ROCK HILL, S.C., Jan. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) today announced the appointment of Mr. Bert Bruce to the company’s Medical Advisory Board. Mr. Bruce will join the five other members of the advisory board who have been named since the Board’s establishment in May 2022:

• Dr. Stephen K. Klasko, former President and CEO of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health;
• The Honorable David J. Shulkin, former U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs;
• The Honorable Alex Azar, former U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary;
• Dr. Toby Cosgrove, former President & Chief Executive officer of the Cleveland Clinic; and
• Dr. Bon Ku, Professor of Medicine and Design at Thomas Jefferson University and Director of the University’s Health Design Lab.
  

The Board’s primary mission is to provide strategic input, guidance, and recommendations for the company’s expanding efforts in regenerative medicine. These development efforts center on the 3D printing of vascularized tissue for use in the manufacture of human organs and a host of other non-organ applications in the human body. In addition, these custom tissue constructs are targeted for use by pharmaceutical companies for the development of new drug therapies, offering the potential for shortening development cycle times and ultimately reducing or even eliminating the need for animal trials. Last year, 3D Systems announced the formation of a new, wholly-owned subsidiary called Systemic Bio, whose sole mission is to bring these new drug development technologies to the pharmaceutical market.

Mr. Bruce currently leads the U.S. Rare Disease Business Unit at Pfizer, Inc., one of the world's premier biopharmaceutical companies. Mr. Bruce is responsible for the Pfizer Rare Disease treatment portfolio in the United States, including oversight of major pharmaceutical products, as well as for the company’s Rare Disease gene therapy development pipeline. At Pfizer, Mr. Bruce has distinguished himself as a champion for patients living with rare diseases. While referred to as “rare” due to the smaller size of individual patient populations, there are over 7,000 known rare diseases that affect approximately 400 million people worldwide – approximately half of which are children. People living with a rare disease represent one of the largest underserved patient communities in the world, with only 5% of known rare diseases having one or more approved treatments.

Prior to his current position, Mr. Bruce served as Pfizer’s Vice President, Global Commercial Development, Rare Disease. In this role, Mr. Bruce led work by global teams spanning the entire breadth of the drug development cycle — from investigation and screening of early stage compounds through late-stage commercial development of successful new drugs, and also directed business development efforts to acquire new medicines and grow the company’s development pipeline portfolio. Mr. Bruce possesses over 30 years of broad pharmaceutical industry experience. In addition to his 17-year career with Pfizer, Mr. Bruce’s experience includes previous business leadership and strategy roles at Janssen Pharmaceutica, part of Johnson & Johnson. Mr. Bruce is also actively involved in a variety of social and educational causes. He is the chair of the Pfizer Global Black Community, is a member of the President’s Leadership Council at Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health, and is a board member for Life Sciences PA, and also for Bold Hope, Inc.

Commenting on the appointment of Mr. Bruce, Dr. Jeffrey Graves, president and CEO of 3D Systems stated, “We are honored and delighted to welcome Mr. Bruce to our Medical Advisory Board. He has distinguished himself over a long career in the pharmaceutical industry, as a leader in the development and commercialization of innovative drug therapies and life-saving compounds, as well as for his commitment to applying scientific research and advanced technology to the cause of improving patient outcomes. Given his deep expertise across the entire cycle of drug discovery and development, from early stage research all the way to regulatory approval and marketing of new products, Mr. Bruce is ideally positioned to advise 3D Systems as we accelerate our work to build a world-class regenerative medicine business. His insights and advice will be particularly valuable to our recently formed Systemic Bio business, given its mission of utilizing its proprietary h-VIOS™ organ on a chip 3D printing technology to enable pharmaceutical companies to greatly reduce the time and cost of preclinical drug testing.”

In recognition of his appointment, Mr. Bruce stated, “I am honored and excited to become a member of 3D Systems’ Medical Advisory Board at a time when the company has clearly established itself as a market leader in the use of advanced additive manufacturing techniques to drive healthcare innovation. I look forward to advising the company in its efforts to develop and commercialize pathbreaking new medical products and drug discovery tools as part of its emerging regenerative medicine business.”

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this release that are not statements of historical or current facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from historical results or from any future results or projections expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In many cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as "believes," "belief," "expects," "may," "will," "estimates," "intends," "anticipates" or "plans" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are based upon management’s beliefs, assumptions, and current expectations and may include comments as to the company’s beliefs and expectations as to future events and trends affecting its business and are necessarily subject to uncertainties, many of which are outside the control of the company. The factors described under the headings "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the company’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as other factors, could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected or predicted in forward-looking statements. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not, and should not be relied upon as a guarantee of future performance or results, nor will they necessarily prove to be accurate indications of the times at which such performance or results will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included are made only as of the date of the statement. 3D Systems undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements made by management or on its behalf, whether as a result of future developments, subsequent events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by law.

About 3D Systems
More than 35 years ago, 3D Systems brought the innovation of 3D printing to the manufacturing industry. Today, as the leading additive manufacturing solutions partner, we bring innovation, performance, and reliability to every interaction - empowering our customers to create products and business models never before possible. Thanks to our unique offering of hardware, software, materials, and services, each application-specific solution is powered by the expertise of our application engineers who collaborate with customers to transform how they deliver their products and services. 3D Systems’ solutions address a variety of advanced applications in healthcare and industrial markets such as medical and dental, aerospace & defense, automotive, and durable goods. More information on the company is available at www.3dsystems.com.

Investor Contact: investor.relations@3dsystems.com

Media Contact: press@3dsystems.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/71771878-8781-4c6b-999e-4d708018c267