Protein Sciences Strengthens its Senior Management with Leaders in Manufacturing and Finance

MERIDEN, Conn., April 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Protein Sciences Corporation has expanded its senior management team by adding leaders in the areas of manufacturing and finance. The additions come at a time of great anticipation as the Company prepares for the launch of its first product, FluBlok®, a first-in-class recombinant vaccine for seasonal influenza.

Mireli Fino joins us as VP, Manufacturing Operations. She comes from Wyeth (now Pfizer) where she spent the past 20 years in various roles in vaccine development and commercial manufacturing, most recently as Director Manufacturing Sciences and Technology – Drug Substance. She played a key role in the successful development and launch of Prevnar13® pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine, considered one of the most complex biologics licensed to date. In addition, Mireli led global initiatives implementing process and yield improvements based on the successful applications of risk management and Quality by Design (QbD) and Process Analytical Technology (PAT) concepts.

Steven Haggerty joins us as Controller. He brings extensive public accounting experience and has a proven track record in various financial roles, including management positions at Arthur Andersen and several growing companies. He also ran his own 100+ employee organization for several years.

Manon Cox, President and CEO of Protein Sciences, stresses the value Mireli and Steven bring to the Company. "Mireli's breadth of experience in commercial vaccine manufacturing will provide strong leadership of our manufacturing operations as we transition to a commercial organization," she said. "Equally important is Steven's role in our Finance Department. We are thrilled to have them both join us."

About Us

Protein Sciences Corporation is a vaccine development and protein production company based in Meriden, CT that is dedicated to saving lives and improving health through the creation of innovative vaccines and biopharmaceuticals. Our proprietary baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) technology provides a fast, reliable and inexpensive platform for the production of high quality recombinant proteins, making it a powerful tool for producing vaccines and therapeutics when they are needed most. BEVS technology is covered by broad patents that include our proprietary expresSF+® cell line that we use to make all of our products.

Our lead product, FluBlok®, is a recombinant trivalent vaccine for seasonal influenza, consisting of recombinant influenza hemagglutinin (rHA) proteins that are manufactured using cell culture instead of eggs. FluBlok is highly purified, does not include thimerosal or antibiotics, and is low in endotoxins. FluBlok, which has shown exceptional performance in clinical trials, is under final review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

In 2009, we received a $147 million five-year contract award by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to further develop our technology for the production of recombinant influenza vaccines for pandemic preparedness. Budgets totaling more than $80 million have thus far been approved to support work through at least mid-2013.

Learn more at www.proteinsciences.com.

SOURCE Protein Sciences Corporation