Tengion gets new CEO as it pursues strategic partnership talks

John L. Miclot has been appointed CEO of Tengion (NASDAQ:TNGN), a regenerative medicine business in […]

John L. Miclot has been appointed CEO of Tengion (NASDAQ:TNGN), a regenerative medicine business in East Norriton, Pennsylvania, as it pursues strategic partnership discussions.

Miclot fills a vacancy left by Steven A. Nichtberger who resigned in June. David I Scheer, chairman of Tengion’s board, had taken a more active role in the company until a replacement was found.

Miclot was previously an executive-in-residence at private equity firm Warburg Pincus. He was also CEO of CCS Medical, a company owned by Warburg Pincus and a provider of products and services for patients with chronic diseases, from 2008 until completion of a financial restructuring of the company in 2010. From 2003 to 2008, Miclot served as CEO of Respironics where he developed and implemented a growth strategy that led to the $5.1 billion sale of the company to Royal Philips.

Last month, in its third-quarter earnings, Tengion revealed a restructuring plan that involved cutting 30 from its workforce and centralizing its R&D operations in its leased facility in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Scheer said: “As we continue to pursue strategic partnership and financing discussions, his experience will be invaluable and we look forward to working with him to achieve key Tengion milestones in 2012.”

Tengion has an organ regeneration program using patients’ cells. Among its pipeline programs is a Neo-Kidney Augment program that has completed phase 2 clinical trials. The program is intended to prevent or delay the need for dialysis or kidney transplant by catalyzing the regeneration of functional kidney tissue in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease. The company expects to submit a pre-investigational new drug filing with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the first half of 2012. It has initiated a phase 1 clinical trial for its Neo-Urinary Conduit in patients with bladder cancer who require a total cystectomy.

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