DANBURY, Conn., June 25, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co. (Nasdaq:PPCO) announced today that Christophe Bianchi, M.D. has been named to the Company's Board of Directors.
Dr. Bianchi is Executive Vice President, Commercial at Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc., which markets VELCADE(r) (bortezomib) for injection, a market leading therapy for blood cancers.
Prior to joining Millennium in 2006, Dr. Bianchi served as the head of the U.S. oncology business unit of Sanofi-Aventis, with responsibility for brands such as Eloxatin(r) and Taxotere(r). From 2001 through 2004, Dr. Bianchi served as Vice President of the Internal Medicine and Central Nervous System Business Unit of Sanofi.
In 2000, Dr. Bianchi served as President of Europe and Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and Business Development for SangStat Medical Corporation, a biotechnology firm later acquired by Genzyme. Between 1990 and 2000, Dr. Bianchi held several positions of increasing responsibility at Rhone-Poulenc Rorer in the U.S., culminating in his appointment to Vice President and Head of Global Marketing. During that period he led many of the domestic and global commercial efforts for its antithrombotic, Lovenox(r).
Paul Freiman, Chairman of the Penwest Board, said, "We are pleased to welcome Dr. Bianchi to the Penwest Board of Directors. With over 17 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, we believe his expertise in building commercial and sales organizations as well as launching major branded pharmaceutical products will be extremely helpful to Penwest as we continue to grow our product pipeline and execute our drug development strategy."
Dr. Bianchi said, "I am excited to be joining the Board of Penwest as the Company continues its transition into a development-based specialty pharmaceutical company focused on addressing disorders of the nervous system. I look forward to contributing my experience to help Penwest grow for the future."
Dr. Bianchi earned an M.D. from the University of Reims-Champagne in France and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a graduate of Ecole Des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (EDHEC Graduate School of Management) in France.
Penwest Pharmaceuticals
Penwest is a specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing to the marketplace innovative products that help improve the lives of patients. The Company's goal is to identify, develop and commercialize prescription products that address unmet medical needs, primarily for diseases of the nervous system. At the core of this strategy, Penwest applies drug delivery technologies, including its own proprietary technologies, to new and existing compounds to enhance their therapeutic profiles. The launch by Endo Pharmaceuticals in mid-2006 of Opana(r) ER (oxymorphone hydrochloride extended-release tablets) formulated with the Company's TIMERx(r) extended release delivery technology demonstrates the execution of this strategy and the value of the Company's TIMERx(r) technology. The Company is currently applying its expertise to a pipeline of potential products that are in various stages of development. The Company intends to commercialize these products independently or through third party alliances.
Forward-Looking Statement
The matters discussed herein contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause Penwest's actual results in future periods to be materially different from any future performance suggested herein. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words, "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "intends," "potential," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause results to differ materially include: risks relating to the commercial success of Opana ER and our reliance on Endo for the commercial success of Opana ER ; regulatory risks relating to drugs in development, including the timing and outcome of regulatory action; uncertainty of success of collaborations; the timing of clinical trials, including the impact of enrollment rates; whether the results of clinical trials will warrant further clinical trials or warrant submission of an application for regulatory approval of, or the regulatory approval of, the product that is the subject of the trial; actual and potential competition; the need for capital; and other risks as set forth under the caption Risk Factors in Penwest's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 10, 2007, which risk factors are incorporated herein by reference.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date of the statement made. Penwest disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
TIMERx is a registered trademark of Penwest. All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.