TUSTIN, Calif., Nov. 29, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avid Bioservices, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPHM) (NASDAQ:PPHMP), today announced the appointment of Tracy L. Kinjerski as vice president of business operations. Ms. Kinjerski is a senior business development executive with more than 17 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, almost all of which have been focused in contract development and manufacturing. In her new role, she will be charged with driving growth in Avid’s contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business through the strategic expansion and diversification of the company’s commercial and clinical client base. Her responsibilities will span business development, project management and marketing.
Ms. Kinjerski most recently served as senior director of global business development at CMC Biologics, a global CDMO. In that role, her efforts spearheading business development and client relationship management generated significant new business growth in less than one year of joining the company. Prior to CMC Biologics, Ms. Kinjerski spent nearly five years with Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, the global CDMO division for Fujifilm. During her tenure, she served as director of commercial development focused on the East Coast of the US, helping to grow the company’s clinical and commercial business through new client engagements spanning global pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies of all sizes and government projects. Ms. Kinjerski, who holds a master’s degree in biomedical sciences, has also served in business and commercial development leadership positions at Althea Technologies and Avecia Biologics Billingham (since acquired by Fujifilm Diosynth), two fully-integrated CDMOs serving the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
“We feel fortunate to add an individual with the talent and experience of Tracy to our expanding team of CDMO industry veterans,” said Roger Lias, Ph.D., president of Avid Bioservices. “At Avid, we are acutely focused on positioning the company as a leading pure play CDMO and growing revenues, while at the same time strategically diversifying our client base and service offering. We believe that Tracy, with her proven track record of success in CDMO business development and client relations will play a key role in helping the company achieve these goals.”
Avid Bioservices was established as Peregrine’s internal biologics manufacturing and development group, and began formal operations in January 2002. The company has grown from an internal support operation to a full service CDMO serving leading biopharma companies. Avid was recently recognized as a leading CDMO by Life Science Leader as a recipient of multiple 2017 Contract Manufacturing Leadership Awards for Quality, Reliability, Capabilities, Expertise and Compatibility. The company has an outstanding regulatory inspection history, including 12 years of commercial manufacturing and state-of-the-art cGMP manufacturing facilities.
About Avid Bioservices, Inc. Avid Bioservices, a wholly owned subsidiary of Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, provides a comprehensive range of process development, high quality cGMP clinical and commercial manufacturing services for the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries. With over 20 years of experience producing monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins in batch, fed-batch and perfusion modes, including 12 years of commercial manufacturing for products sold in 18 countries, Avid's services include cGMP clinical and commercial product manufacturing, purification, bulk packaging, lot release and stability testing, regulatory strategy, submission and support. The company also provides a variety of process development activities, including cell line development and optimization, cell culture and feed optimization, analytical methods development, qualification/validation, process and product characterization. For more information about Avid, please visit www.avidbio.com .
About Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a company transitioning from an R&D focused business to a pure play contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO). Peregrine's in-house CDMO services, including cGMP manufacturing and development capabilities, are provided through its wholly-owned subsidiary Avid Bioservices, Inc. ( www.avidbio.com ).
The company is pursuing to license or sell its proprietary R&D assets, including its lead immunotherapy candidate, bavituximab, which is currently being evaluated in clinical trials in combination with immune stimulating therapies for the treatment of various cancers. For more information, please visit www.peregrineinc.com .
Kelly Pisarev Lord
Avid Bioservices, Inc.
(800) 987-8256
Stephanie Diaz (Investors)
Vida Strategic Partners
415-675-7401
sdiaz@vidasp.com
Tim Brons (Media)
Vida Strategic Partners
415-675-7402
tbrons@vidasp.com
