ATLANTA, Aug. 19, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Biota Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:BOTA) ("Biota" or the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of anti-infective products to prevent and treat serious and potentially life-threatening infectious diseases, today announced changes to its Board of Directors, including the resignation of Dr. Jeffrey Errington, and the appointment of Mr. John P. Richard to fill the vacancy created by Dr. Errington's resignation.
"On behalf of Biota, I want to express gratitude to Jeff for his contributions to the board and Company over the past four years," said Dr. James Fox, Chairman of Biota Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Mr. Richard brings significant corporate, operational and transactional life sciences experience, having served in various executive and director roles during his career. Mr. Richard currently is a partner and director of two life science focused venture capital firms, Phase4 Ventures and Georgia Venture Partners, as well as a co-founder and interim CEO of QUE Oncology, Inc., an Australian/U.S. joint venture focused on the discovery of novel oncology drugs. He also serves as an advisor to Albireo AB and Nabriva Therapeutics AG, both of which are life science companies,. His previous leadership roles include, among others, Executive Vice President, Business Development of SEQUUS Pharmaceuticals, Vice President of Corporate Development of VIVUS, and Senior Vice President, Business Development at Genome Therapeutics Corporation. Mr. Richard also currently serves as a non-executive director of Targacept (Nasdaq:TRGT), Zosano Pharma, Altiris Therapeutics, Inc, and Axotect, Inc.
"We are very pleased to welcome John to the Board," Dr. Fox added. "We expect John's deep and diverse skill set and industry perspective will be beneficial in the development and implementation of our growth strategy."
About Biota
Biota Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of products to prevent and treat serious and potentially life-threatening infectious diseases. The Company currently has two Phase 2 clinical-stage product candidates in development: Laninamivir octanoate, which the Company is developing for the treatment of influenza A and B infections in the U.S. through a contract with the U.S. Office of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) that provides up to $231 million in financial support to complete its clinical development; and vapendavir, a potent, oral broad spectrum capsid inhibitor of enteroviruses, including human rhinovirus. In addition to these clinical-stage programs, the Company has preclinical programs focused on developing treatments for respiratory syncytial virus and gram-negative, multi-drug resistant bacterial infections. For additional information about the Company, please visit www.biotapharma.com.
Biota is a registered trademark of Biota Holdings Limited.