Speedel Holds Annual R&D Day

Extensive Data Supporting Mature and Diverse Pipeline


BASEL, Switzerland and BRIDGEWATER, N.J., Nov. 29, 2006 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Speedel (SWX:SPPN) today holds its annual Research & Development Day. The event is being held in Basel, and attended by over 40 investors, analysts and media. The programme highlights Speedel's achievement in building a mature and diverse pipeline across three modes of action, targeting therapeutic areas with significant unmet medical need and high commercial potential.

Dr. Alice Huxley, CEO, commented: "We are delighted to have the opportunity today to showcase our achievements in R&D at Speedel over the past 8 years. Our mature and diverse pipeline is testament to our product-focused science, our speed of development and our experienced team of experts. Today we are world leaders in renin inhibition, which we believe is set to be the new gold standard in the treatment of hypertension and related disorders. I am confident that we have the ingredients to continue our success in R&D and to build a top-tier global biopharmaceutical company."

Today's programme of speakers from the company's management is complemented by presentations from two key opinion leaders in the fields of hypertension and diabetic kidney disease respectively:

Professor Michael Weber, State University of New York, and member of Speedel's Medical Advisory Board, observed: "In the year 2000, 972 million people worldwide were estimated to be suffering from hypertension and this is predicted to grow by 60% to 1.56 billion people by 2025(1), putting a vast number of people's lives in danger and placing a huge burden on health providers. Despite the wide use of antihypertensive agents, blood pressure control rates and clinical outcomes are poor, with events such as strokes, heart attacks and kidney failure in at-risk patients still unacceptably high. These are compelling reasons why patients would further benefit from new therapies in development such as renin inhibitors which offer true 24-hour blood pressure control and the potential for improved end-organ protection."

Professor Giancarlo Viberti, KCL School of Medicine, Guy's Hospital London, and Chairman of Speedel's Steering Committee on the SPP301 Phase III trial, remarked: "Diabetic kidney disease is a serious condition that leads to end-stage renal failure and cardiovascular complications. The incidence of end-stage renal disease requiring renal replacement therapy has been steadily increasing over the last 10 years despite more intensive treatment of arterial hypertension and more widespread use of the inhibitors of the renin angiotensin system. The number of treatments available for this condition is limited and their effect appears to be sub-optimal. There is therefore an urgent need for new treatments that will reduce the damage to the kidneys. SPP301/Avosentan is an endothelin receptor antagonist that has shown promising results in Phase II clinical studies and is now undergoing a single pivotal Phase III trial that we hope will prove effective as a new treatment for diabetic nephropathy."

Slides from today's programme can be downloaded from a dedicated page on the company's website: http://www.speedel.com/section/6/subsections/8

About Speedel

Speedel is a public biopharmaceutical company that seeks to create value for patients, partners and investors by developing innovative therapies for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Speedel is a world leader in renin inhibition, a promising new approach with significant potential for treating cardiovascular diseases. Our lead compound SPP100 (Aliskiren, Tekturna(2)), the first-in-class renin inhibitor, is partnered with Novartis for development and commercialisation in hypertension; SPP100 was filed with the FDA in the U.S. in Q1 2006 and with the EMEA in the EU in Q3 2006. Our pipeline covers three different modes of action, and in addition to SPP100, includes SPP301 in Phase III, SPP200 in Phase II, SPP635 in Phase Il, and several pre-clinical projects.

Speedel develops novel product candidates through focused innovation and smart drug development from lead identification to the end of Phase II. We either partner with big pharma for Phase III and commercialisation in primary-care indications, or we may ourselves complete Phase III development in specialist indications. Candidate compounds for development and the company's intellectual property come from our late-stage research unit Speedel Experimenta and from in-licensing. Our team of approximately 70 employees, including over 30 experienced pharmaceutical scientists, is located at our headquarters and laboratories in Basel, Switzerland and at offices in New Jersey, USA and Tokyo, Japan.

In March 2006 the company raised gross proceeds of CHF 83.95 million (approximately EUR 53m or US$64m) through the public offering of 500,000 treasury shares. As a private company, we have previously raised gross proceeds of CHF 239 million (approximately EUR 154 million or US$183 million) from private placements of equity securities and two convertible loans and we have had total revenues, principally from milestone payments, of CHF 57.7 million (approximately EUR 37 million or US$44 million). The company's shares were listed in September 2005 on the SWX Swiss Exchange under the symbol SPPN.


 (1) Kearney PM, et al.Lancet.2005; 365: 217-223
 (2) Tekturna (SPP100, Aliskiren) is a Novartis trade name

Forward looking statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and projections about future events. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, regarding our strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenues, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. The word "may" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations described in these forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on them. There can be no assurance that actual results of our research and development activities and our results of operations will not differ materially from these expectations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from expectations include, among others: our or our partners' ability to develop safe and efficacious products; our or our partners' ability to achieve positive results in clinical trials; our or our partners' ability to obtain marketing approval and market acceptance for our product candidates; our ability to enter into future collaboration and licensing agreements; the impact of competition and technological change; existing and future regulations affecting our business; changes in governmental oversight of pharmaceutical product development; the future scope of our patent coverage or that of third parties; the effects of any future litigation; general economic and business conditions, both internationally and within our industry, including exchange rate variations; and our future financing plans.



            

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