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Inovio Welcomes Biotech Leader to its Board of Directors
Inovio also announces retirement of long-serving board member PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., Jan. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:INO)

About this update from Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Inovio also announces retirement of long-serving board member\n\n\nPLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., Jan. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:INO) today announced the appointment of Jay Shepard to its Board of Directors. Mr. Shepard brings broad healthcare and financial experience to the board given his tenure as CEO of several biotech companies, his multiple corporate board appointments and his expertise as a healthcare venture capitalist.\nDr. J. Joseph Kim, Inovio's President & CEO said, \"We are fortunate to have Jay Shepard join Inovio's Board of Directors. Jay's expertise in health care, corporate financing and M&A in the industry will be an asset to our company as we execute on our strategic deliverables in the next year and the next decade.\"\nInovio also announced the retirement of Mort Collins from its Board. Dr. Collins had been a founding Board member of Inovio's predecessor, VGX Pharmaceuticals.\nRegarding Mort Collins, Dr. Kim said, \"For nearly two decades Mort has been a guiding hand for Inovio helping us grow and make the right choices in science and business. For me, Mort has been more than a corporate board member. He has been a mentor to me and a strong voice I've relied on to manage innovation as we develop and commercialize our DNA medicines.\"\nAbout Jay Shepard\nMr. Shepard is currently Non-executive Chairman and formerly President and Chief Executive Officer of Aravive, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing treatments designed to halt the progression of life-threatening diseases, including cancer and fibrosis. Previously, Mr. Shepard was an Executive Partner at Sofinnova Ventures, a healthcare venture capital firm. Before that he also served as President and Chief Executive Officer and was a member of the board of directors of NextWave Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing unique pediatric products utilizing proprietary drug delivery technology that was acquired by Pfizer, Inc. Mr. Shepard has also served as President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of Ilypsa, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company pioneering novel non-absorbed polymeric drugs for renal and metabolic disorders that was acquired by Amgen. Mr. Shepard has held board appointments for numerous public and private companies, includin...