Hawaii Biotech Inc. CEO and President Stepping Down

Elliot Parks, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Hawaii Biotech, Inc. (HBI), a privately held technology business that produces vaccines and biodefense pharmaceuticals, said today that he is resigning for medical reasons. Dr. Parks will remain on the company’s board of directors and serve as a consultant. Richard L. Sherman, JD, vice president, and general counsel, has been named temporary CEO by the Inc Board of Directors.

Parks was hired to manage the Hawaii Biotech in 2008, and in just a few years, he had broadened the business’s ambition, raised new capital, and started the first human clinical trials for its Dengue and West Nile virus vaccines.

Parks developed a business model based on out-licensing and partnering Inc protein production capabilities, vaccines, and adjuvants and receiving grants and contracts from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. This helps support both its vaccine programs and the development of biodefense small molecule drugs after successfully navigating the company through reorganization.

Parks oversaw Hawaii Biotech Inc new state-of-the-art headquarters at Dole Cannery, which houses both medicinal chemistry and molecular biology facilities in 2016-17. Hawaii Biotech Inc, Hawaii’s oldest and largest biotech company, employs 21 people and is working on vaccine candidates for Ebola, Zika, COVID-19, West Nile Virus, Chikungunya, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and Tick-borne Flavivirus, as well as small molecule anti-toxin drugs for the treatment of anthrax poisoning and botulism caused by BoNT type A poisoning.Parks joined Hawaii Biotech Inc with 30 years of expertise in academic research, biomedical product development, senior management, life science investing, and firsthand knowledge of corporate governance best practices.