DENVER, June 16, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- OnSource Corporation (OTCBB:OSCE) d/b/a Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals ("Ceragenix" or the "Company"), has appointed four independent directors -- adding significant breadth and depth of experience to the Board. These appointments serve to realign the Ceragenix Board with the Company's pharmaceutical business strategy. In conjunction with these appointments, Ceragenix also announced the resignations of Messrs Frank Jennings, John Overturf Jr., Jack Cochran and Ms. Vicki Barone from the Board.
"The members joining the Cergenix Board of Directors, an excellent variety of accomplished, seasoned professionals with a broad range of experience in finance, pharmaceuticals and business development, include Mr. Alberto J. Bautista, Mr. Michel Darnaud, Mr. Philippe J.C. Gastone, and Ms. Cheryl A. Hoffman-Bray," commented Ceragenix Chairman and CEO, Steven Porter. "As Ceragenix moves forward into the commercialization of our medical devices, including the upcoming anticipated 510k approvals of our barrier repair technology and the licensing of our medical device coatings, the support and expertise of our new board members will be a tremendous asset to the Company."
Michel Darnaud, formerly President of Boston Scientific Corporation's European operations, based in Paris, has been active in the medical device industry since 1977. Darnaud has extensive experience in the areas of manufacturing, oncology and medical devices. Mr. Darnaud has Board responsibilities at Eucomed (European Device Industry Association), where he is Chairman of that organization. Additionally, Mr. Darnaud is Vice Chairman of the ABS Board-online trading, a subsidiary of Natexis, a leading French bank.
Alberto J. Bautista is the former President of Baxter Healthcare's Asian operations. He served Baxter from 1975 to 2003, during which time he directed and managed operations and offices in Korea, Taiwan, India, Singapore, Philippines and Thailand. Bautista has broad experience across multiple operational and functional areas in diverse environments and cultures, and has developed extensive contacts through assignments in Asia, Japan, North and South America, and Europe. He is currently the Founder and Principal Consultant for AJB Consulting, a healthcare consulting practice based in Singapore that focuses on small/medium companies in the life science, medical device and biotech space.
Philippe J.C. Gastone, an authority in mergers and acquisitions, is currently the Senior Vice President in charge of Corporate Business Development for Europe and Americas at Cemex, the second largest global cement and building materials producer. With a broad-based background in corporate development, Gastone was previously an Executive Director of the Union Bank of Switzerland, in charge of the M & A origination group for Europe, a Director of Merrill Lynch in London and Paris and a partner with Dome & Cie, a Paris based investment bank. Mr. Gastone was also a consultant with Booz, Allen & Hamilton, in Paris and Madrid, and prior to that, at the Boston Consulting Group also in Paris and Madrid. Mr. Gastone has an MBA from INSEAD in Europe. Mr. Gastone will chair the Company's compensation committee.
Cheryl Hoffman-Bray currently serves as the Senior Advisor to the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University and will chair the Company's audit committee. Ms. Hoffman-Bray has previously served in Chief Financial Officer positions for most of her career including at Harvard University, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, New England Deaconess Hospital, and Albany Memorial Health Systems, Inc. Prior to those positions, Hoffman-Bray worked as a Certified Public Accountant at Coopers & Lybrand.
"These four new independent directors will all play a very important role in forwarding the development and commercialization of our portfolio of products. They bring an extensive and diverse knowledge-base, myriad professional accomplishments and immense enthusiasm to the Company," added Porter. "Ceragenix thanks Messrs Frank Jennings, John Overturf Jr., Jack Cochran and Ms. Vicki Barone for their hard work and commitment to the Board during the Company's transition."
Concurrently, the Company also announced that the Board has approved the appointment of GHP Horwath, independent certified public accountants, as the Company's new independent auditors, dismissing Shumacher & Associates, Inc., the Company's prior auditors. The change in auditors further reflects the realignment of the Company and its new management following the successful completion of the Osmotics Pharma merger in May.
Barrier Repair Technology (U.S. Patent 5,643,899) is based on the discovery that the lack of a competent skin barrier function plays an important role in various skin diseases including atopic dermatitis (eczema), allergic contact dermatitis and ichthyosis and that the restoration of the skin's barrier by topically applying epidermal lipids is able to significantly improve the dry skin and itching that characterizes these conditions. Atopic dermatitis, a red, scaly and itchy skin disease, is the leading childhood skin disease. New therapies for atopic dermatitis are of special importance given the recent concerns raised over the potential adverse side effects associated with Protopic(r) and Elidel(r), two popular eczema creams that the FDA Pediatric Advisory Panel recently recommended that black box warnings be added to the labels regarding potential risk of the development of cancer from use of those immunosuppressive therapies. Epiceram(tm) is steroid-free and does not contain any immunosuppressant drugs
Cationic Steroid Antibiotics (CSAs) act as potent antibiotics against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, and can be used alone or with conventional antibiotics. Extensive in vitro testing has shown that CSAs are highly effective at very low concentrations against multi-drug resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella and other potentially lethal bacteria such as methicillin resistant staph aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin resistant staph aureus (VRSA). The technology is covered by two U.S. patents (6,350,738 and 6,486,148) and has been the subject of more than 10 peer-reviewed journal articles.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release may contain forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor for forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: the ability of the company to raise sufficient capital to finance its planned pharmaceutical activities, receiving the necessary marketing clearance approvals from the FDA, successful clinical trials of the company's planned products, the ability of the company to commercialize its planned products, market acceptance of the company's planned products, and the company's ability to successfully compete in the marketplace. Although management believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements are reasonable, any of the assumptions could prove inaccurate and, therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by the company or any other person that the objectives and plans of the company will be achieved. For further information, please see the company's filings with the SEC, including its Forms 10-KSB, 10-QSB and 8-K. The company assumes no obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect actual results or changes in factors affecting such forward-looking statements.