Lectus Therapeutics Ltd. Appoints New Chairman, Strengthens Main and Advisory Boards

Cambridge, UK, 10 September 2008: Lectus Therapeutics Ltd, the drug discovery and development company focusing on next-generation ion channel modulators, announced today that it had appointed Dr Edwin Moses, as Non-Executive Chairman and Professor Raymond G Hill as a non-executive director to the company’s main board. The company also announced that it had appointed Dr Chas Bountra, as Chairman, and Professor Annette Dolphin to its Scientific Advisory Board.

Dr Moses joins Lectus as Chairman of the company’s main board and replaces Dr Phil Gould who has chaired the company since inception in 2003 and is now standing down to pursue other business commitments. Dr Gould will remain on the main board as an independent non-executive director.

Dr Moses brings considerable experience at board level, where he has over the last 5 years been represented, primarily as Chairman, in over 15 European life science companies. During this time he has been involved in financing rounds totalling in excess of €300M, a series of M&A transactions as Chairman including the £316M sale of Oxford Asymmetry International to Evotec and the recent £95M sale of Clinphone to Parexel. In addition, Dr Moses has led two successful IPOs as CEO and two further IPOs as Chairman. Amongst other activities, he currently holds the position of Chairman of Ablynx and since 2006 has extended this role, on invitation by Ablynx’s Board, to include that of CEO where in November 2007 he led the largest ever biotech IPO on EuroNext.

Professor Raymond G Hill brings more than 30 years of scientific and commercial expertise and experience working within the neuroscience and pain fields. Until April 2008, Ray was Executive Director, Licensing and External Research (Europe), for Merck, Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories. During his career at Merck, Ray has also held the position of Executive Director, Pharmacology, at the Neuroscience Research Centre where he was involved in the project teams responsible for the marketed products Maxalt® and Emend®.

In line with the company’s principal focus on the discovery and development of first-in-class ion channel therapeutics, identified using its LEPTICS® technology, for pain management and related indications, the company has appointed Dr Chas Bountra, as Chairman, and Professor Annette Dolphin to its Scientific Advisory Board.

Chas Bountra replaces Professor Leslie Iversen who chaired the SAB since its first meeting in 2003 and was instrumental in helping to develop the business’s formative research strategy. He brings a wealth of experience following nearly 19 years at Glaxo, Glaxo Wellcome and GlaxoSmithKline, latterly as Vice President and Head of Biology. During this time Dr Bountra played a major role in identifying in excess of 40 drug candidates across a range of target classes for progression in neurodegenerative, gastro-intestinal and pain conditions. Professor Annette Dolphin, who is internationally recognized for her work on voltage-gated calcium channels, provides Lectus with world class expertise in the role of accessory proteins of ion channels.

Dr Roland Kozlowski, CEO of Lectus, commented on the appointments: “We are very pleased to appoint such experienced professionals to the business. These additions to the company’s main and Scientific Advisory Board are an important part of the company’s near and long term corporate and scientific strategies, and will help enable the business to fully exploit its commercial and scientific potential.”

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