14 August, 2006, Singapore – SingVax Pte Ltd, a vaccine development company, has appointed Dr John Brown as Chairman of the Board of Directors (BoD). Dr Brown has extensive experience in the biotechnology sector, joining Acambis (a FTSE250 biotech company) in 1995 and leading it from early-stage to profitability. Since resigning from Acambis as CEO at the beginning of 2004, Dr Brown has taken on a number of non-executive Board positions including Ardana plc, Protherics plc, Vectura Group plc and until recently Cambridge Antibody Technology plc, prior to its successful acquisition by AstraZeneca.  

Douglas Thomson, SingVax CEO said, “John’s appointment as Chairman is a tremendous endorsement of SingVax’s progress to date. John’s experience and guidance will help us immensely in our continued growth and development.” 

John Brown said, “I am excited to be joining SingVax which is focused on becoming a major vaccine player in the Asia-Pacific region. I very much look forward to working with the Board and management to deliver on the business strategy.” 

Continuing scientific excellence

In addition to a world-class BoD to guide business strategy, SingVax has put in place a distinguished Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) comprised of local and international experts in the fields of virology, immunology and vaccinology. Led by Prof David Rowlands, SingVax’s SAB will ensure that the company continues to achieve scientific excellence in its vaccine development programmes.  

SingVax focuses on developing prophylactic vaccines for infectious diseases prevalent in the Asia Pacific region. SingVax currently has two products in the pipeline, a Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccine for the prevention of JE virus infection and an Enterovirus 71 (EV71) vaccine for the prevention of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD). In Singapore, there were 7887^[1] reported cases of HFMD within the first six months of 2006. The market potential for a JE vaccine is estimated at US$ 250 million, while for an EV71 vaccine, it is estimated at US$ 150 million. More information on the development of these two vaccines at SingVax can be found at www.singvax.com  

See Annex 1 for a list of SingVax’s BoD and Annex 2 for a list of SingVax’s SAB. 

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About SingVax

Launched in May 2005, SingVax is a vaccine development company that focuses on developing prophylactic vaccines for infectious diseases prevalent in humans in the Asia Pacific region. SingVax is building up its in-house vaccine development infrastructure and currently has two products in development; a Japanese Encephalitis vaccine, and an Enterovirus 71 (EV71) vaccine for the prevention of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. SingVax has received investments from Bio*One Capital, a leading fund management company for biomedical sciences.  

For further information, please contact

SingVax Pte Ltd
11 Biopolis Way, Helios, #04-03/04, Singapore, 138667 info@singvax.com 

Media release reference number: 507 

Media enquiries may be directed to:

Asia Pacific media Chan Yiu Lin Greener Grass Communications Tel: (65) 9-7655897 Fax: (65) 67779363 Email: yiulin@starhub.net.sg

US and European media Katja Stout, Gemma Bradley Northbank Communications Tel: 020 3008 7558 / 7555 Fax: 020 3008 7551 Email: k.stout@northbankcommunications.com

Notes to editors: 

Annex 1 – Board of Directors 

SingVax’s Board of Directors consists of:

 

• Dr John Brown (Chairman SingVax) – Dr Brown currently chairs the Governing Council of the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh. He is also the Chairman of Scottish Biomedical and the BIA Scotland. Dr Brown was previously the Chief Executive of Acambis, a FTSE 250 biotech company which develops and manufactures vaccines for infectious diseases.

• Dr Christina Lim (Non-Executive Director) – Dr Lim has over 15 years experience in the venture capital industry, where she has focused on bioscience, IT, telecommunications and semiconductor portfolios. Prior to her retirement, Dr Lim was Senior Vice President with the Vertex Group, where she initiated its bioscience investment activities.
• Dr Lim Jui (Non-Executive Director) – As Director, Investments at Bio*One Capital, Dr Lim has experience in clinical medicine and has been involved in investments in Europe. Bio*One Capital is a leading investment management company for biomedical sciences in Asia.
• Dr Joseph Santangelo (Development Director) – As SingVax’s Development Director, Dr Santangelo drives SingVax’s product development functions. He has built up strong academic, industrial and development capabilities.
• Mr Ernest Seow (Independent Non-Executive Director) – Mr Seow has some 40 years experience in the public accounting profession and prior to his retirement, he was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr Seow brings to SingVax extensive audit and corporate governance expertise.
• Mr Douglas Thomson (Chief Executive Officer) – Mr Thomson has over 20 years of business experience, of which the last 13 years are focused within the vaccine industry. Mr Thomson formulates, evaluates and implements the company’s business and scientific strategies.

More information on the BoD can be found at www.singvax.com

Annex 2 – Scientific Advisory Board 

SingVax’s Scientific Advisory Board consists of:  

• Prof David Rowlands (Chairman) – Prof Rowlands is Emeritus Research Professor at the University of Leeds, and is internationally recognised for his work on the Foot and Mouth Disease virus. In recent years, his research interests have been in viral hepatitis, especially the hepatitis C virus (HCV).
• Prof Chan Soh Ha – Prof Chan is currently the Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Immunology, in the National University of Singapore, and is also a Professor in the Department of Microbiology. His work on vaccines include Hepatitis A and B, Haemophilius influenzae, acellular pertussis and Epstein-Barr virus.
• Prof Gordon Dougan – Prof Dougan is a Principal Research Scientist and a member of the Board of Management at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK. He is an expert in vaccinology and pathogenic mechanisms, specialising on the immunology of mucosal vaccines and molecular basis of infection. He has significant experience in an internationally-renowned MNC, where he developed vaccines and novel drugs.
• Prof Richard Strugnell – Prof Strugnell is a Professor of Microbiology and the University of Melbourne. He has worked within the Cooperative Research Centre for Vaccine Technology, which acts as a conduit to commercialise vaccine technology generated in Australia’s leading academic centres.

More information on the SAB can be found at www.singvax.com