TNI BioTech, Inc. Announces Death of Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Ronald Herberman
PR Newswire
BETHESDA, Md., June 3, 2013
BETHESDA, Md. , June 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- TNI BioTech, Inc. (OTCQB: TNIB) announced today that Dr. Ronald Herberman , the Company's Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, unexpectedly passed away over the weekend.
The board of directors issued the following statement: "We are shocked and greatly saddened by the passing of Dr. Ronald Herberman . He was a visionary leader, a devoted father to his children, and a good friend. The company's directors and employees, as well as many of the people he worked with and mentored over the years, mourn his loss. We extend our sympathies to his family, particularly his wife and children, who meant the world to him.
The board of directors, while searching for a new chief medical officer, has appointed an interim team to continue with the development of our drug therapies and clinical trials programs. While TNI BioTech will feel the loss of Dr. Herberman, management and medical staff are deeply committed to continuing his vision and therapies. Dr. Herberman leaves behind a highly qualified and capable staff and team.
TNI BioTech expects to fill the chief medical officer position with one of many qualified candidates that have been under consideration for other key positions in the company. Until then, the medical team will be led by Dr. Joseph Fortunak , a strategic advisor to TNI BioTech. Dr. Fortunak brings decades of biotech experience, which include formerly serving as the director and head of global chemical development at Abbott Laboratories. Dr. Fortunak will be joined by Dr. Angus Dalgleish , a member of TNI BioTech's medical advisory board and chair of the Oncology Department at St. George's University of London . The team will also include Dr. Nick Plotnikoff , non-executive chairman, the company's president, Dr. Eugene Youkilis , and Ms. Annie Foster , the vice president of clinical and regulatory affairs.
While we plan to expedite the process of hiring a new chief medical officer, we feel our current team, along with the company's strategic consulting agreement with the Weinberg Group and Howard University , who have worked with us on trial protocols and FDA submissions, will help ensure that our drug development programs continue without any changes to timelines. Consequently, TNI BioTech does not expect to delay our scheduled meetings with the FDA, and will proceed with our current schedule for Stage II and Stage III trials for Crohn's disease and pancreatic cancer."
Noreen Griffin , CEO of TNI BioTech commented, "The passing of Dr. Herberman will require a focused effort by our entire TNI BioTech team. The company is comfortable that our team will successfully manage this transition. One of our goals now is to complete the work of Dr. Herberman and TNI BioTech. The success of the company in the coming years will be due in great part to the work he performed for us this past year."
About TNI BioTech, Inc.
TNI BioTech, Inc . is a biotech company with the goal of benefitting patients with chronic and often life-threatening diseases through the activation and rebalancing of the body's immune system, using a patented immunotherapy.
Their products, technologies, and patents are designed to harness the power of the immune system to improve the treatment of cancer, chronic infections such as HIV/AIDS, and autoimmune diseases and, such as Crohn's disease, other types of inflammatory bowel disease, and multiple sclerosis.
TNI BioTech's most advanced clinical programs involve immunotherapy with methionine-enkephalin (MENK) or low dose naltrexone (LDN), which both work by triggering opioid receptors on immune cells, leading to an activation and expansion of various cells of the immune system.
Their proprietary technology, therapies, and patents are planned to treat a wide range of cancers. Their most advanced clinical programs involve immunotherapy that works by augmenting the number and functions of both T cells and natural killer (NK) cells in patients with deficient immune responses associated with advanced cancer or HIV/AIDS and by rebalancing the immune responses in patients with autoimmune diseases, including Crohn's disease and multiple sclerosis (MS).
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release includes various "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which represent the Company's expectations or beliefs concerning future events. Statements containing expressions such as "believes," "anticipates," "intends," or "expects," used in the Company's press releases and in Disclosure Statements and Reports filed with the Over The Counter Markets through the OTC Disclosure and News Service are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes its expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its knowledge of its business and operations, there can be no assurances that actual results will not differ materially from expected results. The Company cautions that these and similar statements included in this report are further qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date thereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to such forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.
See http://www.tnibiotech.com for more information.
Contact: Global Investment Media Phone: 310-353-6277
SOURCE TNI BioTech, Inc.
