DUBLIN, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SuperGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:SUPG), a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel cancer therapies, announced that its chairman, president and chief executive officer, James S.J. Manuso, Ph.D., has been elected to the Full Board of Directors of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) at its 2011 International Convention.
“I am honored to serve on the BIO Board of Directors,” said Dr. Manuso. “Collaborating with such an esteemed group of international life sciences leaders on health policy affecting oncology patients and those with other serious illnesses will hopefully enhance the effectiveness with which medical therapies are discovered, approved, and delivered.”
BIO’s Board of Directors is composed of members of the Governing Boards for each of BIO’s four sections: Health, Emerging Companies, Industrial & Environmental and Food & Agriculture. Dr. Manuso will serve on BIO’s Health Section Governing Board.
“I want to welcome Dr. Manuso to the Board, we are proud that he will be serving on BIO’s Full Board of Directors and on the Health Section Governing Board,” said Jim Greenwood, President and CEO of BIO. “His expertise and experience will be highly valuable to BIO’s critical policy development and advocacy activities.”
In addition, Dr. Manuso will serve on the BIO Board Standing Committee on International Affairs.
SuperGen has been a member of BIO since 2003. In addition to Dr. Manuso’s appointment to the Board, Nancy Worrell, SuperGen executive director, human resources, is the Co-Chair of the BIO Human Resources Conference 2011. The BIO Human Resources Conference 2011 has integrated events and offerings from the BIO International Convention.
About James S.J. Manuso, Ph.D.
Dr. Manuso has served as SuperGen chairman, president and chief executive officer since January 1, 2004, as chief executive officer-elect from September 2003 to December 2003 and as a director since February 2001. He is co-founder and immediate past president and chief executive officer of Galenica Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Dr. Manuso co-founded and was general partner of PrimeTech Partners, a biotechnology venture management partnership, from 1998 to 2002, and co-founder and managing general partner of The Channel Group LLC, an international life sciences corporate advisory firm. He was also president of Manuso, Alexander & Associates, Inc., management consultants and financial advisors to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
Dr. Manuso was a vice president and director of Health Care Planning and Development for The Equitable Companies (now Group Axa), where he also served as an acting medical director. He currently serves on the boards of Novelos Therapeutics, Inc. (NVLT:OB) and privately-held KineMed, Inc. Previously, he served on the boards of Merrion Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (MERR:IEX; Dublin, Ireland), Inflazyme Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Symbiontics, Inc. (subsequently sold to BioMarin as ZyStor Therapeutics, Inc.), Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Galenica Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Supratek Pharma, Inc.
Dr. Manuso earned a B.A. with Honors in Economics and Chemistry from New York University, a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychophysiology from the Graduate Faculty of The New School University, a Certificate in Health Systems Management from Harvard Business School, and an Executive M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Dr. Manuso is the author of over 30 chapters, articles and books on topics including health care cost containment and biotechnology company management. He has taught and lectured at Columbia, New York University, Georgetown, Polytechnic University, and Waseda University (Japan). He has delivered invited addresses at meetings of the American Management Association, the American Medical Association, the Securities Industry Association, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, and many other professional associations. Dr. Manuso previously served as vice president and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Greater San Francisco Bay Area Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
About SuperGen
SuperGen is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel cancer therapeutics in epigenetic and cell signaling modulation. The Company develops products through biochemical and clinical proof of concept to partner for further development and commercialization. SuperGen developed Dacogen® and receives significant royalties on global sales.
On April 6, 2011, SuperGen entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Astex Therapeutics Limited, a UK based biotechnology company. The transaction was approved by SuperGen stockholders on June 16, 2011 and by Astex Therapeutics shareholders on June 13, 2011. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory and legal approvals and is targeted to close in July 2011.
Further information about this transaction is available at http://www.astex-supergen.com. For more information about SuperGen, please visit http://www.supergen.com.
About BIO
The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the world’s largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world.