Star Scientific Announces Acceleration of Plans to Submit IND to FDA for Pharmaceutical Version of Anatabine Compound

Star Scientific

today announced that the Company has filed its preliminary proxy statement on Form 14A with the Securities and Exchange Commission in preparation for its December 27 annual shareholder meeting. The proxy statement outlines the Company's plan to accelerate the submission of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the FDA, with the assistance of a respected global contract research organization (CRO).  The Company intends to continue the expansion of its dietary supplement business as well, including the addition of a time-release version of its Anatabloc® dietary supplement.  The proxy statement proposes a shareholder vote for a transition in leadership in connection with this dual-track business plan. The Company believes it has reached a point of inflection following a management and board review of the progress of research on forms of anatabine, for which the Company holds several patents and has patents pending.  The Company's Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer both recommended to the Board that significant leadership changes are needed to better leverage opportunities in pharmaceutical development and FDA approval in the biotechnology space.  The Company intends, following the leadership transition, to accelerate plans for submission