15th May 2006 07:01
AGI Therapeutics plc15 May 2006 PRESS RELEASE AGI Therapeutics plc appoints Dr. David Young as President of US Operations Dublin, Ireland, 15 May 2006 - AGI Therapeutics plc (AIM, IEX: AGI), aspeciality pharmaceutical company focused on gastrointestinal (GI) drugproducts, today announces the appointment of David Young, Pharm.D. Ph.D., asPresident of US Operations and Executive Member of the Board of AGI. Theappointment is effective from 5 June 2006. David Young, 53, joins AGI from the GloboMax Division of ICON plc where he wasExecutive Vice President with responsibility for strategic drug developmentefforts in the US. Founded by Dr. Young in 1997, GloboMax was acquired in 2003by ICON plc, a global provider of outsourced development services to thepharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. Prior to forming GloboMax, Dr. Young had a distinguished career in academia. Hewas with the University of Maryland at Baltimore for 11 years where he was atenured Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and theManaging Director of the Clinical Research Unit. During this period the US Foodand Drug Administration (FDA) placed major research and education programmeswith the University, providing Dr. Young with opportunities to work closely withand train FDA staff on various regulatory science topics, includingcollaborating with FDA on establishing various FDA Guidances. During his career, Dr. Young has worked on over 50 New Drug Applications (NDAs)to the FDA, many based on the 505(b)2 NDA process, including therapeuticindication switches and drug delivery reformulations of known molecular entities(KMEs), five of which were specifically for products in the GI field. Commenting on the appointment, John Devane, Chief Executive Officer of AGI,said: "David offers AGI substantial scientific, drug development and regulatoryknowledge and expertise. As we advance our clinical development programmesthrough Phase II proof-of-concept to late stage development, the creation of adirect US based presence led by David, with his significant experience inFDA-related clinical and regulatory development, is a key component of theCompany's strategy. On behalf of the Board I would like to welcome David toAGI." David Young added: "Since its inception less than three years ago, AGI has made rapid progress withits product portfolio. The Company is now at an inflection point as it preparesto roll out results of several Phase II studies during the rest of this year. Ilook forward to working with the executive team to take AGI's R&D strategy tothe next level." Contact Information: AGIDavid G. Kelly, Chief Financial Officer Tel: +353 1 449 3254 Financial Dynamics - UK Tel: +44 (0) 20 7831 3113Sarah MacLeod Financial Dynamics - Ireland Tel: +353 1 663 3607Aisling Garvey For further information please see www.agitherapeutics.com About AGI Therapeutics AGI is a speciality pharmaceutical company focused on the development andcommercialisation of differentiated drug products for gastrointestinal (''GI'')diseases and disorders. The Company has a portfolio of product candidates derived from the KnownMolecular Entity (''KME'') approach to drug re-profiling and development. KME isa re-profiling methodology used by the Company to identify existing therapeuticdrugs which, typically, have been marketed for a number of years, haveestablished safety profiles and can be developed for new clinical indications orwith improved profiles in their existing clinical indications. In this way, theCompany seeks to reduce the risk, time and cost of new product development ascompared to the development of new chemical entities. AGI is developing a range of product candidates to treat a variety of prevalentGI diseases and disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome, functionaldyspepsia, ulcerative colitis and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. The Companyis targeting areas of the GI therapeutic drug products market for its productcandidates where there are currently unmet medical needs or where theeffectiveness of existing drug therapies can be further improved. The Company has six product candidates in clinical development, including fivein Phase II trials. These are either isomers or new drug delivery formulationsof existing approved drugs, and have established safety and tolerabilityprofiles in their currently approved clinical indications. Statements contained within this press release may contain forward-lookingcomments that involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results tovary from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In some cases, youcan identify such forward-looking statements by terminology such as 'may', 'will', 'could', 'forecasts', 'expects', 'plans', 'anticipates', 'believes', 'estimates', 'predicts', 'potential', or 'continue'. Predictions andforward-looking references in this press release are subject to the satisfactoryprogress of research, which is, by nature, unpredictable. Forward projectionsreflect management's best estimates based on information available at the timeof issue. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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