Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a development-stage, specialty pharmaceutical company that is developing orally active, proprietary, late-stage drug candidates for the treatment of autoimmune and central nervous system diseases, recently announced the appointment of James S. Kuo, M.D. as the company’s chairman, chief executive officer and president. Dr. Kuo replaces Mr. Max Lyon, who recently resigned as president, chief executive officer and a member of the company’s board of directors.

Since February of 2007, Dr. Kuo has served as a director of Adeona Pharmaceuticals. In his new role, he will spearhead the company’s new growth initiatives, including new product launches, the commercialization of products and securing new business development relationships.

Prior to joining Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Kuo served as chairman and chief executive officer of Cordex Pharma, a cardiovascular-related pharmaceutical company, and as a licensing executive at Pfizer and Myriad Genetics. Dr. Kuo earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine and his MBA from the Wharton School of Business.

“The board of directors welcomes Jim’s appointment as chairman, CEO and president,” stated Steve H. Kanzer. “He understands the board’s strategic directive for the company to become more commercially focused. Jim has a unique combination of skill sets to lead our company. He has been CEO of several publicly-traded companies, launched products in the life science sector, negotiated licensing deals while at large pharma and several biotech companies, and evaluated life science products and completed financings as a venture capitalist.”

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