BOTHELL, Wash., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nastech Pharmaceutical Company Inc. , a leader in molecular-biology based drug delivery technology, announced today the establishment of the Jeffrey Wenig Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in Drug Delivery, and its first recipients, Dr. Robert S. Langer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Dr. Paul H. Johnson of Nastech.
“Cutting edge drug delivery technologies are critical to the development and success of new and better medicines that improve health care and make a profound difference in the quality of life for millions of patients. In establishing the Jeffrey Wenig Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in Drug Delivery, we seek to create greater awareness and appreciation of the critical role drug delivery plays in the development of improved therapeutics and to help raise awareness of drug delivery as an exciting, high-value area of expanding opportunities,” stated Steven C. Quay, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman, President and CEO of Nastech.
Dr. Quay continued, “The recipients of the first-ever Jeffrey Wenig Memorial Award, Drs. Robert Langer and Paul Johnson, have made significant contributions to advancing the science of drug delivery and development of new therapeutics over many years of service. We are grateful to Drs. Langer and Johnson for their dedication and efforts in this field.”
The Jeffrey Wenig Memorial Award is named for Dr. Jeffrey Wenig, the founder and first Chief Executive Officer of Nastech, who contributed to the development of drug delivery technologies and formed the foundation of Nastech Pharmaceutical Company. The first Jeffrey Wenig Memorial Award is sponsored, and recipients were selected, by Nastech to recognize two outstanding individuals for their leadership in advancing the development of new therapeutics through better drug delivery. Nastech plans to sponsor awards on a biennial basis and intends to partner with a leading scientific organization for future awards.
Dr. Robert Langer, Institute Professor at MIT, is widely recognized as a leader in the field of drug delivery. In 2007, he received the 2006 United States National Medal of Science. A major focus of his work is the study and development of polymers to deliver drugs, particularly proteins, DNA and RNAi. He has been involved in developing numerous companies in the field through his innovations in drug delivery and by providing expert guidance to companies as they advance novel technologies and therapeutics. Dr. Langer’s patents have been licensed or sublicensed to over 180 pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology and medical device companies.
Dr. Paul Johnson has served as Nastech’s Chief Scientific Officer since 2003. Dr. Johnson led the development of innovative technologies for non- invasive delivery of peptide and protein therapeutics. He has also been instrumental in creating solutions to barriers in the development and delivery of RNAi therapeutics. Prior to Nastech, Dr. Johnson worked as the Head of the Cell and Molecular Biology Department in the Cancer Research Department at Berlex Biosciences, the U.S. Research and Development Center for Schering AG. Dr. Johnson is retiring from Nastech effective October 5, 2007.
About Nastech
Nastech is a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative products based on proprietary molecular biology-based drug delivery technologies. Nastech and its collaboration partners are developing products for multiple therapeutic areas including osteoporosis, obesity, diabetes, autism, respiratory diseases and inflammatory conditions. Additional information about Nastech is available at http://www.nastech.com.
Nastech Forward Looking Statements
Statements made in this press release may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Federal Securities laws that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and involve factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (i) the ability of Nastech to obtain additional funding; (ii) the ability of Nastech to attract and/or maintain manufacturing, research, development and commercialization partners; (iii) Nastech’s and/or a partner’s ability to successfully complete product research and development, including preclinical and clinical studies and commercialization; (iv) Nastech’s and/or a partner’s ability to obtain required governmental approvals; and (v) Nastech’s and/or a partner’s ability to develop and commercialize products that can compete favorably with those of competitors. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested in any forward-looking statements are contained in Nastech’s most recent periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Nastech assumes no obligation to update and supplement forward-looking statements because of subsequent events.
ir@nastech.com
CONTACT: Ed Bell Director, Investor Relations of Nastech, +1-425-908-3639,
ir@nastech.com; or Matthew Haines, Investors, Media of Russo Partners, LLC,
+1-212-845-4235, for Nastech Pharmaceutical Company Inc.
Web site: http://www.nastech.com/
