Islet Sciences (ISLT) Names James Green and William Wilkison as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Nov 4, 2013) - Islet Sciences, Inc., (OTCQB: ISLT) ("Islet" or the "Company") a biopharmaceutical company developing novel technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes, announced today the appointment of James Green as Chief Executive Officer and William Wilkison, Ph.D. as Chief Operating Officer.
"James and Bill come to Islet with significant industry experience and will be great assets to the Company. Under their leadership, we will bring focus to the Company's efforts to create shareholder value by continuing to develop new approaches for the treatment and diagnosis of diabetes, a disease that affects over 25 million people in the United States alone," said Joel Perlin, Director at Islet. "As we further advance our pipeline of novel technologies through their respective paths, James and Bill will play important roles in maximizing the value of our commercial opportunities. We look forward to having them on board and to their contributions in the time ahead."
Mr. Green joins Islet from BHV Pharma where he served as Chairman and CEO since 2009. BHV Pharma is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapeutics for metabolic diseases. Prior to BHV, Mr. Green spent seven years at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in business development and finance roles. During his tenure at GSK, he was responsible for license, acquisition, divestiture, and collaboration agreements related to preclinical and clinical development programs as well as equity investments in portfolio companies, and special projects related to corporate growth. Before joining GSK, James advised boards and management teams on mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financings, and other strategic alternatives while at Citigroup, Bank of America, and Ernst & Young; in addition to holding the position of trustee for corporate, municipal, and securitized bond issues while at BNY Mellon.
Mr. Green holds an undergraduate business degree in business administration and marketing from University of North Florida and an MBA with a concentration in corporate finance from the Katz Graduate School of Business at The University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Wilkison also joins Islet from BHV Pharma where he served as Director and Chief Scientific Officer since 2009. Prior to BHV, Dr. Wilkison held business development roles at GSK from 2002 to 2009. There he was instrumental in evaluating partner technologies and development programs, managing key relationships between GSK and partner companies and participating on drug development project teams. Before joining GSK, Bill founded and was the Chief Operating Officer at Artecel Sciences, Inc. an adipose-derived stem cell discovery company, which was spun off from Zen-Bio, Inc. another company founded by Bill that was focused on the development and commercialization of human adipose cells. Prior to that, Dr. Wilkison spent several years at Glaxo/GlaxoWellcome studying metabolic disease and was responsible for target/lead identification and development.
Dr. Wilkison has published numerous peer-reviewed manuscripts in the metabolic disease area and is an inventor on 17 issued patents. He holds a Ph.D. from Duke University Medical Center and did his postdoctoral work at Harvard Medical School.
"Bill and I have been successfully working together since 2002 and look forward to continuing that collaboration at Islet Sciences," said newly appointed CEO James Green. "In our view, Islet represents a compelling opportunity to change the way clinicians and their patients approach the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes and other related diseases. We are excited for the opportunity to have that kind of impact and look forward to delivering tangible benefits to all of Islet's stakeholders."
For more information on this press release, please view the corresponding Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
About Islet Sciences
Islet Sciences is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering from diabetes.
For more information: www.isletsciences.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements for Islet Sciences reflect current expectations, as of the date of this press release, and involve certain risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward- looking statements as a result of various factors. Factors that could cause future results to materially differ from the recent results or those projected in forward-looking statements include the risks described in the Islet Science's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The companies' further development is highly dependent on future medical and research developments and market acceptance, which is outside their control.