To All:
VIMRX Names Baxter's Victor W. Schmitt as Director
WILMINGTON, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 1998--VIMRX Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VMRX) announced today the appointment of Victor W. Schmitt to its board of directors, effective immediately. Mr. Schmitt, 49, is president, Venture Management, Baxter Healthcare Corporation, where he is responsible for the creation and management of Baxter's interests in developmental-stage biotechnology companies. In December, VIMRX and Baxter finalized the formation of a new cell therapy company that will develop and market innovative treatments for cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
"We are pleased to welcome Victor Schmitt to our board," said Richard L. Dunning, VIMRX president and chief executive officer. "This appointment further enhances our collaboration with Baxter and provides VIMRX the benefit of Mr. Schmitt's extensive business, industry and partnership expertise."
Prior to his current assignment, which began in 1994, Mr. Schmitt held the position of president, Baxter Biotech Europe. He has also served as vice president, business development and finance, Baxter's Blood Therapy Group. Previously, Mr. Schmitt spent 16 years with the American Red Cross Blood Services, where he held many positions in marketing and operations including vice president of blood services. He holds a B.S. from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland. Mr. Schmitt serves on the board of directors of a number of developmental-stage biotech companies.
Victor W. Schmitt joins the following directors who currently serve on the VIMRX board: Chairman Donald G. Drapkin, vice chairman and director of MacAndrews and Forbes Holdings, Inc.; Richard L. Dunning, VIMRX president and CEO; Laurence D. Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock Financial Management, Inc.; Jerome Elliot Groopman, M.D. professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School; Linda Gosden Robinson, chairman and CEO of Robinson Lerer & Montgomery; Eric A. Rose, M.D., chairman, Department of Surgery at Columbia University; Lindsay A. Rosenwald, M.D., chairman of Paramount Capital, Inc.; and, Michael A. Weiner, M.D., Hettinger professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Columbia University.
VIMRX Pharmaceuticals Inc.
VIMRX Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VMRX), a biotechnology company based in Wilmington, Delaware, is comprised of a diverse portfolio of companies, technologies and compounds. VIMRX and Baxter Healthcare have recently created a new cell therapies company to treat cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Through its majority-owned affiliate, Innovir Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ: INVR), VIMRX is developing oligozymes which control disease-triggering flaws in individuals' genetic chemistry for potential use as both therapeutic agents and as pharmaceutical research tools. A collaboration with Columbia University's Genome Center, VIMRX Genomics Inc. is focused on the commercialization of gene discoveries in cancer and other genetically based diseases. Three VIMRX compounds are in development: VIMRxyn(R), chemically synthesized hypericin, an antiviral and anticancer agent; VM201, a Factor IXa inhibitor for selective inhibition of blood clotting to manage the bleeding risk associated with anti-coagulation; and VM301, a dermatological agent with wound healing potential. -0- The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for certain forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from current expectations. Among the factors which could affect the Company's actual results and could cause results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements contained herein are the success of the Company's clinical trials, delays in receiving FDA or other regulatory approvals and the development of competing therapies and/or technologies by other companies.
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CONTACT: Media Contact: VIMRX Pharmaceuticals
Laura A. Mastrangelo, 302/998-1734
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Contact:
The Investor Relations Group
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