dr. Faris earned his doctorate in nutritional toxicology from Cornell University in 1982. From 1982 to 1985, he held a doctorial fellowship at the MD Anderson Science Park Research Center, where he studied the long-term effects of pharmacological exposure on drug metabolism pathways. Dr. Faris subsequently moved to Providence, Rhode Island in 1985 to investigate the role of stem cells in liver cancer. He currently has NIH funding to develop therapeutic applications for adult liver stem cells and has a joint appointment as an Associate Professor of Pathology and Pediatrics at Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital. Dr. Faris became associated with MultiCell in 1999, and joined Exten officially when Exten acquired MultiCell in 2001.
Dr. Faris, who was also instrumental in developing MultiCell's XenoTech alliance in 2003, commented, "I believe the Company has a tremendous future in drug discovery and I am pleased to help develop that future with my expanded role at Exten."
About Exten:
Exten Industries, Inc., (OTCBB:EXTI - News) through its subsidiary MultiCell Technologies, Inc., provides hepatic (liver) cells and cell lines to pharmaceutical companies for drug discovery, and is developing cell-based toxicological and drug screening tests and biologics for use in diagnostic and therapeutic applications. MultiCell's cellular product expertise also enables production of liver-derived therapeutic proteins. Exten's Xenogenics Corporation subsidiary is developing the Sybiol® synthetic bio-liver device. Exten's corporate and research headquarters are in Warwick, Rhode Island. For more information about Exten and its subsidiaries, visit www.exten.com and www.multicelltechnologies.com.
The matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. These risks are detailed from time to time in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission including the Company's Annual Report, Quarterly Reports and other periodic filings. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
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Contact:
Exten Industries Inc.
Jerry Newmin, 401-384-6789
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Source: Exten Industries Inc.
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