Protein Sciences CEO Awarded Honorary Degree for Achievements in Science and Business

MERIDEN, Conn., May 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Protein Sciences Corporation President and CEO, Dr. Manon Cox, MBA, received the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa from The University of Saint Joseph for her achievements in science and business.  As CEO, Dr. Cox has led Protein Sciences through enormous growth, including FDA approval of the Company's first product, Flublok® Influenza Vaccine, which the FDA called "Revolutionary" upon licensure, and expansion of the Company's workforce from less than 40 to over 130 employees during the past 5 years.   The award was bestowed as part of the 79^th Commencement Ceremony held on May 11^th on the University's West Hartford campus.

In response to receiving her degree, Dr. Cox said, "It is a great honor to be recognized by a University dedicated to science and its founding Mercy mission.  Clearly contributions of the entire Protein Sciences team enable us to accomplish such great things like Flublok."  She added, "We go to work every day to work on new, modern vaccines that make people's lives better, or even save lives."

About Protein Sciences
Protein Sciences is a vaccine development and protein production company that is dedicated to saving lives and improving health through the creation of innovative vaccines and biopharmaceu­ticals.    

Flublok, the world's first recombinant protein-based vaccine for the prevention of seasonal influenza disease, was approved by FDA in January 2013.  Flublok is the only flu vaccine made in a 100% egg-free system using modern cell culture technology, making it unnecessary to use an infectious influenza virus or antibiotics in manufacturing.  Flublok is highly purified and does not contain any preservatives (e.g., thimerosal, a mercury derivative), egg proteins, gelatin or latex.  In addition, it contains 3x more active ingredient than traditional flu vaccines.  Flublok is a perfect copy of the virus coat and is not subject to the egg-adapted mutations associated with low vaccine effectiveness (see Skowronski et al. (2014) PLOS ONE 9(3), e92153).  We have filed for FDA approval of Flublok for ages 50 and above and expect to receive approval in time for the 2014/15 influenza season.

Learn more at www.proteinsciences.com and www.Flublok.com.

Flublok Safety Information
Flublok is approved for people 18-49 years old to prevent influenza disease.  The most common side effect from Flublok is pain at the site of injection.  Other side effects may occur and include fatigue, headache and muscle aches. 

Flublok should not be administered to anyone with a severe allergic reaction (e.g., anaphylaxis) to any vaccine component.

Tell the doctor if you have ever experienced Guillain-Barre syndrome (severe muscle weakness) within 6 weeks of receipt of a previous dose of influenza vaccine.  If you notice any other problems or symptoms following vaccination, please contact your healthcare professional immediately.  Vaccination with Flublok may not protect all individuals. 

Please see the complete Package Insert available at www.Flublok.com or call 203-686-0800 for more information.

SOURCE Protein Sciences Corporation