UROGENESYS NAMES AYA JAKOBOVITS, Ph.D. VICE PRESIDENT OF RESEARCH AND CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER Santa Monica, Calif., January 19, 1999 - UroGenesys, Inc. announced today that Aya Jakobovits, Ph.D. has joined the company as Vice President of Research and Chief Scientific Officer. She served until last week as Director of Discovery Research and Principal Scientist at Abgenix, Inc. of Fremont, CA. Dr. Jakobovits will directly supervise UroGenesys' scientific programs, intellectual property development, and collaborations with other research groups, in academia or industry. She will support UroGenesys' CEO in setting strategic directions and other aspects of company operations. In her recent capacity at Abgenix, which she held since its founding in 1996, and her prior role as Director of Molecular Immunology at Cell Genesys, Inc. of Foster City, CA, Dr. Jakobovits directed the development of XenoMouse™ strains and their utilization for production of therapeutic human monoclonal antibodies. These accomplishments led to world-wide scientific recognition and to the creation of Abgenix, Inc. "We are extremely pleased to have such an accomplished research manager, widely recognized for her scientific achievements, join UroGenesys", said Donald B. Rice, Ph.D., President and CEO. "Her intellectual leadership, strategic thinking and experience will help drive UroGenesys to the next level and beyond". Prior to becoming a scientist founder of Cell Genesys in 1989, Dr. Jakobovits was a post-doctoral fellow and research associate at Genentech, Inc. and at the University of California, San Francisco. She received her Ph.D. in Life Sciences from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. UroGenesys, Inc. is a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on development of improved therapeutics and diagnostics for urological cancers, with initial concentration on prostate cancer. The company's laboratories and offices are located in Santa Monica, California. For more information see www.urogenesys.com. Contacts Donald Rice, Ph.D. President and CEO drice@urogenesys.com Aya Jakobovits, Ph.D. Vice President of Research; Chief Scientific Officer ajakobovits@urogenesys.com << Back to Press Releases