NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- WellGen, Inc., a
biotechnology company using nutrigenomics to discover and develop food
ingredients for wellness products, today announced the appointment of
Dr. Kathleen P. Mullinix as its new President and Chief Executive Officer.
   
She succeeds Dr. David A. Evans, who passed away suddenly on June 1, 2006.
   
Dr. Mullinix brings more than 30 years of industry experience to the CEO
position at WellGen.  Her background encompasses significant achievements in
the biotechnology industry and considerable management experience in the
corporate, government and academic sectors.  She has been a successful
entrepreneur throughout her career and has launched multiple successful
ventures.
   
Richard Laster, Chairman of WellGen, said, "We are very pleased to have
attracted someone with the skills and talent of Kathleen Mullinix to lead
WellGen forward at this crucial stage in its development.  Through our
licenses, research and patents, WellGen is developing a stable of highly
promising bioactive ingredients for the food, therapeutics and dietary
supplements markets.  Dr. Mullinix's deep knowledge in the field of
biotechnology and experience in intellectual property will be instrumental in
helping the Company achieve its goals of bringing its unique product benefits
to market."
   
WellGen holds exclusive licenses to technology that can identify health
and wellness benefits of foods and food ingredients related to the expression
of certain genes.  WellGen also has license to a wide range of food and
plant-based bioactive substances for the prevention and treatment of disease. 
The Company has a growing intellectual property estate that includes issued
patents and numerous pending patent applications, all of which are related to
its mission of using its nutrigenomics technology platform to identify
proprietary compounds that affect certain genes that the company has targeted. 
WellGen is developing its compounds that are based on scientific evidence for
multiple uses related to enhancing and maintaining wellness.
   
"We are truly fortunate to have Dr. Mullinix join our company at this
juncture," said Richard C.E. Morgan, Chief Executive Officer of Amphion
Innovations plc, a leading investor in WellGen.  "She is a proven executive
with an exceptional blend of strategy and leadership skills, and experience in
building and leading biotechnology companies that make her the right person
for the job as the company enters its next stage of growth."
   
Dr. Mullinix added: "This is a tremendous time to be joining WellGen and I
am honored to be a part of the organization.  I am very excited to lead this
company as we pursue the significant market opportunities that lie ahead."
   
Prior to joining WellGen, Dr. Mullinix advised investors on biotechnology
and pharmaceutical business opportunities with her company Kathleen P.
Mullinix & Associates, which she founded in 2002.  Before that, Dr. Mullinix
served as the founder, chairman, CEO and president of Synaptic Pharmaceutical
Corporation.  There she led the company from its inception as she developed
and implemented the company's strategies for scientific research, business and
intellectual property, making it a research-driven public biotechnology
company and then an emerging pharmaceutical company.
   
Before founding Synaptic Pharmaceutical, Dr. Mullinix served for six years
as vice provost for Columbia University.  In this role, she brought Columbia
to a leadership position in the commercial development of university
intellectual property assets.  Additionally, she was instrumental in the
development of The Audubon Research Park that has transformed the Columbia
Presbyterian Medical Center's Washington Heights neighborhood.
   
From 1972-1981, Dr. Mullinix held two positions with the National
Institutes of Health, and served the organization by assisting with strategic
matters involving the scientific direction of the NIH intramural program and
implementing a novel research program in molecular biology.
   
Dr. Mullinix holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry from Trinity
College, a Ph.D. in Chemical Biology from Columbia University and was a
National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University.  She
currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Jackson Laboratory, Cylex, a
privately held diagnostics company and Intellect Neurosciences, Inc., a
privately held biotechnology company.

   
About WellGen
   
WellGen, Inc., based in New Brunswick, NJ, is a biotechnology company that
is discovering and developing products for food, therapeutics, and dietary
supplement markets.  WellGen's technical platform is a method of screening the
effect of food and related substances on the expression of genes associated
with human health conditions.  The company has developed proprietary
substances that help reduce risk and severity for a variety of diseases. 
Please visit our website at www.wellgen.com for more information.