THOROFARE, N.J., Jan. 20, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Akers Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:AKER) (AIM:AKR.L), (the "Company"), a leading designer and manufacturer of rapid diagnostic screening and testing products, announces the recruitment and deployment of a full-time, pan-U.S. sales and marketing team under the direction of the newly appointed Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, John C. Cheneval.
Mr. Cheneval is a leader in the field of commercializing diagnostic products within the healthcare sector. He has 25 years of high level industry experience including senior roles within Johnson & Johnson, Novartis Molecular Diagnostics and Genoptix Medical Labs. Mr. Cheneval has a successful track record of commercializing diagnostic tests and launching novel assays into the market. He has been responsible for the launch and management of several hundred million dollars of diagnostic product sales.
The Company also announces the appointment of Christopher Ellis as Vice President, Global Marketing. Mr. Ellis most recently led provider marketing for (and was one of six founding members of) Vree Health, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merck, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Prior to Vree Health, Mr. Ellis spent 12 years in various positions of increasing responsibility within sales and marketing at Merck.
The Company has recruited multiple experienced full-time medical product sales representatives in order to focus extensively on growing U.S. sales of the Company's flagship PIFA Heparin/PF4 Rapid Assay products. Our full-time sales representatives are based in strategic locations across the U.S. including San Diego, New York City, Dallas, St. Louis and Orlando.
"The injection of capital from 2014's NASDAQ listing, coupled with growing revenues from product sales, is enabling Akers to put significant weight behind driving the internal sales capacity of our current core products which test for the condition known as heparin induced thrombocytopenia ("HIT")," said Raymond F. Akers, Jr. PhD, Co-founder and Executive Chairman of the Board.
"Domestically, the Company is now in the position of being able to activate a comprehensive, multi-layered sales strategy which encompasses direct sales, telesales and distribution. Akers has partnered with Typenex for telesales and has established distribution with blue chip medical product distributors including Cardinal, Medline and Fisher. Such partners may in the future be involved in selling additional products from the Company's growing pipeline of tests in various stages of development," continued Dr. Akers.
"The sales team which has been deployed into the field will focus on sales of the Company's current core product which has the capacity to generate substantial annual cost savings to hospitals through more efficient diagnosis of the condition it tests for," said John C. Cheneval, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing.
"Evidence of demand for Akers' test is demonstrated by the hospitals already using it," added Mr. Cheneval. "But right now we are barely scratching the surface of its potential market. Putting top quality sales representatives in the field is key to achieving the kind of penetration this test has the capacity to deliver."
ABOUT AKERS BIOSCIENCES, INC.
Akers Biosciences develops, manufactures, and supplies rapid, point of care screening and testing products designed to bring healthcare information both rapidly and directly to the consumer or healthcare provider. The Company has advanced the science of diagnostics while responding to major shifts in healthcare through the development of several proprietary platform technologies. The Company's state-of-the-art rapid diagnostic assays can be performed virtually anywhere in minutes when time is of the essence. The Company has aligned with major healthcare companies and high volume medical products distributors to maximize product offerings, and to be a major worldwide competitor in diagnostics.
Additional information on the Company and its products can be found on our website at www.akersbiosciences.com. Follow us on Twitter @AkersBio.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements
Statements contained herein that are not based upon current or historical fact are forward-looking in nature and constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements reflect the Company's expectations about its future operating results, performance and opportunities that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. These statements include but are not limited to statements regarding the intended terms of the offering, closing of the offering and use of any proceeds from the offering. When used herein, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "upcoming," "plan," "target", "intend" and "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to Akers Biosciences, Inc., its subsidiaries, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the Company's actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements.