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QLT Appoints Dr. Geoffrey F. Cox as Interim Chief Executive Officer [Kuwait News Agency](Kuwait News Agency Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) QLT Inc. (QLT or the Company) today announced that current QLT Board member, Geoffrey F. Cox, Ph.D., has been appointed interim Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Dr. Cox brings more than 35 years of business and scientific leadership in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries to QLT, 13 years of which have been as Chairman and CEO of public companies. Dr. Cox will continue in his role as a member of the QLT Board of Directors. In conjunction with Dr. Cox's appointment, the QLT Board has disbanded its Executive Transition Committee. Jason Aryeh, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of QLT, stated, Geoffrey is a prominent and well-respected industry veteran with experience restructuring, rationalizing and forming strategic partnerships for orphan drug focused biopharmaceutical companies. As a member of the QLT Board, his experience and insights have been of value, and we believe Geoff is well suited to now lead the Company on an interim basis as we assess all potential strategic options. As a QLT Board member, I have witnessed the Company's dedication to innovation, improving ocular health for patients, and value creation for shareholders, said Dr. Cox. QLT has multiple key strengths, including a high potential synthetic retinoid program, accompanied by a low cost structure. I look forward to working with both the Board and the executive management team to finalize a definitive corporate strategy, and report on our progress and achievements in the coming months. Most recently, Dr. Cox served as an independent consultant to the life sciences industry. From 2001 to 2010, Dr. Cox was Chairman, President and CEO of GTC Biotherapeutics Inc. (now rEVO Biologics), and from 1997 to 2001 he was Chairman, President and CEO of Aronex Pharmaceuticals Inc. Prior to that, he served at Genzyme Corporation Inc., last serving as its Executive Vice President, Operations. Dr. Cox is a former Chairman of MassBio, the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, and served for a number of years on the Board of the Biotechnology Industries Association (BIO). Dr. Cox holds a BSc. in biochemistry from the University of Birmingham, UK and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of East Anglia, UK. The Company also announced that the 2014 annual general meeting of shareholders will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on Monday, December 15, 2014. All KUNA right are reserved (c) 2014 Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |