NEW YORK, July 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NeoStem, Inc. (Amex: NBS), which is pioneering the pre-disease collection, processing and long-term storage of adult stem cells for future medical need, announced today it has appointed Alan G. Harris, M.D., Ph.D., FACP, FRCP, as the Company's Vice President of Drug Development and Regulatory Affairs.
Among his responsibilities in this position will be overseeing NeoStem's therapeutic development activities and interfacing with the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board to assist in the execution of the Company's scientific vision. This will include overseeing the Company's regulatory activities, working to advance NeoStem's intellectual property portfolio and licensed technologies, assisting in the development of a chronic wound care program and developing a regulatory pathway for commercializing stem cell therapy, including assisting in developing very small embryonic like (VSEL) stem cell therapy in multiple clinical indications. Upon the completion of the Company's proposed acquisition of a 51% interest in Suzhou Erye Pharmaceuticals Company, Ltd., which the Company anticipates closing no later than the fourth quarter of 2009, Dr. Harris is expected to assist in bringing new drugs to China to enhance Erye's pipeline in an effort to increase revenues and provide a higher margin business through their already established 30 province distribution.
Dr. Harris has over 20 years of experience working in clinical drug development in multiple therapeutic areas in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, having conducted and overseen numerous clinical trials in over 30 countries including China. He was recently Senior VP of R&D and Chief Medical Officer at NPS Pharmaceuticals in NJ, where he successfully launched two Phase III registration programs in Gastroenterology and Endocrinology. Previously he served as Chief Medical Officer at Manhattan Pharmaceuticals, Inc., after serving as Therapeutic Head of the Worldwide Medical Endocrine Care group at Pfizer Inc, New York and, earlier, as Vice President, Global Healthcare Research & Outcomes and Senior Director of Medical & Scientific Affairs at Schering-Plough Corp., NJ, where he was involved in the joint venture with Merck in the clinical development of the novel cholesterol medication, ezetimibe (Zetia). Dr. Harris earned his MD from the Louis Pasteur Faculty of Medicine, University of Strasbourg, France, and his Ph.D. in endocrinology from Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
