BIOCOM Calls for Resignation of San Diego Mayor Bob Filner

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Last week, the members of the Executive Committee of the BIOCOM Board of Directors voted unanimously to urge San Diego Mayor Bob Filner to resign immediately.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130228/LA69104LOGO)

Said BIOCOM board chair Magda Marquet, "The allegations against the Mayor are very grave, and while there will be a time and place for him to receive the due process he has called for, there also comes a point where civic paralysis can no longer be tolerated. We are well beyond that point already."

"The Mayor's apparent behavior towards multitudes of women is unacceptable not only in professional interactions, but in any civilized society," added Joe Panetta, President and CEO of BIOCOM. "Nothing even vaguely resembling this level of behavior would ever be tolerated in the private sector. At a time when the life science community in San Diego has enjoyed unprecedented success, the City of San Diego itself has effectively become a punchline, and the Mayor's credibility has been damaged beyond the point of any reasonable expectation of rehabilitation. The community can no longer afford this distraction."

The BIOCOM Executive Committee acknowledges that Mayor Filner has given many years in service to the citizens of the City of San Diego, and we sincerely hope that he receives the treatment he has admitted he needs. We believe, however, that in the best interests of all parties involved, the Mayor should resign immediately so he can pursue such treatment with no other distractions.

This was unanimously voted on by BIOCOM's executive committee:

CHAIR: Magda Marquet, Ph.D., Althea Technologies

VICE CHAIR: Stephen Ferruolo, J.D., Ph.D., USD School of Law

CHAIR ELECT: Theodore Schroeder, Cadence Pharmaceuticals

VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL: Lisa Haile, J.D., Ph.D., DLA Piper

VICE PRESIDENT – FINANCE: Daniel Kleeburg, Ernst & Young

VICE PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY: Carin Canale-Theakston, Canale Communications

VICE PRESIDENT – INDUSTRY: Daniel Burgess, Rempex Pharmaceuticals

CHAIR EMERITUS: David Webb, Ph.D.

PRESIDENT AND CEO: Joseph D. Panetta, BIOCOM

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:

M. Wainwright Fishburn, Jr., Cooley LLP

Jack Lief, Ph.D., Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Steven Mento, Ph.D., Conatus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Paul Negulescu, Ph.D., Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Trindl Reeves, Barney & Barney LLC

James Schaeffer, Ph.D., Merck Research Laboratories

Christophe Schilling, Ph.D., Genomatica, Inc.

Timothy Scott, Pharmatek Laboratories, Inc.

Larry Stambaugh, Apercu Consulting

Mark Stevenson, Life Technologies

Randall E. Woods, Sophiris Bio

LIFE DIRECTORS:

Ken W. Baldwin, Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects

David Hale, Hale BioPharma Ventures

The above noted members of the Executive Committee chose to include their names on this document.  It should be noted that they are signatories as individuals and company names are provided for identification only, and may not represent the views of the companies they are affiliated with.

SOURCE BIOCOM