Tengion Appoints John L. Miclot President and Chief Executive Officer

EAST NORRITON, Pa,, Dec. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Tengion, Inc. (Nasdaq: TNGN), a leader in regenerative medicine, today announced the appointment of John L. Miclot as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Most recently, Mr. Miclot was an Executive-in-Residence at Warburg Pincus.  He was President and Chief Executive Officer of CCS Medical, Inc., a company owned by Warburg Pincus and a provider of products and services for patients with chronic diseases, from 2008 until completion of a financial restructuring of the company in 2010. From 2003 to 2008, Mr. Miclot served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Respironics, Inc., where he developed and implemented a growth strategy that resulted in sale of the company for $5.1 billion to Royal Philips. 

David I. Scheer, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tengion said, "John's proven track record of driving company growth and realizing shareholder value make him an ideal choice to lead Tengion. As we continue to pursue strategic partnership and financing discussions, his experience will be invaluable and we look forward to working with him to achieve key Tengion milestones in 2012."

"Tengion's pipeline of programs has shown significant promise and potential," said Mr. Miclot. "With an initial clinical trial for the Neo-Urinary Conduit currently ongoing and a preclinical Neo-Kidney Augment program advancing, this is an exciting time to join and a pivotal time for the Company. My goal is to work with and lead the team to achieve the full potential of these programs and Tengion's Organ Regeneration Platform." 

Mr. Miclot brings nearly 25 years of healthcare industry experience and leadership to Tengion. Prior to leading CCS Medical, Mr. Miclot served as Chief Executive Officer of Philips Home Healthcare Solutions following the acquisition of Respironics, Inc. by Royal Philips.  Mr. Miclot spent 10 years in senior roles at Respironics, ultimately serving as President and Chief Executive Officer from 2003 to 2008. While in that role, Mr. Miclot led Respironics to record annual revenues of more than $1 billion. Mr. Miclot joined Respironics in 1998 when it acquired Healthdyne Technologies, Inc., a medical device company. Mr. Miclot served in various positions at Healthdyne from 1995 to 1998, including Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing. Earlier in his career, he held sales and marketing roles at Medex, Ohmeda, Baxter Edwards, and DeRoyal Industries.  Mr. Miclot is a director of Wright Medical Group, Inc. and Dentsply International Inc., and serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Breathe Technologies, Inc. He is also a director of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium and Burger King Cancer Caring Center. He earned his B.B.A. in marketing from the University of Iowa.

About Tengion

Tengion, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, has pioneered the Organ Regeneration Platform^™ that enables the Company to create proprietary product candidates that are intended to harness the intrinsic regenerative pathways of the body to produce a range of native-like organs and tissues. Tengion's product candidates seek to eliminate the need to utilize other tissues of the body for a purpose to which they are poorly suited, procure donor organs or administer anti-rejection medications. An initial clinical trial is ongoing for the Company's lead product candidate, the Neo-Urinary Conduit^™, an autologous implant that is intended to catalyze regeneration of native-like bladder tissue for bladder cancer patients requiring a urinary diversion following bladder removal. The Company's lead preclinical candidate is the Neo-Kidney Augment^™, which is designed to delay or prevent the need for dialysis or transplantation in patients at risk for kidney failure. Tengion has also applied its technology in two Phase II clinical trials for Tengion's Neo-Bladder Augment^™ for the treatment of neurogenic bladder. Tengion has worldwide rights to its product candidates.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements set forth above may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to the Company's: (i) plans to develop and commercialize its product candidates, including the Neo-Kidney Augment and the Neo-Urinary Conduit; and (ii) expectations regarding ongoing and planned preclinical studies and clinical trials.  Although Tengion believes that these statements are based upon reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its knowledge of its business and operations, there are a number of factors that may cause actual results to differ from these statements. For instance there can be no assurance that: (i) the Company will be able to successfully enroll patients in its clinical trials, including its  Phase I clinical trial for the Neo-Urinary Conduit; (ii) patients enrolled in the Company's clinical trials will not experience adverse events related to the Company's product candidates, which could delay clinical trials or cause the Company to terminate the development of a product candidate; (iii) the results of the clinical trial for the Neo-Urinary Conduit will support further development of that product candidate; (iv) data from the Company's ongoing preclinical studies will continue to be supportive of advancing its preclinical product candidates; and (v) the Company will be able to progress its product candidates that are undergoing preclinical testing, including the Neo-Kidney Augment, into clinical trial and (vi) the Company will be able enter into strategic partnerships on favorable terms, if at all, or obtain the capital it needs to develop its product candidates and continue its operations.  For additional factors which could cause actual results to differ from expectations, reference is made to the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  The forward looking statements in this release are made only as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intention or responsibility for updating predictions or expectations in this release.

SOURCE Tengion, Inc.