HAIFA, Israel, Feb. 5, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pluristem Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PSTI ) (TASE: PLTR ), a leading developer of placenta-based cell therapies, today announced the appointments of two of its senior executives. These executive appointments support the Company's growth and opportunities both on the clinical development front and with its big-pharma corporate partnerships. This comes at a time when Pluristem is advancing its cell therapies for numerous indications through global clinical trials.
Yaky Yanay has been promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Yanay joined Pluristem in 2006, serving as the Company's Chief Financial Officer in charge of financial strategy. Since March of 2012, Mr. Yanay has also served as the Company's Executive Vice President. Mr. Yanay is a member of the board of directors of Israel Advanced Technologies Industries, the largest umbrella organization in Israel for companies, organizations, and individuals in the high tech and life science sectors. Mr. Yanay holds a bachelor's degree with honors in business administration and accounting, and he is a Certified Public Accountant in Israel.
Boaz Gur-Lavie has been appointed to the position of Chief Financial Officer and Secretary. Mr. Gur-Lavie recently joined Pluristem, serving as the Company's Vice President of Finance. Prior to joining Pluristem, Mr. Gur-Lavie was CFO of Abbott Informatics Division, responsible for different Abbott informatics brands and STARLIMS, a global software organization which helps laboratories optimize data accessibility, integrity, defensibility and long-term value. Before that, he served as VP Finance of STARLIMS, a software company traded on the NASDAQ and Tel-Aviv stock exchange prior to being acquired by Abbott. Mr. Gur-Lavie previously served as assistant controller at ECI. Prior to which he served as a senior manager on the ERS team of Deloitte Israel. He has also served as a lecturer at Ben Gurion University. Mr. Gur-Lavie holds a master's degree in finance and a bachelor's degree in economy and accounting from the University of Ben-Gurion. He is a Certified Public Accountant in Israel.
"Both Yaky and Boaz bring tremendous value to the Company and these appointments are very well-deserved. Their proven leadership skills, their strategic choices and their implementation of operational goals will take Pluristem to the next level of achievement," stated Zami Aberman, Chairman and CEO of Pluristem. "Our entire scientific, manufacturing, and operational team has done a phenomenal job of advancing our cell therapies to serve unmet medical needs."
Yaky Yanay, Pluristem's President and COO commented, "In the last year we were focused on building our manufacturing capabilities and our technology's competitive advantages. Now, following the strengthening of our executive and management team, our Company is ready and set to meet the significant opportunities ahead for the benefit of our shareholders, business partners and our employees."
About Pluristem Therapeutics
Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. is a leading developer of placenta-based cell therapies. The Company's patented PLX (PLacental eXpanded) cells are a drug delivery platform that releases a cocktail of therapeutic proteins in response to a host of local and systemic inflammatory and ischemic diseases. PLX cells are grown using the company's proprietary 3D micro-environmental technology and are an "off-the-shelf" product that requires no tissue matching prior to administration.
Pluristem has a strong intellectual property position, company-owned GMP certified manufacturing and research facilities, strategic relationships with major research institutions and a seasoned management team. For more information visit www.pluristem.com , the content of which is not part of this press release.
The Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6882
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and federal securities laws. For example, we are using forward-looking statements, when we discuss that the executive appointments support the Company's growth and opportunities, taking Pluristem to the next level of achievement, or when we discuss advancing our cell therapies to serve unmet medical needs, or that we are ready and set to meet the significant opportunities ahead. These forward-looking statements and their implications are based on the current expectations of the management of Pluristem only, and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: changes in technology and market requirements; we may encounter delays or obstacles in launching and/or successfully completing our clinical trials; our products may not be approved by regulatory agencies, our technology may not be validated as we progress further and our methods may not be accepted by the scientific community; we may be unable to retain or attract key employees whose knowledge is essential to the development of our products; unforeseen scientific difficulties may develop with our process; our products may wind up being more expensive than we anticipate; results in the laboratory may not translate to equally good results in real surgical settings; results of preclinical studies may not correlate with the results of human clinical trials; our patents may not be sufficient; our products may harm recipients; changes in legislation; inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and applications; loss of market share and pressure on pricing resulting from competition, which could cause the actual results or performance of Pluristem to differ materially from those contemplated in such forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by law, Pluristem undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. For a more detailed description of the risks and uncertainties affecting Pluristem, reference is made to Pluristem's reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Pluristem Therapeutics Inc.: Karine Kleinhaus, MD, MPH Director of Investor Relations 1-914-512-4109 Daya Lettvin Investor & Media Relations Director +972-54-674-5580
