Full Press Release Details
Appoints Adi Mohanty Chief Operating Officer
Brings Proven Leadership in Biopharmaceutical Product Development and
Commercialization to BioTime
ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--December 29, 2014--BioTime, Inc. (NYSE
MKT:BTX), a leader in developing pluripotent stem-cell therapies and
other technologies designed to address major unmet medical needs, today
announced the appointment of Adi Mohanty to the position of Chief
Operating Officer of the Company. Mr. Mohanty's primary responsibilities
will be to build BioTime's business through the development of its
subsidiaries and through the further development and commercialization
of BioTime's HyStem -based products. Mr.
Mohanty will report to Michael D. West, Ph.D., BioTime's Chief Executive
"The addition of Adi to our senior management team is another execution
milestone for BioTime as we broaden our capabilities to address market
opportunities and build shareholder value," said Dr. West. "Adi is a
highly experienced biopharmaceutical executive. He joins our Company at
a time when two of our subsidiaries have been cleared for clinical
trials of their therapeutic products and as we develop commercialization
strategies for cancer diagnostics and Renevia .
"Adi's extensive background in managing multiple, successful clinical
and commercial-stage products is very relevant to BioTime's growth,"
continued Dr. West. "He is a proven business leader, having served in
such roles at both Shire plc and at Transkaryotic Therapies. His
experience and insight, combined with those of the biopharmaceutical
veterans from Questcor Pharmaceuticals and Shire who have recently
joined our Board of Directors, provide us a team with a tremendous track
record for generating shareholder value. Our objective is to fully
utilize Adi's knowledge and experience, as well as that of our Board
members, as we move BioTime forward during 2015 and beyond."
Mr. Mohanty previously served in various leadership positions of
increasing responsibility at Shire plc, most recently as Head of its
Regenerative Medicine Business, where he oversaw all aspects of that
business, including sales and marketing, research and development, and
manufacturing, and led a successful turnaround and divestiture of that
business unit. Prior to that Mr. Mohanty was Shire's global franchise
head for a portfolio of biologic products in the rare disease space with
sales and operations in over 50 countries. Mr. Mohanty served as Vice
President, Manufacturing and Supply Operations at Transkaryotic
Therapies, Inc. where he had overall responsibility for the company's
manufacturing and operations while it grew from development stage to a
successful commercial company that was acquired by Shire. Before joining
Transkaryotic Therapies, Mr. Mohanty worked at Baxter Bioscience where
he held a variety of engineering, manufacturing and general management
positions. Mr. Mohanty holds BS and MS degrees in Chemical Engineering
"Pluripotent stem cell technology is a powerful platform with the
potential for new, transformative therapies, and BioTime is the
technology leader in developing and manufacturing pluripotent stem
cell-based therapeutics," said Mr. Mohanty. "This is an exciting time to
join BioTime as the Company and its subsidiaries focus on developing and
commercializing a broad portfolio of innovative cellular therapeutics
aimed at addressing the large, growing markets associated with chronic
age-related degenerative disease, as well as a number of other
therapeutic and diagnostic products that have a near term
commercialization horizon. I look forward to working with the BioTime
team toward achieving a number of expected clinical development and
commercialization milestones over the next twelve months and beyond."
BioTime is a biotechnology company engaged in research and product
development in the field of regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine
refers to therapies based on stem cell technology that are designed to
rebuild cell and tissue function lost due to degenerative disease or
injury. BioTime's focus is on pluripotent stem cell technology based on
human embryonic stem ("hES") cells and induced pluripotent stem ("iPS")
cells. hES and iPS cells provide a means of manufacturing every cell
type in the human body and therefore show considerable promise for the
development of a number of new therapeutic products. BioTime's
therapeutic and research products include a wide array of proprietary PureStem
progenitors, HyStem hydrogels, culture media,
and differentiation kits. Renevia (a HyStem
product), is now in a pivotal trial in Europe as a biocompatible,
implantable hyaluronan and collagen-based matrix for cell delivery in
the treatment of HIV-related lipoatrophy. In addition, BioTime has
developed Hextend , a blood plasma volume
expander for use in surgery, emergency trauma treatment and other
applications. Hextend is manufactured and
distributed in the U.S. by Hospira, Inc. and in South Korea by CJ
HealthCare Corporation, under exclusive licensing agreements.
BioTime is also developing stem cell and other products for research,
therapeutic, and diagnostic use through its subsidiaries:
Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. is developing pluripotent stem-cell
based therapies in neurology and oncology, including AST-OPC1
oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in spinal cord injury, multiple
sclerosis and stroke, and AST-VAC2, an allogeneic dendritic cell-based
cancer vaccine. Asterias Series A common stock is traded on the NYSE
MKT under the symbol AST.
BioTime Asia, Ltd., a Hong Kong company, may offer and sell products
for research use for BioTime's ESI BIO Division.
Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd. is an Israel-based biotechnology company
focused on developing stem cell-based therapies for retinal and
neurological disorders. OpRegen is currently in a Phase I/IIa
clinical trial for the treatment of the dry-form of age-related
macular degeneration.
ESI BIO is the research and product marketing division of BioTime,
providing stem cell researchers with products and technologies to
enable them to translate their work into the clinic, including PureStem
progenitors and HyStem hydrogels.
LifeMap Sciences, Inc. markets, sells, and distributes GeneCards ,
the leading human gene database, as part of an integrated database
suite that also includes the LifeMap Discovery
database of embryonic development, stem cell research, and
regenerative medicine, and MalaCards, the human disease