CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Advanced Magnetics, Inc. today announced the appointment of Timothy G. Healey as Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations. Mr. Healey joins Advanced Magnetics from his position as Executive Director, CNS Marketing at Sepracor Inc. Mr. Healey has held various other positions of increasing responsibility at Sepracor since 2001.
At Sepracor, Mr. Healey was responsible for the commercial launch of Lunesta(R) in the United States, one of the most successful pharmaceutical launches in U.S. history. Lunesta achieved sales of approximately $465 million in the first year of launch, and the team led by Mr. Healey won numerous marketing awards, including "Marketing Team of the Year" by Medical Marketing and Media in January of 2006. Mr. Healey was also recognized as a "2006 Marketer of the Year" by Brandweek Magazine in October of 2006.
In his new position, Mr. Healey will assume responsibility for developing and executing the sales and marketing strategy for all of the company's products and product candidates. In this role, Mr. Healey will develop the strategic plan and build the necessary infrastructure for the launch and commercialization of ferumoxytol as an intravenous iron replacement therapeutic for the treatment of anemia in dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis dependent chronic kidney disease patients (CKD). Mr. Healey will also play a key role in evaluating and prioritizing additional indications for ferumoxytol as an intravenous iron replacement therapeutic.
"We are delighted that an individual with Tim Healey's experience and proven track record in product launch and commercialization has agreed to join the team and aid us in bringing ferumoxytol to anemic CKD patients," stated Brian J.G. Pereira, MD, President and CEO of Advanced Magnetics, Inc. "Tim is the first of several key hires in our effort to successfully launch ferumoxytol. We look forward to this exciting transition toward commercialization of ferumoxytol."
Ferumoxytol, the company's key product candidate, is in Phase III multi-center clinical trials for use as an iron replacement therapeutic in chronic kidney disease patients, whether or not on dialysis.
Combidex, the company's other product under development, is an investigational functional molecular imaging agent consisting of iron oxide nanoparticles for use in conjunction with magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, to aid in the differentiation of cancerous from normal lymph nodes.
About Advanced Magnetics
Advanced Magnetics, Inc. is a developer of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles used in pharmaceutical products. As a leader in our field, we are dedicated to the development and commercialization of our proprietary nanoparticle technology for use in therapeutic iron compounds to treat anemia, as well as novel imaging agents to aid in the diagnosis of cancer and cardiovascular disease. For more information about us, please visit our website at http://www.advancedmagnetics.com, the content of which is not part of this press release.
This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and federal securities laws. Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts, including but not limited to, statements regarding our development of a plan and infrastructure for commercialization and launch of ferumoxytol, other key hires we may make to launch ferumoxytol, and the potential success of the ferumoxytol launch are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include the following: (1) the possibility that we may not be able to successfully complete the clinical development of ferumoxytol, or may not be able to complete the development in a timely or cost-effective manner, due to the failure of our trials to demonstrate that ferumoxytol is safe and efficacious, the timing of enrollment of patients in the Phase III studies, unexpected results from our clinical sites, inadequate performance by third-party service providers involved in the conduct of the clinical trials, deficiencies in the design or oversight by us of these trials, or any other factor causing an increase in expenses, a delay and/or a negative effect on the results of the clinical studies for ferumoxytol; (2) uncertainties surrounding the clinical development of ferumoxytol and our ability to obtain regulatory approval for ferumoxytol from the FDA; (3) the possibility that the results of past ferumoxytol studies may not be replicated in future studies; (4) the fact that we lack sales and marketing expertise; (5) the possibility that we may not be able to raise additional capital on terms and on a timeframe acceptable to us, if at all; (6) uncertainties relating to our patents and proprietary rights; and (7) other risks identified in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date they are made. We disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any such statements to reflect any change in expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
Lunesta(R) is a registered trademark of Sepracor Inc. Contact: Lynn Kettleson Clarke Communications Group lkettleson@clarkecommgroup.com (978) 463-7952
Advanced Magnetics, Inc.CONTACT: Lynn Kettleson of Clarke Communications Group, +1-978-463-7952,lkettleson@clarkecommgroup.com
Web site: http://www.advancedmagnetics.com/