The nomination of François Arcand as Director General (CEO) of ERA Plantech S.L., effective immediately, was announced during BioSpain by Dr. Luis Ruiz-Avila, on behalf of the board of directors. “This experienced CEO will lead ERA where it belongs in the international league of biopharmaceutical production”, said Dr. Ruiz-Avila.

ERA uses Zera™, a suite of proprietary biotechnologies, to improve the manufacturing productivity of plant-made pharmaceuticals and other protein-based products of high value. Zera™ assemble Protein Bodies in plant cells to recombinant products, and eases their recovery.
“With Zera™, drug manufacturing should be easier and more affordable”, believes François Arcand. “The simplicity and elegance of Dra. Ludevid’s discovery has a seducing quality”. Zera™ will be presented at the Conference on Plant-made Pharmaceuticals in Montréal (Jan 30 to Feb. 2, 2005).

Mr. Arcand obtained a MBA from the Executive Program of John Molson School of Business (Concordia University, Montréal). He is the co-founder of Medicago inc., a plant-factory company from Québec City (Canada), and the president of the Society for Moleculture, a non-for-profit organization that supports the emergence of plant-factories (www.cpmp2005.org).

Zera™ was discovered by the team of Dra. Dolors Ludevid-Múgica from the Spanish Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), and is developed by ERA, a private company whose state of the art facilities are located in the Parc Cientific de Barcelona (www.eraplantech.com).

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