Inimex Announces Appointment of New CEO

BURNABY, BC, Nov. 23 /CNW/ - Inimex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has appointed Michael J. Abrams, Ph.D as its President and CEO.

Abrams brings more than 25 years of drug discovery and development experience to Inimex. He is a co-inventor of the nuclear medicine imaging agent, Cardiolite, and worked from 1984 to 1996 at Johnson Matthey , plc where he was Manager, Biomedical Research Worldwide. In 1996, Abrams led the establishment of AnorMED in Langley, BC and was President and CEO from 1996 to 2006. AnorMED discovered and developed Mozobil, a drug for improving stem cell collection in cancer patients undergoing stem cell transplantation. AnorMED was acquired by Genzyme Corp. for $580M in 2006, and Mozobil was FDA approved in December 2008 . Abrams is actively involved in the Vancouver biotech community as a member of public, private and not-for-profit boards.

"We are thrilled that Dr. Abrams has joined the Inimex executive team," said Robert Fildes, Chairman of the Board of Inimex. "His experience and leadership qualities will be a great asset to Inimex as the company makes the transition from a pre-clinical company to one with a drug candidate advancing through clinical development."

Dr. John R. North , who led the early development of Inimex' drug technology, serving as EVP of R&D in 2004 and then President and Chief Executive Officer from 2005 to 2009, will assume a new role as Chief Operating Officer.

"In this era of increasing antibiotic resistance and emerging infectious diseases, new strategies for dealing with these problems are very much in demand. Inimex, with its Innate Defense Regulator technology, is in a great position to address these needs," said Abrams.

    
    About Inimex Pharmaceuticals
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Inimex Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a privately held biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of new medicines based on the selective modulation of the innate immune response. With its first drug candidate, IMX942, having completed Phase 1 clinical studies in healthy volunteers, Inimex' products show promise for the safe and effective treatment of a broad spectrum of serious unmet medical needs in infectious disease and inflammatory disorders.

For more information, please visit www.inimexpharma.com.

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