HR Notices From May 11-13
Synthetic Biologics Appoints Jeffrey J. Kraws as Independent Chairman: Ann Arbor-based Synthetic Biologics Inc. (NYSE Amex: SYN), a developer of synthetic DNA-based therapeutics and innovative disease-modifying medicines for serious illnesses, announced today that to improve its corporate governance and strengthen the Board, it has split the roles of chairman and CEO, and appointed Jeffrey J. Kraws to serve as its independent, non-executive chairman of the board. Mr. Kraws has served on the company's board of directors since January 2006, and will continue to serve on the compensation and nominations committees. Kraws is CEO and co-founder of Crystal Research Associates. Well known and respected on Wall Street, Kraws has received some of the most prestigious awards in the industry. Among other awards, he was given a "5-Star Rating" in 2001 by Zacks and was ranked the number one analyst among all pharmaceutical analysts for stock performance in 2001 by Starmine.com. Prior to founding Crystal Research Associates in 2003, Kraws served as co-president of The Investor Relations Group, a firm representing primarily under-followed, small-capitalization companies. Previously, Kraws served as a managing director of healthcare research for Ryan Beck & Co. and as director of research/senior pharmaceutical analyst and managing director at Gruntal & Co. LLC (prior to its merger with Ryan Beck & Co.). Kraws served as managing director of the healthcare research group and senior pharmaceutical analyst at First Union Securities (formerly Everen Securities); as senior U.S. pharmaceutical analyst for the Swedish-Swiss conglomerate Asea Brown Boveri; and as managing director and president of the brokerage and investment banking operation of ABB Aros Securities Inc. He also served as senior pharmaceutical analyst at Nationsbanc Montgomery Securities, BT Alex Brown & Sons, and Buckingham Research. Mr. Kraws also has industry experience, having been responsible for competitive analysis within the treasury group at Bristol-Myers-Squibb Co. He holds an MBA from Cornell University and a BS degree from State University of New York-Buffalo. Synthetic Biologics is a biotechnology company focused on the development of synthetic DNA-based therapeutics and innovative disease-modifying medicines for serious illnesses. Synthetic Biologics is developing product candidates for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, cognitive dysfunction in MS, fibromyalgia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. For more information, visit www.syntheticbiologics.com.
