DANBURY, Conn., June 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co. announced today that W. James O'Shea has been named to the Company's Board of Directors.
Mr. O'Shea currently serves as Vice Chairman at Sepracor Inc. From October 1999 through March 2007, Mr. O'Shea served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Sepracor, where he was responsible for building the organization's commercial infrastructure. Prior to joining Sepracor, Mr. O'Shea served in several positions of increasing responsibility in international sales and marketing for Zeneca, Inc., now known as AstraZeneca, culminating in his appointment as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing and Medical Affairs for Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, a business unit of Zeneca, Inc.
Mr. O'Shea is also an Executive Board member and past Chairman of the National Pharmaceutical Council and currently sits on the boards of CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Surface Logix, Inc. and CombinatoRx, Inc.
Paul Freiman, Chairman of the Penwest Board said, "We are pleased to welcome Jim to the Penwest Board of Directors. His leadership experience in helping to build a pharmaceutical company, as well as his expertise in sales and marketing, will be invaluable to Penwest as it continues to advance its strategy of becoming a specialty pharmaceutical company."
Mr. O'Shea said, "I am delighted to be joining the Board of Penwest and to lend my experience at this exciting time of transition for the Company. I look forward to working with my fellow directors and management to help the company execute its strategy and enhance its value."
Mr. O'Shea is a graduate of Liverpool Lord Byron University, where he received an Honors Degree in Applied Physics from the Institute of Physics.
Penwest Pharmaceuticals
Penwest is a specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing to the marketplace innovative products that help improve the lives of patients. The Company's goal is to identify, develop and commercialize prescription products that address unmet medical needs, primarily for diseases of the nervous system. At the core of this strategy, Penwest applies drug delivery technologies, including its own proprietary technologies, to new and existing compounds to enhance their therapeutic profiles. The launch by Endo Pharmaceuticals in mid-2006 of Opana(R) ER (oxymorphone hydrochloride extended-release tablets) formulated with the Company's TIMERx(R) extended release delivery technology demonstrates the execution of this strategy and the value of the Company's TIMERx(R) technology. The Company is currently applying its expertise to a pipeline of potential products that are in various stages of development. The Company intends to commercialize these products independently or through third party alliances.
Forward-Looking Statement
The matters discussed herein contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause Penwest's actual results in future periods to be materially different from any future performance suggested herein. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words, "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "intends," "potential," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause results to differ materially include: risks relating to the commercial success of Opana ER and our reliance on Endo for the commercial success of Opana ER ; regulatory risks relating to drugs in development, including the timing and outcome of regulatory action; uncertainty of success of collaborations; the timing of clinical trials, including the impact of enrollment rates; whether the results of clinical trials will warrant further clinical trials or warrant submission of an application for regulatory approval of, or the regulatory approval of, the product that is the subject of the trial; actual and potential competition; the need for capital; and other risks as set forth under the caption Risk Factors in Penwest's Quarterly Report on Form 10Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 10, 2007, which risk factors are incorporated herein by reference.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date of the statement made. Penwest disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
TIMERx is a registered trademark of Penwest. All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.
Contacts: Investors: Media: Ben Palleiko/Diane D'Alessandro Laura Walters/Jim Fingeroth Penwest Kekst and Company (203) 796-3700 (212) 521-4800 (877) 736-9378
Penwest PharmaceuticalsCONTACT: investors, Ben Palleiko/Diane D'Alessandro of Penwest,+1-203-796-3700, +1-877-736-9378; media, Laura Walters/Jim Fingeroth ofKekst and Company, +1-212-521-4800, for Penwest
