HBY Hybridon

Hybridon Appoints Alison Taunton-Rigby to Board of Directors CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hybridon, Inc. (AMEX:HBY) today announced the election of Alison Taunton-Rigby, Ph.D., O.B.E. to the Company's Board of Directors. Hybridon's Board of Directors now includes seven members, and Dr. Taunton-Rigby's appointment increases the number of independent directors to five. Dr. Taunton-Rigby is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of RiboNovix, Inc., a privately held anti-infectives company. She previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Aquila Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on autoimmune disorders, which was acquired by Antigenics Inc. Dr. Taunton-Rigby has also served in senior management positions at Genzyme Corporation, Vivotech Inc., Biogen, Inc. (now Biogen Idec), and Collaborative Research, Inc. "We are happy to welcome Alison and the substantial management experience and broad knowledge she brings to the Hybridon board," said James B. Wyngaarden, M.D., Chairman of Hybridon's Board of Directors. "Alison becomes an important resource to Hybridon as we continue to develop our immunomodulatory oligonucleotide technology based on agonists of Toll-like Receptors and to advance specific antisense therapeutics." "I am pleased to be associated with Hybridon, a company whose technology platforms have the potential to treat unmet clinical needs in infectious diseases, cancer and asthma/allergies," said Dr. Taunton-Rigby. "I look forward to lending my support to Hybridon as the Company continues to advance its development programs." Dr. Taunton-Rigby received her doctorate in chemistry from the University of Bristol in England, and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program of the Harvard Business School. She is a Director of American Express Funds, Abt Associates, Inc., RiboNovix, Inc., the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, the Massachusetts Women's Forum, a trustee of The Children's Hospital Boston, and a member of the Board of Associates of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, and Bentley College Center for Business Ethics. In 2002, she was awarded the O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II. About Hybridon Hybridon, Inc. is a leader in the discovery and development of novel therapeutics based on synthetic DNA. The Company's focus is to develop therapeutics independently and with partners based on two proprietary technology platforms: i) Synthetic immunomodulatory oligonucleotide (IMO(TM)) motifs that act to modulate responses of the immune system; and ii) Antisense technology that uses synthetic DNA to block the production of disease-causing proteins at the cellular level. Licensees of Hybridon's technology include Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., MethylGene, Inc., Aegera Therapeutics, Inc., Micrologix Biotech, Inc., Epigenesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and The Immune Response Corporation. The company is conducting clinical trials in oncology patients with HYB2055 (IMOxine(TM)), a 2nd-generation IMO, and with GEM(R)231 (a 2nd-generation antisense oligonucleotide targeted to protein kinase A) in combination with irinotecan. This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning Hybridon that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words, "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "estimates," "intends," "should," "could," "will," "may," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause Hybridon's actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including risks as to whether the Company will commence clinical trials; whether results obtained in preclinical studies or early clinical trials will be indicative of results obtained in future preclinical studies or clinical trials, or warrant further clinical trials and product development; whether products based on Hybridon's technology will advance through the clinical trial process and receive approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies; whether, if such products receive approval, they will be successfully distributed and marketed; whether the patents and patent applications owned or licensed by Hybridon will protect the Company's technology and prevent others from infringing it; whether Hybridon's cash resources will be sufficient to fund product and clinical development; and such other important factors as are set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in Hybridon's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August 6, 2004, which important factors are incorporated herein by reference. Hybridon disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements. DATASOURCE: Hybridon, Inc. CONTACT: Robert G. Andersen of Hybridon, Inc., +1-617-679-5500, ext. 5517, ; or Media - Robert Stanislaro, +1-212-845-4268, or Investors - Brian Ritchie, +1-212-845-4269, both of Euro RSCG Life NRP, for Hybridon, Inc.

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