RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 31, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Current and potential investors will interact with senior executives of biopharmaceutical companies including OraPharma, Inc. (Nasdaq:OPHM) and VaxGen, Inc. (Nasdaq:VXGN) at the January 12, 2002 Informed Investors Biotechnology Stocks Forum in Berkeley, Calif. The event will be held at the Radisson Marina hotel and is open to the public. Information and registration are available on the Internet at www.informedinvestors.com or by calling 804-327-7122.
Other companies presenting at the forum include AEterna Laboratories Inc. and Gene Logic Inc. Adding to the depth of the Forum will be keynote speaker Ronald Garren, a board certified internist. He is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and did a three-year postdoctoral fellowship in molecular biology at Stanford in Dr. Paul Berg's lab. His clinical expertise is in the field of oncology. He has a founder equity position in Rigel pharmacy, a private biotech company in southern San Francisco. Garren's experience and expertise enable him to present a valuable perspective to individuals interested in investing in biotech companies.
Executives will review their companies for approximately 25 minutes each with PowerPoint presentations. A 5-10 minute question and answer session with the investor audience follows each presentation. The forum will also be archived on the Internet at www.vcall.com and www.investorconference.com.
OraPharma, Inc. a specialty pharmaceutical company with an initial focus on the emerging field of oral health care, discovers, develops and commercializes therapeutics for oral health care, oncology and orthopedics. Arestin(tm) is the lead product of OraPharma and results of a study recently published in the Journal of Periodontology show that patients with periodontitis respond more favorably to a combined treatment of scaling and root planing (SRP) together with Arestin(tm), than to SRP alone. Arestin(tm) was approved for marketing by the FDA in February 2001 and launched on April 2, 2001. OraPharma's new product programs include a compound for the treatment of mucositis, a complication of cancer therapy, as well as an agent for bone and tissue regeneration.
From Brisbane, California-based VaxGen, Lance Ignon, Vice President of Corporate Communications, will discuss the status of VaxGen's Phase III trials and plans to manufacture the company's HIV/AIDS vaccine, AIDSVAX, if it proves effective and receives regulatory approval. VaxGen is the only company with preventive HIV/AIDS vaccines in Phase III clinical trials, the final stage before regulatory approval can be sought. The presentation will also include a discussion of VaxGen's early-stage plans to develop additional vaccines, including those intended to prevent infection by viruses that could be released in a bio-terrorist attack.
Informed Investors is the leading producer of online and offline industry-specific investment conferences for individual investors and a member of the World Investor Link family of companies serving self-reliant investors.
About World Investor Link: Since 1992, World Investor Link (www.worldinvestorlink.com) has opened information channels from public companies to potential investors. This year World Investor Link will make more than 5 million investor introductions to over 4,600 corporate clients world wide through services including The Annual Reports Service, The Fund Info Service, Vcall (www.vcall.com), Investor Conference (www.investorconference.com), and Informed Investors Forums (www.informedinvestors.com). World Investor Link's array of products and services enables companies to comply with regulation fair-disclosure requirements by providing investors free access to onsite and webcast investor events and company financial reports. Mutual funds and companies get visibility with investors at the point investors are making decisions through World Investor Link's relationships with over 160 of the leading financial media channels including The Wall Street Journal, Barron's and Yahoo!Finance. World Investor Link, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of WILink.com plc (WLK on The London Stock Exchange), began operations in Richmond, Va. in 1993.