[December 11, 2014]

Virginia Bio Welcomes Two New Members to its Board of Directors

Virginia Bio, the premier statewide non-profit trade association representing life sciences industry in the Commonwealth of Virginia, elected two new members to their Board of Directors for a term of three years. The election took place on December 11, 2014 at the Virginia Bio Annual Membership Meeting in Richmond, Virginia. The newly elected members include Charles Pennington, President of TechLab, Inc., and Carrie Roth, Executive Director of the Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority and President/CEO of the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park.

Mr. Pennington said of the election, "It is a great privilege and honor to be elected to the board of VA Bio and I look forward to serving with such a reputable team of industry leaders. This opportunity will allow me to offer insights on current innovations in the global life sciences marketplace with the entire Virginia bio community. The southwest Virginia bioscience network may be smaller in comparison to some of the larger, more metropolitan areas of the state, but this position will afford me the ability to help connect experts with existing smaller community bio start-ups and support the effort to attract more life sciences organizations to the region."

Ms. Roth stated, "I am pleased to join the Virginia Bio board and be a part of the leadership team engaged in actively promoting this targeted industry sector for the Commonwealth. Virginia is positioned to be a leader for bioscience across the country - and the collaboration between government, private and university sectors is necessary to facilitate this growth and clear obstacles for bioscience organizations who want to start in, expand or enter into Virginia. Virginia Bio is an integral partner in this effort and it is an honor to be a part of the team."

In addition, two board members were re-elected for their second terms. They are Andrew Krouse, CEO, Cavion and William Stilley, Chief Executive Officer, ADial Pharmaceuticals.

Mr. Krouse founded Cavion in 2005 and has been recognized for his leadership in the industry as a CIT GAP 50 Entrepreneur in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Cavion, headquartered in Charlottesville, is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company committed to providing patients with a better way of treating cancer through the development of oncology drugs for solid tumors that selectively inhibit the T-type calcium channel. Prior to founding Cavion, he worked for sixteen year in senior university leadership including Vice President of the University of Virginia, Darden School Foundation.

Mr. Stilley is a life science executive and entrepreneur, and CEO of Charlottesville based ADial Pharmaceuticals, a leader in developing novel prescription medications for addiction and related disorders with a pipeline of innovative products. Prior to joining ADial Pharmaceuticals, he was the Vice President, Business Development & Strategic Projects at Clinical Data, Inc. where he worked on licensing and M&A transactions and was involved in management of Phase III clinical trials and production of Viibryd® for initial commercial launch.

New Board Member Backgrounds

Charles Pennington

Charles Pennington is the President of TechLab, Inc., a manufacturer of medical diagnostics products targeted at intestinal diseases, with locations in Blacksburg and Radford. He has over 25 years of experience in the design, development and commercialization of medical diagnostic products. Prior to joining TechLab, Charles was the Director of Life Sciences at Luna Innovations and Project Manager at Abbott Diagnostics. Charles has a B.S. Degree in Biology from the University of Akron and an M.S. in Biochemistry and MBA from Virginia Tech.

Carrie Roth

Carrie Roth is Executive Director of the Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority and President/CEO of the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park in Richmond, bringing over 20 years of broad experience in government, non-profit organizations and the private sector to the position. She previously served as Virginia Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade, overseeing policy development and implementation, economic development project management, as well as the Secretariat's 13 agencies - working with the Governor, General Assembly and stakeholders to maintain Virginia's position as the best state in America for business. As Deputy Secretary she led the successful effort before the General Assembly to provide over $113 million in new economic development funding - including over $57 million to support Virginia's innovation economy. In addition, Carrie worked with the technology community and Virginia General Assembly to bring new tools to encourage entrepreneurship based on best practices across the country, including: a research and development tax credit, Angel Investor Tax Credit, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Measurement System, research development for alternative energy, income tax exemption on capital gains related to investments in science-based or bio-tech start-ups, creation of the Virginia Biosciences and Health Research Consortium, and bolstering the Commonwealth Research and Commercialization Fund (CRCF). Prior to joining the McDonnell Administration, she was President of her company Capitol Square Communications. Carrie served as Press Secretary for U.S. Senator George Allen (News - Alert), whom she worked for in various roles from 1993 to 2003, and as Policy Director for the gubernatorial campaign of Attorney General Jerry Kilgore. During her career, she has appeared in state, national and international media, including: the Washington Post, Washington Times, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Investor's Business Daily, Politics Magazine, "Perspectives" in Newsweek Magazine, and on FOX News "Strategy Room" and the International Travel Channel. She is a member of the Virginia Workforce Development Board, VCU Commercialization Advisory Panel, Virginia Beach Bio-Medical and Healthcare Task Force, the Board of Directors of RichTech and Richmond 2015 UCI World Championship, and on the JDRF Richmond Chapter Gala Committee. Carrie attended Hillsdale College and is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University. She and her husband, Doug, reside in Chesterfield County.

About Virginia Bio

Virginia Bio is the premier statewide non-profit trade association for life sciences, promoting the considerable scientific and economic impact of the life sciences industry in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia Bio is an advocate for the biopharmaceutical and device industries among federal, state and local policy-makers. Virginia Bio is the official state affiliate of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), AdvaMed and the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA) and also collaborates closely with the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). To learn more, visit www.vabio.org.

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