13th Feb 2006 07:01
Skyepharma PLC13 February 2006 For Immediate Release 13 February 2006 SkyePharma PLC Ian Gowrie-Smith Retires from SkyePharma's Board LONDON, UK, 13 February 2006 - SkyePharma PLC (LSE: SKP; Nasdaq: SKYE)announces the retirement of Ian Gowrie-Smith, a non-Executive Director, from theBoard with immediate effect. Mr Gowrie-Smith was the founder of SkyePharma in1996 and remains a major shareholder. Mr Gowrie-Smith has decided to bringforward the date of his retirement from the Annual General Meeting later thisyear in order to ensure that the only proposal for shareholders to consider inconnection with the impending Extraordinary General Meeting is whether Mr Thianis suitable to become the Executive Chairman of SkyePharma. It is the Board'sstrong opinion that Mr Thian is not suited to this role as he does not have theright experience and because it will conflict with his existing taxingcommitments. The Board believes that the Company should move forward under theguidance of its newly appointed non-Executive Chairman, Chief Executive Officerand Chief Operating Officer. Ian Gowrie-Smith said: "I am immensely proud of my track record, creating two UKpharmaceutical companies in the last 18 years, both of which have reachedvaluations of over $1 billion. Today SkyePharma is the fifth largestpharmaceutical company in the UK. Medeva and SkyePharma stand as a credit to theteams that built them and I think of them as two of my greatest achievements. "Creating and developing companies in the pharmaceutical sector is verychallenging, not only for management but also for our investors. Developmenttimes are long, clinical and regulatory hurdles are formidable and costs frominception to marketing are daunting. "For me the most exciting news is that Flutiform(TM) is just about to commenceits Phase III trial. I am firmly convinced that it was the right decision forSkyePharma to carry out the development of our lead pipeline product. Out-licensing it prematurely to satisfy short-term demands would not have beensensible for an asset that we believe has a very good chance of generating salesin excess of $1 billion. I am fully confident that the new management team of DrJerry Karabelas, Frank Condella and Dr Ken Cunningham have the talent andexperience to maximise the potential of Flutiform(TM) and our other pipelineproducts. "I leave SkyePharma with a lot to look forward to. I would like to thankeveryone who has contributed to building SkyePharma over the last ten years andwish them all well, confident in their talents and the strengths of theirCompany. I am also grateful to shareholders for their support over the years." For further information please contact: SkyePharma PLCMichael Ashton, Chief Executive +44 207 491 1777Peter Laing, Director of Corporate Communications +44 207 491 5124 Sandra Haughton, US Investor Relations +1 212 753 5780 Buchanan Communications +44 207 466 5000Tim Anderson / Mark Court Notes for editors About SkyePharma SkyePharma PLC develops pharmaceutical products benefiting from world-leadingdrug delivery technologies that provide easier-to-use and more effective drugformulations. There are now eleven approved products incorporating SkyePharma'stechnologies in the areas of oral, injectable, inhaled and topical delivery,supported by advanced solubilisation capabilities. For more information, visitwww.skyepharma.com. Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements and aremade in reliance on the safe harbour provisions of the U.S. Private SecuritiesLitigation Act of 1995. Although SkyePharma believes that the expectationsreflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give noassurance that these expectations will materialize. Because the expectations aresubject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may vary significantly fromthose expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements based upon a numberof factors, which are described in SkyePharma's 20-F and other documents on filewith the SEC. Factors that could cause differences between actual results andthose implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news releaseinclude, without limitation, risks related to the development of new products,risks related to obtaining and maintaining regulatory approval for existing, newor expanded indications of existing and new products, risks related toSkyePharma's ability to manufacture products on a large scale or at all, risksrelated to SkyePharma's and its marketing partners' ability to market productson a large scale to maintain or expand market share in the face of changes incustomer requirements, competition and technological change, risks related toregulatory compliance, the risk of product liability claims, risks related tothe ownership and use of intellectual property, and risks related toSkyePharma's ability to manage growth. SkyePharma undertakes no obligation torevise or update any such forward-looking statement to reflect events orcircumstances after the date of this release. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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