SAN DIEGO, Dec. 21, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vical Incorporated (Nasdaq: VICL ), a biotechnology company developing vaccines and therapeutics for prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, today announced that Thomas E. Shenk, Ph.D. will join Vical’s Board of Directors. Dr. Shenk, currently the James A. Elkins Professor in the Life Sciences at Princeton University, is a pre-eminent virologist and leading expert on human cytomegalovirus. His appointment to the Board was effective December 18, 2015, and Stephen A. Sherwin, M.D., stepped down at that time.
“We are extremely pleased to have Tom join us on the Board, as this significantly enhances our infectious disease expertise,” said Vijay Samant, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vical. “His understanding of CMV is virtually unparalleled and will be critically important to us as we continue to advance our ASP0113 CMV vaccine program with Astellas. During 2016, we anticipate that Astellas will have top line data from the Phase 2 trial in kidney transplant patients and complete enrollment in the Phase 3 trial in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients, which is expected to read out during 2017.”
Dr. Shenk’s research has focused on gene functions and pathogenesis of adenovirus, a DNA tumor virus, and, more recently, human cytomegalovirus. His laboratory’s current areas of focus include the use of genetic and proteomic approaches for the dissection of cytomegalovirus gene functions and the cellular response to infection, as well as the development and analysis of models for study of viral latency. Dr. Shenk is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. National Academy of Medicine. He is a past president of the American Society for Virology and the American Society for Microbiology, and he served on the board of directors of Merck & Company for 11 years. He currently serves on several boards, including the Forge Life Science, Kadmon Corporation and MeiraGTx.
Samant continued, “The Board and I are are also grateful to Steve for his contributions to Vical. His scientific and business acumen and industry experience have been extremely valuable, and were particularly vital when oncology was a focus in our portfolio.”
About Vical
Vical develops biopharmaceutical products for the prevention and treatment of chronic or life-threatening infectious diseases, based on its patented DNA delivery technologies and other therapeutic approaches. Additional information on Vical is available at www.vical.com .
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Forward-looking statements include anticipated developments in collaborative programs, including the timing of data for clinical trials. Risks and uncertainties include whether Vical or others will continue development of ASP0113; whether any product candidates will be shown to be safe and efficacious in clinical trials; whether Vical is able to continue its collaborative arrangements or enter into new ones; the timing of clinical trials; whether Vical or its collaborative partners will seek or gain approval to market any product candidates; and additional risks set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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.
Contact: Andrew Hopkins (858) 646-1127 Website: www.vical.com
