Targazyme, Inc. Appoints Dr. Mark W. Schwartz to Board of Directors

SAN ANTONIO, TX--(Marketwired - March 04, 2014) - Targazyme, Inc. (formerly America Stem Cell, Inc., the "Company") announced today that it has appointed Mark W. Schwartz, Ph.D. to the Company's Board of Directors. Dr. Schwartz will serve the Company as an independent member of the Board.  As an independent director, Dr. Schwartz will assist in the Company in further enhancing its corporate governance protocols and oversight committees, as well as assist management in setting and meeting corporate goals, including establishing key strategic partnerships and providing guidance on long-term capital raising in both private and public markets.  With the appointment of Dr. Schwartz as the Company's fourth Board member and third independent director, the Company has achieved Sarbanes-Oxley ("SOX") compliance with respect to Board composition.       

Dr. Schwartz is currently Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Galena Biopharma (NASDAQ: GALE), a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing innovative, targeted oncology treatments.  He previously has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of several biotechnology companies, including  Apthera, Inc., Bayhill Therapeutics, and Calyx Therapeutics.  Dr. Schwartz is a Lecturer at San Jose State University.  Dr. Schwartz has served on Biotechnology Industry Associations' (BIO's) Board of Directors as well as governing boards of the association's Emerging Companies Section (ECS) and Health Section, as well as the advisory board for BayBio.  Dr. Schwartz holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Arizona State University and received his Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in chemistry from Grinnell College in Iowa.

Targazyme's Chairman and CEO Lynnet Koh commented, "The Company is pleased to add Mark Schwartz to its Board of Directors.  His experience in building and growing public biotechnology companies is extremely relevant as Targazyme enters its next phase of evolution.  In addition the Company has reached an important milestone by structuring a SOX compliant corporate Board."    

Newly appointed board member Mark Schwartz stated, "I am honored to join Targazyme's Board of Directors and eager to assist management as the Company advances its potentially revolutionary product, TZ101, in the clinic.  I am impressed with the initial clinical data, and I strongly believe that the Company has a great opportunity to create significant value for patients and shareholders."

About Targazyme, Inc.

Targazyme, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company based in San Antonio, TX with additional offices in San Diego, CA and Basel, Switzerland. Its key technology platforms (TZ101 and TZ102) are designed to improve the homing and engraftment of a wide variety of therapeutic cells to target tissues. Applications in development include hematopoietic stem cell transplants, immunotherapies for solid tumors, cell therapies to ameliorate graft-versus-host and autoimmune diseases, and cell therapies for ischemic diseases such as myocardial infarction and stroke. Targazyme has partnerships and collaborations with Kyowa Hakko Kirin and Florida Biologix, as well as various medical research institutions including The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Texas Transplant Institute, Case Western/University Hospitals, Scripps Hospitals, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, University of California San Diego, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and Indiana University.  Learn more at http://www.targazyme.com.