Dr Milton Packer Joins Vasogen’s scientific advisory board

Toronto, ON April 1, 2003 Vasogen, a developer of immune modulation therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and other chronic inflammatory disorders, has announced the appointment of Milton Packer, MD, to its scientific advisory board.

Dr Packer, one of the leading experts in the pathophysiology and treatment of heart failure, is the Dickinson W Richards Jr professor of medicine, professor of pharmacology, and chief of the division of circulatory physiology at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and director of the Heart Failure Center at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Milton Packer to our scientific advisory board,” says Dr Eldon Smith, Vasogen’s vice president of scientific affairs. “Dr Packer’s expertise and vast knowledge of heart failure adds considerable strength to the board as we advance our pivotal phase III Acclaim trial at leading heart failure centers throughout North America.”

Dr Packer has made significant contributions to heart failure research and has been instrumental in the introduction of a number of new treatments. The author of more than 200 papers, he has won numerous honors for teaching and has lectured around the world, including a number of prestigious named lectureships, on the treatment of heart failure. He has served, or currently serves, on the editorial boards of many major medical journals, including ‘Circulation’ and ‘Journal of the American College of Cardiology’. He has also been elected to a number of societies, including the American Society for Clinical Investigation. He is currently on the executive committees of both the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology and is past-president of the Heart Failure Society of America. Dr Packer is a primary consultant to the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration on the management of heart failure and on matters related to cardiovascular research and drug development and health care policy.

Vasogen is focused on the research, development, and commercialization of immune modulation therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular and other inflammatory diseases. Vasogen’s lead clinical indications in chronic heart failure and peripheral arterial disease are currently in pivotal phase III development. Vasogen is also investigating the potential of immune modulation therapies in neuro-inflammatory diseases.