KNOXVILLE, TN, Nov. 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Provectus (OTCQB: PVCT) today announced that Ed Pershing, CPA, the Chairman of the Company’s board of directors, was recognized by the Haslam College of Business (HCB) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville as HCB’s 2018 Outstanding Entrepreneur. Mr. Pershing also is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of 35-year-old, privately-held, healthcare management consulting and accounting firm PYA, P.C.
The following is an excerpt from HCB’s alumni award gala’s program and website about him:
Ed Pershing (HCB, ’74) grew up in Alcoa, Tennessee, surrounded by a supportive family. His two older brothers attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, before he and his youngest brother followed three years later. “I witnessed firsthand how much they enjoyed and valued the experience,” Pershing says. “I never considered going anywhere else.”
An excellent student, Pershing received offers from each of the big eight accounting firms after graduation. He joined EY and was soon selected to participate in an education program on healthcare consulting. It was 1976, a time when consulting was not usually identified as a viable career, but Pershing had discovered his calling. “I was very blessed to participate in that program,” he says. “It set the foundation for my career and allowed me to pursue a path I’m very passionate about: healthcare and public health.”
Pershing co-founded Pershing Yoakley & Associates with fellow Haslam graduate Doug Yoakley (HCB, ’78) in 1983. “I started PYA with the idea of establishing a strong consulting practice but operating as a CPA firm to convey our commitment to sound business practices and ethical conduct,” Pershing says. Pershing’s focus on healthcare consulting led PYA to become a leader in the niche, recognized by Modern Healthcare as the ninth largest privately-held healthcare management consulting firm in the country. Today, approximately 80 percent of PYA’s practice is related to the healthcare industry, and consulting accounts for more than two-thirds of their work.
PYA also founded a number of affiliate companies in other sectors, including real estate, investment advisory services, healthcare claims analysis and auditing, and most recently, advanced analytics. “These ongoing opportunities to create new business enterprises have been extraordinarily satisfying for me,” says Pershing. “They allow us to expand our impact and our business footprint.”
Over the years, Pershing has retained firm ties to the Haslam College of Business, serving in the past as a member of the Chancellor’s Associates and currently on the Dean’s Advisory Council at Haslam. “Right here in our backyard, we have the ability to connect with students and professors in a way that enables us to attract the best and brightest to join us at PYA,” Pershing says. “Haslam is a pipeline for us for being able to identify and retain remarkable talent.”
The road to success as an entrepreneur can be summed up in one word, says Pershing: perseverance. “You need personal discipline and diligence each day,” he says. “Even when you don’t see progress, you’re building a foundation that will result in progress.”
About PV-10
Provectus’ investigational oncology drug, PV-10, the first small molecule oncolytic immunotherapy, is undergoing clinical study for adult solid tumor cancers, like melanoma and cancers of the liver, and non-clinical study for pediatric cancers. Intratumoral injection of PV-10 can yield immunogenic cell death in solid tumor cancers and stimulate tumor-specific reactivity in circulating T cells.
About PH-10
Provectus’ investigational dermatology drug, PH-10, a topically applied, non-steroidal, small molecule-based gel, is undergoing clinical study for inflammatory dermatoses like psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. PH-10 is self-applied to affected skin with photoactivation via ambient exposure to visible light. Pathways significantly improved by PH-10 treatment include published psoriasis transcriptomes and cellular responses mediated by IL-17, IL-22 and interferons.
About Provectus
Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Provectus or the Company) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company leading the development of a new class of drugs for oncology and dermatology based on a family of molecules called halogenated xanthenes. Information about the Company’s clinical trials can be found at the NIH registry, www.clinicaltrials.gov. For additional information about Provectus, please visit the Company's website at www.provectusbio.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This release contains “forward-looking statements” as defined under U.S. federal securities laws. These statements reflect management's current knowledge, assumptions, beliefs, estimates, and expectations and express management's current views of future performance, results, and trends and may be identified by their use of terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “will,” and other similar terms. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to materially differ from those described in the forward-looking statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Such statements are made as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update such statements after this date.
Risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to materially differ from those described in forward-looking statements include those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including those described in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017).
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Contact:
Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
Tim Scott, Ph.D.
President
Phone: (866) 594-5999