DANBURY, Conn., May 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co. today announced that Amale Hawi, Ph.D. has joined the Company as Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development. Dr. Hawi will have primary responsibility for Penwest’s preclinical and CMC drug development strategy, and will manage the pharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics groups.
Dr. Hawi will report to Jennifer L. Good, President and Chief Executive Officer of Penwest, and will work in close collaboration with Dr. Thomas Sciascia, who will be responsible for managing the clinical development and regulatory area of drug development in his capacity as Senior Vice President of Clinical Development, Regulatory Affairs and Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Sciascia has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Penwest since 2001. He is assuming responsibility for clinical development and regulatory affairs in addition to his other duties.
Dr. Hawi, 53, joins Penwest with over 17 years of pharmaceutical development experience in the areas of drug discovery support, product development and regulatory affairs. Before joining Penwest, Dr. Hawi served as President of A. Hawi Consulting, Ltd, a firm she founded in 2002, which focused on biopharmaceutical concepts, strategies, and the development of new chemical entities for numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Prior to that, Dr. Hawi served in various roles of increasing responsibility at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals from 1990, culminating in her appointment to Director of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, a position she assumed in 1998. Dr. Hawi has a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of London, Queen Elizabeth College, and both an M.S. and a B.S. in Chemistry from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. Dr. Hawi is a member of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) and has published over 40 articles in academic journals and research publications.
Ms. Good said, “We are very pleased to welcome Amale Hawi to Penwest. In her role as a consultant to several specialty pharmaceutical companies, and in her positions at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, she has had extensive chemistry and drug development experience. She has led CMC teams for several products from early formulation to launch. We believe that Dr. Hawi’s experience in product formulation and pharmacokinetics, combined with Dr. Sciascia’s medical expertise, creates a team well-equipped to effectively lead our research and development efforts through the various stages of development and advance our strategy of developing products for disorders of the nervous system.”
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 and 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 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 16, 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: Diane D’Alessandro Laura Walters (203) 796-3706 Kekst and Company (877) 736-9378 (212) 521-4800
Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co.
CONTACT: Investors, Diane D’Alessandro of Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co.,+1-203-796-3706, +1-877-736-9378; or Media, Laura Walters of Kekst andCompany, +1-212-521-4800, for Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co.
