MILAN, Italy and PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 13, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Eurand N.V. (Nasdaq:EURX), a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops enhanced pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products based on its proprietary drug formulation technologies, announced today two appointments to its Research and Development and Medical Affairs management team. Dr. John Caminis, M.D., joins Eurand Pharmaceuticals, Inc. as Vice President, Medical Affairs and Clinical Development, and Dr. Marco Sardina, M.D., Ph.D., joins Eurand, S.p.A, as Director, Medical Affairs and Clinical Development, Europe.
Dr. Caminis will be responsible for Eurand's clinical development programs for the United States and will support the commercial launch of Eurand's lead product candidate, Zentase(tm). Dr. Caminis joins Eurand from NPS Pharmaceuticals, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, where he was Vice President of Clinical Development, leading clinical development programs through Phase III. Previously, he held clinical development and medical affairs positions at Novartis, Roche and Phoenix International Life Sciences. Dr. Caminis was an associate researcher at the McGill University Bone Centre in Montreal. He holds a BSc in Biological Sciences from Montreal, an M.D. from University of Athens School of Medicine and a Masters certificate in Project Management from George Washington University.
Dr. Sardina will be responsible for the continued development of Eurand's drug conjugation technology, focused on developing the Company's products based on this novel technology through preclinical and Phase I studies. He will also support Eurand's European Research and Development team in relation to certain of the Company's clinical development programs. Prior to joining Eurand, Dr. Sardina was Group Medical Affairs Director at Zambon Group, a global pharmaceutical and chemical company. He has previously overseen and supported clinical development programs at Ciba-Geigy, Italfarmaco, Schering-Plough and Nicox. Dr. Sardina holds an M.D. in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Milan and a Ph.D. in Clinical Pharmacology from the University of Pavia.
"It is with great pleasure that we welcome Dr. Caminis and Dr. Sardina to Eurand," commented Gearoid Faherty, Chief Executive Officer of Eurand. "John's extensive experience overseeing late-stage clinical development programs and presenting products to the FDA will bring additional support to our planned launch of Zentase. Marco's clinical development experience at early-stage companies will be a major asset to the development of our drug conjugation technology. We expect that these two highly seasoned professionals, each with over 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical development, will make significant contributions to our clinical and commercial progress."
About Eurand
Eurand is a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops enhanced pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products based on its proprietary drug formulation technologies. Eurand has had four products approved by the FDA since 2001 and has a pipeline of product candidates in development for itself and its collaboration partners. Eurand has completed two phase III clinical trials on its lead product candidate, Zentase, intended for the treatment of Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency and has submitted its NDA for this product. Eurand's technology platforms include bioavailability enhancement of poorly soluble drugs, customized release, taste-masking/fast-dissolving formulations and drug conjugation.
Eurand is a global company with facilities in the USA and Europe. For more information, visit Eurand's website at www.eurand.com.
This release, and oral statements made with respect to information contained in this release, constitutes forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include those which express plan, anticipation, intent, contingency, goals, targets or future development and/or otherwise are not statements of historical fact including, but not limited to our plans for our regulatory filings, enrollment and future plans for our clinical trials, progress of and reports of results from clinical studies, clinical development plans and other product development activities. The words "potentially", "could", "calls for" and similar expressions also identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based upon management's current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, which could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Factors that could affect actual results include risks associated with the possibility that the FDA refuses to approve our NDA; the outcome of any discussions with the FDA; and unexpected delays in preparation of materials for submission to the FDA as a part of our NDA filing. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of this date, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Actual events could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements.