Ventaira Pharmaceuticals Announces Appointment Of Phyllis Gardner, M.D. To The Company's Board Of Directors

COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Ventaira Pharmaceuticals, a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing pharmaceutical products for inhalation by utilizing its novel proprietary electrohydrodynamic (EHD) aerosolization technology and formulation technologies to improve the profile of new or existing drugs, announced today that Phyllis Gardner, M.D., a Professor of Medicine at Stanford University and well-respected clinician and researcher, has been appointed to the company's Board of Directors.

"I look forward to sharing my expertise in the medical and drug delivery fields with Ventaira as I assist the company in achieving its goals," stated Phyllis Gardner, M.D. "Ventaira's electrohydrodynamic technology is one of the most innovative drug delivery technologies, and I believe that this technology will allow for the delivery of many different kinds of substances in a safe, effective and easy to use manner, across a variety of therapeutic areas."

For more than 20 years Dr. Gardner has been a Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, and she is widely published in the fields of cell biology and pharmacology. Dr. Gardner has also spent a substantial amount of time working for drug delivery company, ALZA, as a Principal Scientist, Vice President of Research and as head of the ALZA Technology Institute. Dr. Gardner was also involved in founding a number of companies including Genomics Collaborative, SKOLAR, an online medical knowledge company acquired by Wolters Klure, and CambriaTech Holding Co. She has served on the boards of several leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Aronex Pharaceuticals (acquired by Antigenics), Aerogen (acquired by Nektar), Pharmacyclics and BioMarin. She currently serves on the boards of CambriaTech Holding Co., iMEDD Pharmaceuticals, UMD, Inc. and Health Hero Network. In addition, she is an adjunct partner with Essex Woodlands Health Ventures. Dr. Gardner earned her M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and received postgraduate training at Massachusetts General Hospital, Stanford School of Medicine, Columbia University and University College, London.

"Phyllis is a valuable addition to our Board of Directors and I believe her expertise will be influential as we continue to achieve our goals and strategically plan for the future," stated Leslie Williams, Ventaira's President and CEO. "Her combination of experiences in clinical medicine, research, industry and the drug delivery space are unique, and will provide us with extraordinary knowledge to draw from as we move our pulmonary delivery device closer to commercialization and our products through clinical development."

About Ventaira

Ventaira (formerly BattellePharma) is a drug delivery company that uses its proprietary Mystic(TM) inhalation technology to deliver respiratory and systemically active drugs more efficiently and effectively. Ventaira is currently developing its own proprietary drug for the treatment of asthma and also looks to create opportunities for existing drugs that may be more easily delivered via inhalation. Ventaira has an exclusive license on a portfolio of patents for its Mystic technology.

Contacts: Leslie Williams Susan Neath President & CEO Media & Investor Relations Ventaira Pharmaceuticals Porter Novelli Life Sciences 614-340-2338 858-527-3486

Ventaira Pharmaceuticals

CONTACT: Leslie Williams President & CEO of Ventaira Pharmaceuticals,+1-614-340-2338; or Susan Neath, Media & Investor Relations of PorterNovelli Life Sciences, +1-858-527-3486, for Ventaira Pharmaceuticals

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