Vaxart a privately held clinical-stage company developing recombinant vaccines that are administered by tablet rather than by injection today announced that John M. Harland has joined the company as chief financial officer replacing David Madden who served as acting CFO. Mr. Harland has more than 25 years of experience in the biotechnology and medical devices industries and has closed a wide range of financings and transactions. His appointment is effective immediately.<br /><br />“John has a proven track record in financial administration and has successfully supported the growth of both private and public innovator companies within the life sciences” said Vaxart CEO Wouter Latour MD. “We believe he will be a great asset to Vaxart as we continue to build our pipeline and advance toward our goal of developing and commercializing the first oral seasonal influenza vaccine.” Dr. Latour added “We are grateful to Dave Madden whose keen business sense and commitment contributed significantly to the company’s progress.”<br /><br />Mr. Harland stated “I am thrilled to join Vaxart which has the opportunity to transform the vaccines marketplace with its tablet vaccines. The company already has demonstrated strong results in influenza and anticipates advancing additional product candidates into the clinic to address important infectious diseases such as norovirus respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and herpes simplex 2 infections.”<br /><br />Mr. Harland served most recently as CFO and secretary of Wafergen Biosystems Inc. and before that he was vice president for finance and administration at Trinity Biosystems. Previously he held the position of CFO for companies including Accuray Incorporated Alliance Fiber Optic Products Cardiovascular Imaging Systems Neurobiological Technologies and Circadian Inc. Mr. Harland began his career as an auditor at Arthur Young & Company and he holds CPA and FCA credentials. He earned his MBA in taxation and finance at Golden Gate University and his MA in business studies and natural sciences from Cambridge University.<br /><br />About Vaxart<br /><br />Vaxart is a privately owned company developing oral recombinant vaccines based on its proprietary delivery platform. The Vaxart platform is suitable for delivering a wide range of protein vaccine antigens such as those used in currently marketed influenza hepatitis B and human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccines. Care Capital is the lead investor in the company and its largest shareholder.