Avicena Appoints Dr. M. Flint Beal to Board of Directors
September 28 2007 - 8:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Avicena
Group, Inc. (OTC:AVGO) (BULLETIN BOARD: AVGO) , a late-stage
biotechnology company that develops central nervous system
therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases, announced today the
appointment of Dr. M. Flint Beal, M.D. to the Company's Board of
Directors, effective October 30, 2007. Dr. Beal is a co-founder of
Avicena and has served as a member of the Company's Scientific
Advisory Board since 2000. This appointment expands the Board of
Directors to 6 members. "Dr. Beal, an internationally recognized
authority on neurodegenerative disorders, is a welcome addition to
our Board of Directors. As a co-founder of Avicena and a current
member of our Scientific Advisory Board, he is particularly well
suited to help guide us through our drug development programs,"
stated Belinda Tsao-Nivaggioli, Avicena's chief executive officer.
"Avicena is entering into an important stage with Phase III studies
in Parkinson's Disease, Huntington's Disease and ALS and we are
looking forward to Dr. Beal's contributions." Dr. Beal is the Anne
Parrish Titzell professor and chairman of the department of
neurology and neuroscience at the Weill Medical College at Cornell
University, and director of neurology at New York Presbyterian
Hospital. Prior to Cornell, Dr. Beal was the professor of neurology
at the Harvard Medical School and chief of the neurochemistry
laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Beal is also
involved with several foundations and associations focused on
neurological disorders, including the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical
Honorary Society, where he received the Derek Denny-Brown
Neurological Scholar Award of the American Neurologic Association.
He is also a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National
Academy of Science, and was previously on the Council of the
American Neurologic Association. In addition, Dr. Beal served on
the science advisory committees of the Hereditary Disease
Foundation, Huntington's Disease Society of America, Parkinson's
Disease Study Group, Parkinson's Disease Foundation,
Bachman-Strauss Foundation, The ALS Association, and the American
Health Assistance Foundation. Author or co-author of more than 300
scientific articles and more than 125 books, book chapters and
reviews, Dr. Beal also serves on the editorial boards of a number
of journals including the Journal of Neurochemistry, the Annals of
Neurology, Journal of Molecular Neuroscience, Experimental
Neurology and Neurobiology of Disease. Dr. Beal received an M.D.
from the University of Virginia Medical School and subsequently
conducted residencies in internal medicine at the New York
Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and in neurology at The
Massachusetts General Hospital, respectively. He joined the
neurology faculty at Harvard in 1983. Dr. Beal was professor of
neurology at the Harvard Medical School and chief of the
neurochemistry laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital before
moving to Cornell. ABOUT AVICENA Avicena Group, Inc. (OTC:AVGO)
(BULLETIN BOARD: AVGO) is a Palo Alto, California based late stage
biotechnology company that develops central nervous system
therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases. The company's core
technologies, supported by a robust IP portfolio, have broad
applications in both pharmaceuticals and dermaceuticals. Avicena's
pharmaceutical program centers on rare neurological disorders
(orphan diseases). The company is currently analyzing data from its
Phase IIb/III trial in ALS. Near term, Avicena intends to initiate
a Phase III trial in Huntington's disease to accompany the ongoing
Phase III trial in Parkinson's disease. Avicena's science is well
established and its products are safe and well tolerated. Unlike
traditional biotechnology companies, Avicena's clinical programs
are largely funded by government and non-profit organizations.
Avicena presently derives revenue from the sale of proprietary
dermaceutical ingredients to skin care manufacturers. SAFE HARBOR
This release contains forward-looking statements that reflect,
among other things, management's current expectations, plans and
strategies, all of which are subject to known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and factors that may cause our actual results to
differ materially from those expressed or implied by these
forward-looking statements. Many of these risks are beyond our
ability to control or predict. See "Risk Factors" under "Item 6.
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operation" from our Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the
year ended December 31, 2006, and other descriptions in the
company's public filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission for a discussion of such risks, including the company's
need for additional funds, the company's dependence on a limited
number of therapeutic compounds, the stage of the products the
company is developing, uncertainties relating to clinical trials
and regulatory reviews, competition and dependence on collaborative
partners, the company's ability to avoid infringement of the patent
rights of others, and the company's ability to obtain adequate
patent protection and to enforce these rights. Because of these
risks, uncertainties and assumptions, you should not place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements. Furthermore,
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made.
Avicena does not undertake any obligation to update or review any
such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. Contact: The Ruth Group
(on behalf of Avicena Group) Sara Ephraim (investors) (646)
536-7002 Janine McCargo / Jason Rando (media) (646) 536-7033 / 7025
/ DATASOURCE: Avicena Group, Inc. CONTACT: Investors, Sara Ephraim,
+1-646-536-7002, , or Media, Janine McCargo, +1-646-536-7033, , or
Jason Rando, +1-646-536-7025, , all of The Ruth Group, for Avicena
Group, Inc. Web site: http://www.avicenagroup.com/
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