Virax Biolabs Announces the Formation of Advisory Board of Industry Leaders

London, United Kingdom, May 31, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Virax Biolabs Group Limited  (“Virax” or the “Company”), an innovative biotechnology company focused on the prevention, detection, and diagnosis of viral diseases, is pleased to announce the appointment of an unparalleled group of thought leaders to a newly formed advisory board to provide guidance and support to the Virax senior leadership team.

"The formation of our advisory board is an important step for Virax in our ongoing quest to revolutionize diagnostic testing of viral diseases,” commented Mr. James Foster, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Virax. “These highly respected leaders will bring rich insights to Virax and will prove instrumental in positioning our company for continued growth. To have such a strong group of leaders believe in our mission and work with us to shape and develop our platform is a tremendous vote of confidence in what we are working so hard to accomplish.”

“On behalf of the Virax Advisory Board, we are very excited to be advising the Company at this pivotal time,” stated Mr. Pierre Frouin. “Virax represents a unique approach to viral diseases and possesses great potential with its breakthrough technology. Throughout my career, I have helped build and grow innovative medical technology aimed at helping millions of patients and I believe Virax shares many of the characteristics that will lead to long-term success. We are eager to support James and the rest of the Virax leadership on this important journey.”

The Virax Advisory Board members include:

Pierre Frouin

Since 2014, Mr. Frouin has been the founder and chief executive officer of BioSerenity, Inc., a medical device company focused on developing smart healthcare solutions. Since April 2019, Mr. Frouin has been an adjunct professor of at the Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Georgia State University. Previously, Mr. Frouin served in various roles at Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Biogaran and Laboratoires Servier. Mr. Frouin received a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Institut européen d’administration des affaires and a master’s degree in IT and electronics engineering from École d’Ingénieurs Généraliste du Numérique Paris in 2011 and 2005, respectively.

Karen Bertoli

Ms. Bertoli works as contract chief marketing officer for various organizations. Ms. Bertoli serves in advisory and leadership roles with Aktivolabs Pte. Ltd., Confidential Talent Services,  Voyager Digital Ltd., and Gold Leaf Capital Ltd. Ms. Bertoli received a master of business administration degree from California Polytechnic University and a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University Chicago in 2001 and 1996, respectively.

Marc Frouin

Since 2014, Mr. Frouin has been the chief operating officer of BioSerenity, Inc., a medical device company focused on developing smart healthcare solutions. Since 2009, Mr. Frouin has been a venture partner of Ouest ventures, a venture capital and private equity company. Previously, Mr. Frouin served in leadership roles at Dassault Systèmes SE, Geensys, and Valiosys. Mr. Frouin received a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Institut européen d’administration des affaires and a master’s degree in industrial engineering from Institut Catholique d’Arts et Métiers in 1983 and 1982, respectively.

Asaf Gol

Since January 2021, Mr. Gol has been the co-founder and the chief executive officer of Prickly Bear Limited, a company that assists children learning. Previously, Mr. Gol served in leadership roles at Sight Diagnostics, The Very Group Limited, and Applied Materials, Inc. and was an associate partner of McKinsey & Company. Mr. Gol received a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Institut européen d’administration des affaires and a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Tel Aviv University in 2011 and 2006, respectively.

Dr. Ian N Hampson

From May 2017 to October 2021, Dr. Hampson served as a professor in Viral Oncology at The University of Manchester. Since 2016, Dr. Hampson has been a scientific consultant on the virology of HPV-related dysplasia and has worked on formulation optimization and the design of phase 2 trials for Douglas Pharmaceuticals Limited, a pharmaceutical company. Since June 30, 2020, Dr. Hampson has been an honorary professor in Viral Oncology at the University of Manchester. During his career, he developed considerable experience in the commercialization of research outputs, best exemplified by his group’s discovery and commercialization of a new topical therapy for early-stage cervical cancer. Dr. Hampson has published over 70 journal articles (peer-reviewed) since 1983 and has an extensive patent portfolio. Dr. Hampson received a Bachelor’s Degree in Bioscience from Lancaster University and obtained his Doctor of Philosophy degree in medical oncology at the University of Manchester Paterson Laboratories in 1977 and 1981, respectively.

Dr. Bruce Lavin

Since February 2020, Dr. Lavin has been a scientific advisory and board member of Walkky, a company engaged in RESTful AI-powered analytics that can accurately predict heart issues based on Electrocardiogram recordings. Since April 2019, Dr. Lavin has been the head of clinical services and product deployment strategies for remote clinical diagnostic technology and the Chief Medical Officer of BioSerenity, Inc. Since January 2018, Dr. Lavin has been an Adjunct Professor of Biomedical Science at Georgie State University. Since 2014, Dr. Lavin has been a lecturer in healthcare and pharmaceutical policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Previously, Dr. Lavin served in senior positions at UCB S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Novartis International AG, Sanofi S.A., and served as the director of Primary Care & Internal Medicine and associate clinical professor of medicine at the UC Davis, and a director of Medical Education and Research at the Veterans Affairs of Northern California Health System. Dr. Lavin received a Doctor of Medicine degree from Edward Herbert School of Medicine at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, a Master of Public Health degree from the University of California, and a Bachelor of Science’s degree from the University of California in 1982, 1978 and 1976, respectively. Dr. Lavin has published over 60 journal articles (peer-reviewed) and served  as a board member with leadership positions on various medical boards in the United States.

Nikolas Perrault

Currently, Mr. Perrault serves as a special advisor to Global Hemp Group Inc., a company engaged in the supply of raw materials derived from the hemp plant; Petro Viking Energy Inc., a company engaged in the production, exploration, and development of energy in Canada, and QuantGate Systems, Inc., a company engaged in SaaS solutions for investment, charting and analytics platforms powered by artificial intelligence. Since 2008, he founded and served as the chief executive officer of Twilight Capital Inc., a capital market advisory consulting firm, and as a managing director of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, a banking corporation. Previously, Mr. Perrault served in leadership positions at National Bank of Canada, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He received the a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from Concordia University in 1991. He received his Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1997.

Lawrence Rhee

Since May 2020, Mr. Rhee has been the founder of Rheethink Inc., a Canadian corporate advisory company assisting technology companies in structuring. From May 2014 to May 2020, he served as the managing director at Haywood Securities Inc., a financial services company. From 2013 to 2014, he served as the managing director at Mackie Research Capital Corp, which provides investment banking and securities brokerage services. From 2010 to 2013, he served as a senior investment banker at MGI Securities Inc., a securities company. From 2007 to 2009, he was an equity research analyst at Blackmont Capital Inc., a subsidiary of Macquarie Group. From 2005 to 2007, he was an equity research analyst with Genuity Capital Markets, an independent investment firm. Mr. Rhee received a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Western Ontario and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Toronto in 1993 and 1995, respectively.

Dr. Peter Tijssen

Since 1985, Dr. Tijssen has been serving as a professor in molecular and structural virology at INRS, the graduate school of the University of Quebec. He is also a guest-professor at Jiangsu International University. As an authoritative international figure in the field of Parvovirus and immunoassays, Dr. Tijssen is strong in studies on the Parvovirus crystal structure and pathology. His research group claimed the first discovery of the capsid protein phospholipase activity. He has published five monographs and more than 100 academic papers in Immunology, Developmental Cell, Journal of Virology and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Montreal and a Ph.D.’s Degree in Virology Universite de Montreal in 1975 and 1979, respectively.

Dr Laith Yakob

Since January 2021, Mr. Yakob has been serving as an advisory board member for World Health Organization Global Arbovirus Initiative, a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. Since June 2021, Mr. Yakob has been serving as an advisory board member for Pfizer Inc.’ vaccination strategy, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation. Since May 2016, Mr. Yakob has been serving as an advisory board member for the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, an agency of the European Union which aims to strengthen Europe’s defences against infectious diseases. Since August 2014, Dr. Laith Yakob is an Associate Professor in Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Previously, Dr. Yakob worked as one of the founding members of the U.K. Public Health Rapid Support Team, which supports countries responding to and controlling disease outbreaks before developing into a global threat. In 2017, he co-founded the Antimicrobial Resistance Centre in London and served as the head of epidemiology and modelling. Mr. Yakob received a doctor of philosophy degree in mathematical modelling of Novel Pest Control Strategies from the University of Oxford, a master of science degree in modern epidemiology from Imperial College and a bachelor science degree in parasitology from the University of Glasgow in 2008, 2004 and 2003, respectively.

Greg Aldridge

Since February 2018, Mr. Aldridge has run his family investment and strategic consultancy company BGGF Limited. From 2008 to 2016, he served as a corporate development director of ISG Limited, an international specialist office, retail and data center services construction company. From 1994 to 2007, he served as the managing director in investment banking and in the corporate finance divisions of a number of City of London mid-capital market focused integrated investment banks including Bridgewell Limited, Singer & Friedlander Limited and Brown, Shipley & Co. Limited. Mr. Aldridge received a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Witwatersrand and a postgrad diploma in accounting from the University of Cape Town in 1983 and 1984, respectively. He also received a master of business administration from City University, London in 1992. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant (the South African equivalent of a Certified Public Accountant in the USA) in 1988.

About Virax Biolabs Group Limited

Virax Biolabs Group Limited is an innovative biotechnology group focused on the detection and diagnosis of viral diseases, with a particular interest in the field of immunology.

Virax Biolabs Group Limited is currently developing a proprietary T-Cell Test technology with the intention of providing an immunology profiling platform that assesses each individual’s immune risk profile against major global viral threats. T-Cell testing is particularly effective in the diagnosis and therapeutics of COVID-19 as well as other threats including Hepatitis B, Malaria, Herpes and Human Papillomavirus. For more information, please visit www.viraxbiolabs.com. 
Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. In addition, from time to time, we or our representatives may make forward-looking statements orally or in writing. We base these forward-looking statements on our expectations and projections about future events, which we derive from the information currently available to us. Such forward-looking statements relate to future events or our future performance, including: our financial performance and projections; our growth in revenue and earnings; and our business prospects and opportunities. You can identify forward-looking statements by those that are not historical in nature, particularly those that use terminology such as “may,” “should,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “contemplates,” “estimates,” “believes,” “plans,” “projected,” “predicts,” “potential,” or “hopes” or the negative of these or similar terms. In evaluating these forward-looking statements, you should consider various factors, including: our ability to change the direction of the Company; our ability to keep pace with new technology and changing market needs; and the competitive environment of our business. These and other factors may cause our actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements are only predictions. The forward-looking events discussed in this press release and other statements made from time to time by us or our representatives, may not occur, and actual events and results may differ materially and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions about us. We are not obligated to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release and other statements made from time to time by us or our representatives might not occur.

Company Contact:

Virax Biolabs Group Limited
Karen Bertoli, Advisor
Phone: +1.305.216.4190
Email: kb@viraxbiolabs.com 

Investor Relations Contact:

Skyline Corporate Communications Group, LLC
Lisa Gray, Senior Account Manager
One Rockefeller Plaza, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10020
Office: (646) 893-5835
Email: lisa@skylineccg.com

Released May 31, 2022