Tengion Appoints Richard E. Kuntz, MD to its Board of Directors

EAST NORRITON, Pa., Oct. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Tengion Inc. (Nasdaq: TNGN), a leader in regenerative medicine, today announced that it has appointed Richard E. Kuntz, MD, M.Sc., Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific, Clinical and Regulatory Officer of Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), to its Board of Directors.

In his role at Medtronic, Dr. Kuntz oversees the company's global regulatory affairs, health policy and reimbursement, clinical research activities, ventures and new therapies, strategy and innovation, corporate development, and acquisitions, integrations and divestitures functions.  Prior to joining Medtronic in 2005, he was the Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of the Harvard Clinical Research Institute, a university-based contract research organization which coordinates National Institutes of Health and industry clinical trials with the United States Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Kuntz has directed over 100 multicenter clinical trials and has authored more than 200 original publications.  He offers a diversified healthcare background and maintains a deep interest in traditional and alternative clinical trial design as well as biostatistics.

"We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Kuntz to Tengion's Board of Directors," said Steven Nichtberger, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Tengion. "Dr. Kuntz offers demonstrated expertise in a broad spectrum of disease areas, including clinical development of both pharmaceuticals and medical devices.  Rick's diverse healthcare background and demonstrated leadership in the management of clinical research activities will be invaluable as Tengion continues to develop its Neo-Urinary Conduit and Neo-Kidney Augment product candidates for patients with bladder cancer and chronic kidney disease, respectively.  We continue to align the Company with leading experts so we can benefit from their experience and, ultimately, better address unmet needs of patients."

"I am thrilled to join the Tengion Board of Directors and work with this team of seasoned research scientists and healthcare professionals," commented Dr. Kuntz. "Tengion is playing a lead role in advancing regenerative medicine.  Their development of neo-organs and neo-tissues offers transformational approaches to the treatment of serious diseases, and I look forward to the opportunity to contribute."

David Scheer, Chairman of Tengion, stated, "I would like to welcome Rick to the Board. We look forward to working with him and utilizing his broad experience and highly qualified expertise."

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. Tengion commenced a Phase I clinical trial in the first half of 2010 for its 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. Tengion has also applied its technology in two Phase II clinical trials for Tengion's Neo-Bladder Augment™ for the treatment of neurogenic bladder and is in preclinical development of its Neo-Kidney Augment™. 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 obtain the capital it needs to develop its product candidates or continue as a going concern; (ii) the Company will be able to successfully enroll patients in its clinical trials, including its  Phase I clinical trial for the Neo-Urinary Conduit; (iii) 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; (iv) the results of the clinical trial for the Neo-Urinary Conduit will support further development of that product candidate; (v) data from the Company's ongoing preclinical studies will continue to be supportive of advancing its preclinical product candidates; and (vi) the Company will be able to progress its product candidates that are undergoing preclinical testing, including the Neo-Kidney Augment, into clinical trials.  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.