DR. LIANGFANG ZHANG JOINS PKC AS CHIEF NANOENGINEERING OFFICER

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA, April 30, 2010 – Pharmaco-Kinesis Corporation (PKC), an advanced medical device company developing smart local drug delivery systems, today announced that Dr. Liangfang Zhang, Ph.D., a distinguished scientist and Assistant Professor of Nanoengineering at the Nanoengineering Department and Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego, has joined the company as Chief Nanoengineering Officer.

In this role, Dr. Zhang will oversee the increasing development work PKC is conducting on nanotechnology biosensors for applications that include biomarker detectors within the company’s Magnetic Breather Pump and kits for efficient and rapid detection of cancer and other diseases, as well as detection of Salmonella and other bacteria associated with food poisoning.  Dr. Zhang has published approximately 40 peer-reviewed papers and holds 14 patents. He received the 2009 Victor K. LaMer Award from the American Chemical Society.

“Dr. Zhang is among the country’s brightest and most respected scientists in the field of nanoengineering,” said Josh Shachar, Chief Technology Officer of PKC. “His in-depth knowledge of nanotechnology biosensor applications and practical knowhow within the field of drug delivery make him an ideal candidate to oversee the promising product development work we are increasingly pursuing at PKC.”

The PKC nanoengineering function is expected to grow considerably, and Dr. Zhang will be tasked with attracting additional world class nanotechnology specialists to join the PKC team. “In the next twelve months, Dr. Zhang will be charged with building a team of applied nanotechnology scientists and creating advanced facilities for design and fabrication of state-of-the-art biosensors,” said Frank Adell, CEO of PKC. 

Dr. Zhang received his Ph.D. in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in 2006 under the supervision of Prof. Steve Granick. He was a postdoctoral associate in the laboratory of Prof. Robert Langer at MIT during 2006-2008.  He joined the Department of Nanoengineering and Moores Cancer Center at UC-San Diego as Assistant Professor in July 2008. Dr. Zhang’s research interests focus on the design, synthesis, characterization and evaluation of nanostructured biomaterials for healthcare and other medical applications, particularly drug delivery to improve or enable treatments of human diseases.

The PKC R&D team is engaged in several product development programs for commercialization of novel smart local drug delivery technologies and advanced devices to measure biological responses.

For additional information, please contact:
Daniel Saks Senior
Vice President, Corporate Affairs
Pharmaco-Kinesis Corporation
(310) 734-4447