Myriad Genetics Elects New Chairman John Henderson
- Board Also Selects Linda Wilson to Fill Vacancy on Audit Committee -
SALT LAKE CITY, April 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Myriad Genetics, Inc.
(Nasdaq: MYGN), announced today that its Board of Directors has met and
elected John T. Henderson, M.D. as Chairman of the Board. Dr. Henderson
succeeds Dale Stringfellow, Ph.D., who recently died of complications
associated with pancreatic cancer. Dr. Stringfellow gave the Company over a
decade of distinguished service and his energy, passion and leadership will be
sorely missed.
Dr. Henderson has been a Director of Myriad since March 2004. He was
previously with Pfizer for over 25 years, most recently as a Vice President in
the Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Group. Dr. Henderson previously held Vice
Presidential level positions with Pfizer in Research and Development in Europe
and later in Japan. He was also Vice President, Medical for the Europe, U.S.
and International Pharmaceuticals group. Dr. Henderson was significantly
involved in determining and implementing the development strategy for current
pharmaceutical products that cover a broad range of therapeutic areas
including the central nervous system, anti-infectives, and anti-inflammatory
agents.
"The Board of Directors and Management of Myriad are very pleased to
extend a warm and enthusiastic welcome to Dr. Henderson as he assumes the
Chairman's role at Myriad," said Peter Meldrum, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Myriad Genetics, Inc. "John has been an invaluable addition to the
board, providing insight and guidance garnered from his extensive background
and experience in pharmaceutical development. We look forward to his
leadership as we prepare the Company to commercialize new therapeutics for
individuals affected by Alzheimer's disease, cancer, AIDS and other
devastating diseases."
In addition to electing a new Chairman, the Board of Directors has
selected Linda S. Wilson, Ph.D. to fill the vacancy on the audit committee
left by the passing of Myriad's former Chairman. Dr. Wilson's membership on
the committee brings the total number of independent Directors on the
committee to three, once again satisfying the Nasdaq market requirement.
Dr. Wilson has been a Director of Myriad since 1999. She was the Seventh
President of Radcliffe College, from 1989 to 1999 and was instrumental in its
merger with Harvard University. Previously, she served as Vice President for
Research at the University of Michigan, and in similar roles at the University
of Illinois and Washington University. She currently serves as a member of
the governing board of Tulane University, where she chairs the board's Health
Sciences Center Committee. Her prior governing board experience includes the
Massachusetts General Hospital, ICANN (the technical coordinating body for the
global Internet), The Citizens Financial Group, Inc., ValueLine, Inc., and the
Michigan Biotechnology Institute.
Myriad Genetics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the
development of novel healthcare products. The Company develops and markets
predictive medicine products, and is developing and intends to market
therapeutic products. Myriad's news and other information are available on
the Company's Web site at www.myriad.com.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward looking statements are based on management's current expectation and
are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results
to differ materially from those set forth or implied by forward-looking
statements. These include, but are not limited to, the Company's ability to
commercialize new therapeutics for individuals affected by Alzheimer's
disease, cancer, AIDS and other devastating diseases; uncertainties as to the
extent of future government regulation of Myriad Genetics' business;
uncertainties as to whether Myriad Genetics and its collaborators will be
successful in developing, and obtaining regulatory approval for, and
commercial acceptance of, therapeutic compounds; the risk that markets will
not exist for therapeutic compounds that Myriad Genetics develops or if such
markets exist, that Myriad Genetics will not be able to sell compounds, which
it develops, at acceptable prices; and the risk that the Company will not be
able to sustain revenue growth for its predictive medicine business and
products. These and other risks are identified in the Company's filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2004. All information in this
press release is as of April 13, 2005, and Myriad undertakes no duty to update
this information unless required by law.
SOURCE Myriad Genetics, Inc.
04/13/2005
CONTACT: William A. Hockett, Vice President of Corporate Communications
of Myriad Genetics, Inc., +1-801-584-3600, bhockett@myriad.com
Web site: http://www.myriad.com
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