5 Aug 2014 07:00
5 August 2014
Akers Appoints New Vice President of International Sales and Marketing to Build International Business
Akers Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: AKER) (LSE: AKR) (the "Company" or "Akers"), a leading designer and manufacturer of rapid diagnostic screening and testing products, announces the appointment of Nicolas Daurel as Vice President of International Sales and Marketing for Europe, the Middle East and Africa ("EMEA"). Mr. Daurel has a twenty year track-record of successfully building and managing the sales of medical devices in EMEA, particularly within the coagulation sector.
In addition to Akers' ongoing upscaling of domestic sales and marketing capacity in the U.S., the Company is committed to building international sales of its diagnostic assays in markets where existing tests do not effectively fulfil clinical requirements or where an emerging unfulfilled need for certain tests has been identified.
Mr. Daurel will be based in Paris, France and will have managerial responsibility for opening up new distribution channels in EMEA for the Company's core products. His initial focus will be upon PIFA Heparin/PF4 and PIFA PLUSS Infectious Disease rapid assays.
Recently, Mr. Daurel acquired a substantial interest in AJC Medical, a Paris-based company supplying medical equipment for use at home or in healthcare facilities. He joins Akers having successfully achieved his objective of establishing AJC Medical as a profitable entity.
Prior to his work with AJC Medical, Mr. Daurel was Head of International Sales and Marketing for Trinity Biotech Plc ("Trinity"), a public company specializing in the development, manufacture and marketing of clinical diagnostic products. During his time with Trinity, Mr. Daurel was responsible for all coagulation business (excluding the U.S. market) and successfully established and managed distribution partnerships throughout EMEA, Latin America and Asia Pacific.
From 1999 until shortly after its US$7 billion acquisition by Siemens AG in 2007, Mr. Daurel held various positions with Dade Behring, a U.S.-headquartered manufacturer of equipment for the medical diagnostics industry. During his time with Dade Behring, among other responsibilities, Mr. Daurel managed the Infectious Disease segment of their business, implementing multiple new products, and ultimately becoming Dade Behring's regional sales manager for France, contributing sales of approximately €25 million annually.
Mr. Daurel began his career in 1994 with Stago, an international manufacturer of testing systems within the haemostasis sector.
"Nicolas Daurel is the first full-time international VP at Akers to be wholly dedicated to building non-domestic sales," said Raymond F. Akers Jr., Ph.D, Executive Chairman. "He has a track-record of building sales through distribution partners which is precisely Akers' strategy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa," continued Dr. Akers.
Mr. Daurel added: "My experience specifically with coagulation and infectious disease products is very relevant to Akers Biosciences. I have a deep understanding of the market opportunity in my regions for the flagship PIFA Heparin/PF4 products and for the PIFA Infectious Disease product lines.
"I have been tracking the progress of the Company for a number of years and believe, with Akers' proprietary technology and the tests which have been developed, that we are on the cusp of unlocking a very substantial opportunity in point-of-care diagnostics."
ABOUT AKERS BIOSCIENCES, INC.
Akers Biosciences develops, manufactures, and supplies rapid, point of care screening and testing products designed to bring healthcare information both rapidly and directly to the consumer or healthcare provider. The Company has advanced the science of diagnostics while responding to major shifts in healthcare through the development of several proprietary platform technologies. The Company's state-of-the-art rapid diagnostic assays can be performed virtually anywhere in minutes when time is of the essence. The Company has aligned with major healthcare companies and high volume medical product distributors to maximize product offerings, and to be a major worldwide competitor in diagnostics. Additional information on the Company and its products can be found at www.akersbiosciences.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements
Statements contained herein that are not based upon current or historical fact are forward-looking in nature and constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements reflect the Company's expectations about its future operating results, performance and opportunities that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. These statements include but are not limited to statements regarding the intended terms of the offering, closing of the offering and use of any proceeds from the offering. When used herein, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "upcoming," "plan," "target", "intend" and "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to Akers Biosciences, Inc., its subsidiaries, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the Company's actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements.
For more information:
Raymond F. Akers, Jr. PhD
Executive Chairman of the Board
Akers Biosciences, Inc.
Tel. +1 856 848 8698
Twitter. @AkersBio
Brendan Hopkins
RedChip Companies, Inc. (US Investor Relations)
Tel. +1 407 644 4256 x134
Emma Earl / Harrison Clarke
Daniel Stewart (Nomad and Broker)
Tel. +44 (0)20 7776 6550
Ben Simons / Alexandra Roper
Vigo Communications (UK Investor Relations)
Tel. +44 (0)20 7016 9570
Email. akers@vigocomms.com
4846-3693-0588, v. 1