BASEL, SWITZERLAND--(Marketwire - April 17, 2012) -

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Basel, Switzerland, April 17, 2012 - Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. (SIX: BSLN) shareholders approve all Board of Directors' proposals at this year's Ordinary General Meeting.

Today the shareholders of Basilea approved the annual report, the financial statements and consolidated financial statements for the business year 2011, and discharged the members of the Board of Directors and Management. Shareholders also approved carrying forward the accumulated deficit.

Mr. Hans-Beat Gürtler and Prof. Daniel Lew were re-elected to the Board of Directors for a term of three years each.

Shareholders re-elected PricewaterhouseCoopers AG, Basel, as Statutory Auditors for the audit of the stand-alone and the consolidated financial statements for the business year 2012.

The Board of Directors confirmed Mr. Werner Henrich as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Mr. Hans-Beat Gürtler as Vice-Chairman.

At the Ordinary General Meeting for the financial year 2011, 53% of the total share capital of the company were represented.

In his presentation to shareholders, Dr. Anthony Man, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Over the last year Basilea has built the foundation for two potential regulatory filings. We now have topline data from our large U.S. phase III HANDEL trial with oral alitretinoin that forms the basis of a potential future U.S. filing and our partnership discussions. For ceftobiprole, targeted for treatment of severe pneumonia in the hospital, we are moving forward with our European marketing application planned for the second half of the year 2012 and are actively discussing potential partnerships for this drug addressing resistant bacterial infections. We continue to advance the phase III program of isavuconazole in addition to our two innovative phase I compounds. We are focused on achieving clinical and regulatory milestones for our key clinical value drivers, optimizing the value of our assets through potential partnerships, and steadily increasing sales in Toctino."

About Basilea

Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: BSLN). Through the fully integrated research and development operations of its Swiss subsidiary Basilea Pharmaceutica International Ltd. the company focuses on innovative pharmaceutical products in the therapeutic areas of bacterial infections, fungal infections, oncology and skin diseases, targeting the medical challenge of rising resistance and non-response to current treatment options in the hospital and specialty care setting. The Basilea group includes affiliates in European countries as well as in China.

Basilea is currently marketing Toctino® (oral alitretinoin), approved in European countries, Canada and Israel for the treatment of adults with severe chronic hand eczema unresponsive to potent topical corticosteroids, in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom and has appointed distributors for Toctino® in other selected European markets, Canada, Israel, Mexico and the Republic of Korea. In the U.S., oral alitretinoin is an investigational drug. Topline data from the U.S. phase III study (HANDEL) on oral alitretinoin have been recently reported. The results are consistent with previous randomized international studies.

For its phase III compound isavuconazole, a potential best-in-class azole antifungal for the treatment of life-threatening invasive fungal infections, the company has entered into a license, co-development and co-promotion agreement with Astellas Pharma Inc.

In addition, Basilea is developing ceftobiprole, a late-stage novel anti-MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) broad-spectrum cephalosporin antibiotic, for the first-line treatment of potentially life-threatening resistant bacterial infections. Ceftobiprole has a broad coverage of both Gram-positive bacteria, including MRSA, and many clinically important Gram-negative bacteria such as Pseudomonas spp.

Basilea's BAL30072, a novel investigational antibiotic for the treatment of resistant Gram-negative infections, and the oncology drug candidate BAL101553 for the treatment of drug-resistant cancers are in phase I clinical testing.

Disclaimer

This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. to be materially different from any future, anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

This press release can be downloaded from www.basilea.com.

Press release (PDF): http://hugin.info/134390/R/1603415/506913.pdf

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Source: Basilea Pharmaceutica AG via Thomson Reuters ONE [HUG#1603415]