NEW YORK, May 8, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Premune, a research and development stage animal health company focused on new therapeutics for companion animals, today announced the appointment of Michio ("Mich") Soga as Chief Financial Officer, effective May 1, 2014. Mr. Soga, who will be based in New York, will oversee Premune's corporate finance and accounting functions. He replaces Christer Hellström, who served as Premune's interim Chief Financial Officer and was recently appointed to the Company's board of directors.
Soga brings more than 30 years of senior-level financial experience to Premune, including more than 11 years of life sciences expertise. Most recently, he was a life sciences consultant advising firms on strategic financial management, capital raising and corporate development initiatives. Previously, Soga was CFO at Transave, Inc., where he played a significant role in financial reporting and strategy, capital raising efforts and M&A during his nearly four-year tenure. Prior to working at Transave, Soga was Chief Financial Officer at Pharmacopeia, Inc., Metaphore, Inc. and Confetti Network Ltd. Before moving to the corporate side, Mr. Soga was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Banque Indosuez. He received his Masters of Public and Private Management from the Yale School of Management and his Bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College.
"We extend a warm welcome to Mich as he joins the Premune team, and we believe that his appointment as Chief Financial Officer is another step in the expansion of our executive team. He has a wealth of financial and operational experience, both in the U.S. and internationally, and we expect this broad expertise will provide an excellent complement to the team as we continue building our corporate infrastructure," said Premune CEO and co-founder, Viktor Karlsson.
Mr. Soga added, "Premune has a distinctive story and dynamic team. I believe Premune represents a compelling opportunity in the growing animal health space, and I am excited to be a part of the Company. Viktor and his team have a great vision for the future and a clear expansion strategy, and I look forward to the role I will play in helping to shape Premune's future."
About Premune:
Premune is a research and development stage animal health company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for the treatment and prevention of some of the most common conditions affecting companion animals. The Company's pipeline of compounds under development seeks to target indications such as allergies and inflammatory diseases that are highly prevalent in cats and dogs. Premune's current product candidates are the result of decades of collective research in bacteriology and immunology at the University of Gothenburg, one of Sweden's leading academic institutions. Premune's pipeline consists of compounds in various stages of clinical development. The Company is continuously seeking to expand its therapeutic portfolio through a combination of in-house research and development projects in conjunction with its academic partners and the strategic in-licensing of additional product candidates. The Company's in-licensing strategy is to identify therapeutic entities in development for humans that exhibit potential efficacy in companion animals as well. Premune´s goal is to improve the quality of life for companion animals worldwide by translating leading human research to pets. www.premune.com
Premune: Adapting human science to improve pet health
Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
Statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements". These statements may be identified by words such as "expects," "looks forward to," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "will," "project" or words of similar meaning. Such statements are based on the current expectations and certain assumptions of Premune's management and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. A variety of factors, many of which are beyond Premune's control, can effect the operations, performance, development of products, business strategy, timing and results. Without limiting the foregoing, the development, testing, regulatory approval process and the timeline associated with development, manufacture and sale of therapeutic products in the animal health industry are inherently uncertain. Premune is neither required nor intends to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.