AmpliPhi Biosciences Corporation Announces Board Expansion With Appointment Of Two Highly-Experienced Non-Executive Directors

SAN DIEGO & RICHMOND, Va. & LJUBLJANA, Slovenia & SYDNEY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AmpliPhi Biosciences Corporation (NYSEMKT: APHB), a global leader in the development of bacteriophage-based antibacterial therapies to treat drug-resistant infections, today announced that Vijay B. Samant and Paul C. Grint, M.D. have been appointed to its Board of Directors as Non-Executive Directors.

“We have made significant advancements as a company this year, including efforts to bolster our pipeline, successful cGMP certification for our manufacturing facilities and uplisting to the NYSE MKT. We welcome Vijay and Paul to our board, and look forward to benefiting from their wealth of knowledge and experience.”

As current CEOs of NASDAQ listed companies, Mr. Samant and Dr. Grint both have significant experience serving on the boards of publicly-listed companies, and also enhance AmpliPhi’s commercial leadership experience as it matures towards a clinical stage company.

Mr. Samant is President and CEO of Vical, Inc., a developer of biopharmaceutical products for the prevention and treatment of chronic life-threatening infectious diseases. Prior to Vical, Mr Samant gained over two decades of U.S. and international sales, marketing, operations and business development experience at Merck & Co, serving as CEO of the Merck Vaccine Division, VP of Vaccine Operations, VP of Business Affairs and Executive Director of Materials Management. Mr. Samant has served on the boards of Raptor Pharmaceuticals, BioMarin, Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and the International Vaccine Institute. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Bombay, a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Columbia University and a master’s in management studies from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dr. Grint is President and CEO of Regulus Therapeutics, Inc., a company focused on the discovery and development of microRNA therapeutics. Dr. Grint has over two decades of experience in biologics and small molecule development, including the successful commercialization of products in oncology, anti-infectives and immunology. Prior to his role at Regulus, he served as President of Cerexa, Inc. Dr. Grint has also served in senior management roles at Forest Research Institute, Kalypsys, Zephyr Sciences, Pfizer, IDEC Pharmaceuticals and Schering-Plough Corporation. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, and is a member of numerous professional and medical societies. He holds a degree from St. Mary’s College, University of London and a medical degree from St. Bartholomew’s Hospital College, University of London.

M. Scott Salka, AmpliPhi’s CEO, said “We have made significant advancements as a company this year, including efforts to bolster our pipeline, successful cGMP certification for our manufacturing facilities and uplisting to the NYSE MKT. We welcome Vijay and Paul to our board, and look forward to benefiting from their wealth of knowledge and experience.”

About AmpliPhi Biosciences

AmpliPhi Biosciences Corporation (NYSEMKT: APHB) is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of novel bacteriophage-based antibacterial therapeutics. The Company’s product development programs target infections that are often resistant to existing antibiotic treatments. AmpliPhi is collaborating with a number of leading organizations, including Intrexon Corporation (NYSE: XON), the U.S. Army, The Royal Brompton Clinic in London, UK and UK-based University of Leicester, to rapidly advance bacteriophage-based therapies. For more information, visit www.ampliphibio.com.

About Bacteriophage

Bacteriophage are naturally occurring viruses that are highly specific for the bacterial hosts they infect. They can rapidly kill their host, amplifying themselves in the process. Bacteriophage are unaffected by antibiotic resistance and are able to disrupt bacterial biofilms. Such biofilms are a major line of defense for bacteria, contributing to antibiotic resistance. Bacteriophage are able to penetrate biofilms and replicate locally to high levels, to produce strong local therapeutic effects.