This appointment brings a wealth of experience in the pharmaceutical, biological and life sciences industries to Mymetics as well as adding strength and depth to the company's management.
NYON, Switzerland, June 22, 2009 -- Mymetics (www.mymetics.com) Corporation (OTCBB: MYMX), today announced that its Board of Directors has named Jacques-François Martin as Chairman of the Board, President and CEO, effective July 1, 2009, replacing Christian Rochet who remains as a non executive Director.
“I am impressed with the quality of the science developed by Mymetics and look forward to leveraging the company’s diverse technologies” stated Jacques-Francois Martin. “We will continue to develop our science and build on the existing pre-clinical and clinical trials in the areas of developing an AIDS vaccine, an enhanced Malaria vaccine and other virosome-based vaccines.”
Christian Rochet stated: “Jacques-Francois Martin has served as a consultant for Mymetics in the last few years and I previously had asked him to be a member of our Board of Directors. We have always our relationship with him. He has substantial experience in assisting companies with the commercial development of vaccines and has numerous contacts in the vaccine industry with organizations that provide financing to vaccine companies or can partner with companies like Mymetics. We are delighted to have him join Mymetics as it meets the challenges of its next stage of growth.”
Jacques-François Martin previously served as CEO of a predecessor company to Sanofi-Pasteur, Pasteur-Mérieux where he successfully negotiated with the Government of Canada to acquire Connaught Laboratories.
Jacques-Francois Martin also has held leadership positions with not-for-profit organizations dedicated to the development of vaccines to eradicate disease in both developed nations and third world countries. Jacques-François Martin was President of The Vaccine Fund, directing the Fund's efforts to provide lifesaving vaccines and other immunization support programs to low-income countries, a member of the board of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization Working Group (GAVI) and a past founding member of the Strategic Advisory Council of the Bill & Melinda Gates Children's Vaccine Program. This program has since developed to form part of the Gates Foundation. Further, he was a board member from November 1997 to June 2003 of the Board of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI).
Jacques-Francois Martin has also assisted organizations that conduct medical research and have an interest in vaccine development. Mr. Martin has served as the Chairman of the Biologicals Committee of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations as well as a member of the Scientific Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) of the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition he was a member of the Board of the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale – INSERM, the French National Institute of Health, and also served as Chief Executive Officer of the Fondation Jean Dausset – Centre d'Etudes du Polymorphisme Humain, a private foundation dedicated to genomics research.