Santhera Appoints New Board Directors

 

Hans Peter Hasler has been appointed Vice-Chairman of the Board and a Member of the Audit Committee. Since 2003, he has managed Biogen Idec's International business. Prior to the merger between Biogen and Idec, he led Commercial Operations for Biogen, based in the company's worldwide headquarters in Cambridge, MA. Hans Peter Hasler joined Biogen in 2001 from Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of American Home Products, where he worked for eight years, serving since 1998 as Senior Vice President, Head of Global Strategic Marketing. He previously held several senior management positions with American Home Product/Wyeth, including Managing Director for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Eastern Europe. Before joining Wyeth, he was Head of Abbott, Switzerland. Hans Peter Hasler holds a Federal Commercial Diploma from the Canton of Bern and received a Marketing Manager Certificate from the Swiss Institute of Business and Economics (SIB), Zurich, Switzerland. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Orexo AB, Uppsala, Sweden.

 

Martin Gertsch is a seasoned Chief Financial Officer and management consultant with extensive experience in working with rapidly growing companies. As a senior financial professional, Martin Gertsch chairs the Board's Audit Committee. Until the beginning of 2006 he was Chief Financial Officer of Basel-based Straumann Group, a global leader in implant dentistry and oral tissue regeneration. He joined Straumann in 1997 as Head of Group Controlling and Reporting of Straumann Holding AG. From 1986 to 1997 Martin Gertsch worked as Audit Engagement Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Basel, Switzerland. Martin Gertsch, who is a Swiss Certified Fiduciary and Swiss Certified Public Accountant, has completed several executive development programs at IMD (International Institute for Management Development) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

 

Michael Lytton, Chairman of Santhera commented: "I am very pleased to welcome such prominent individuals as Hans Peter and Martin to our Board of Directors. Their international marketing and financial know-how will add significantly to the Board's expertise in these key areas, which are crucial to Santhera's successful growth and development. I am confident that Hans Peter and Martin will provide important and valuable counsel and I look forward to working with them."

 

As a result of the changes announced today, Santhera's Board of Directors consists of Michael Lytton (Chairman), Hans Peter Hasler (Vice-Chairman), Martin Gertsch, Rudolf Gygax, Georg Nebgen, Timothy J. Rink and Bernd R. Seizinger. The Board members combine considerable experience in research, development, commercialization and financial management. These are the key skills that Santhera needs as it positions itself for the next stage of its corporate development.

 

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About Santhera

Santhera Pharmaceuticals is a Swiss specialty pharmaceutical company focusing on the discovery, development and marketing of small molecule pharmaceutical products for the treatment of neuromuscular diseases. Santhera's vision is to become the leading specialty pharmaceutical company offering therapies for a number of indications in this area of high unmet medical need which includes many orphan indications with no current therapy. Santhera has a proven track record in discovering and developing drug candidates that address severe neuromuscular disorders in orphan and ultra-orphan diseases.

 

Santhera has three clinical stage development programs. Two programs apply its lead compound, SNT-MC17/idebenone, in the treatment of Friedreich's Ataxia (FRDA) and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). The third clinical program is investigating
JP-1730/fipamezole for the treatment of Dyskinesia in Parkinson's Disease (DPD) in cooperation with Juvantia. The most advanced program, SNT-MC17/idebenone in FRDA, has entered pivotal phase III clinical trials; the other clinical programs are in phase II. There are currently no effective treatments available for FRDA. Treatments currently in use for DMD and DPD are generally viewed by the medical community as inadequate. Santhera's drug pipeline comprises another three preclinical programs in diabetes (out licensed to Biovitrum), cachexia/anorexia, and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

 

Santhera was formed in 2004 through a business combination of MyoContract AG and Graffinity Pharmaceuticals AG. The Company is based in Liestal, Switzerland. Santhera has attracted investment from leading global industry investors including NGN Capital, Merlin Biosciences Limited, 3i Group plc, Varuma AG, Oxford Bioscience Partners, the Novartis Venture Fund, Heidelberg Innovation, GIMV, Carnegie Asset Management, TechnoStart, Clariden Biotechnology Fund, the Swiss Foundation for Research on Muscle Diseases, The Dow Chemical Company, Altana Innovationsfonds, tbg, and private investors.

 

For further information on Santhera, please visit www.santhera.com.

 

 

 

Klaus Schollmeier, CEO

Phone: +41 (0) 61 906 89 52

 

Thomas Staffelbach, VP Public & Investor Relations

Phone: +41 (0) 61 906 89 47

 

David Dible

Phone: +44 (0) 207 638 9571

 

Chris Gardner

Phone: +44 (0) 207 638 9571