Cambridge, MA, June 11, 2001 -- Therion Biologics Board of Directors has elected Ronald J. Saldarini, Ph.D., 61, as Chairman, the company announced today. Formerly President of Wyeth-Lederle Vaccines and Pediatrics Business Group, Dr. Saldarini brings over 30 years of pharmaceutical leadership to his new position. Dr. Saldarini has served as a Therion board member since 1999.

"As a member of our Board of Directors, Ron has provided invaluable advice to our clinical development program," said Dennis L. Panicali, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Therion. "His active participation in the management of the company will be particularly important as we move our advanced products into the final phase of clinical testing prior to submission to the FDA for marketing approval."

Therion's two lead products in development are PROSTVAC-VF, a vaccine to treat prostate cancer, and ALVAC-CEA/B7.1, a vaccine to treat colorectal cancer. Both products have demonstrated safety and have been well tolerated in clinical trials to date. Most recently, researchers at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Meeting reported data showing increased survival time when ALVAC-CEA is used as part of a combination regimen of novel therapeutic vaccines in patients with a variety of late-stage cancers (colorectal, stomach, pancreatic, esophageal, cervical and breast). Therion and its collaborators at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Aventis Pasteur expect both therapeutic vaccines to enter Phase III trials by 2002.

Until retiring in 1999, Dr. Saldarini was President of Wyeth-Lederle Vaccines and Pediatrics, a business unit of American Home Products Corporation (AHP), where he managed the Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories Vaccines, U. S. Infant Nutritionals and Pediatric Pharmaceuticals business units. Prior to joining AHP in 1995, Dr. Saldarini supervised the business and research operations as President of Lederle-Praxis Biologicals Division. Dr. Saldarini received his Ph.D. in physiology and biochemistry from the University of Kansas. Currently, Dr. Saldarini serves as a member of several boards, national committees and scientific councils.

Therion Biologics Corporation is engaged in the development of therapeutic vaccines for cancer and preventive vaccines for AIDS. Currently, Therion has two lead products for colorectal and prostate cancer, ALVAC-CEA/B7.1 and PROSTVAC-VF, respectively, moving into pivotal clinical trials in the next two years. The company also has a broad pipeline of vaccines in early clinical development for treatment of major cancers, including breast cancer, melanoma and other solid tumors. Therion's partners include Aventis Pasteur, the National Cancer Institute and a network of leading clinical institutions around the world. Therion is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.