LONDON, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SkyePharma PLC announces that following a review of internal and external candidates, it has appointed Dr Argeris ("Jerry") Karabelas as Non-executive Chairman. The Company also announces that its Strategic Review has been concluded.
Dr Karabelas, aged 53, has had a distinguished career at senior levels in the global pharmaceuticals industry, including Chief Executive of Novartis Pharma and prior to that President of the North American operations of SmithKline Beecham. He is currently an executive director of Care Capital, a specialist US healthcare investment fund, and is non-executive chairman of several pharmaceutical and healthcare companies including Human Genome Sciences. Dr Karabelas has been a non-executive director of SkyePharma since 2000 and his familiarity with the Company's business will enable him to make an immediate contribution as Chairman.
The Strategic Review was initiated in November 2005. As part of this process, Lehman Brothers was retained by the Board to solicit potential expressions of interest for the Company. As foreshadowed in the announcement of 11 January 2006, there has not been an offer for the Company as a whole that the Board feels able to recommend to shareholders. However the Board has concluded that in the interests of returning the Company to sustainable profitability in the shortest possible time, SkyePharma should concentrate on oral and pulmonary products and divest the injectable business interests, for which a number of potential purchasers were identified during the Strategic Review. Any such divestment will be subject to approval by shareholders.
The injectables business, primarily located in San Diego, consists of two marketed products, DepoCyt(R) for a complication of cancer and Depodur(R) for the treatment of post-surgical pain, and a pipeline of projects in various stages of development. These include controlled-release injectable formulations of a number of biological products and DepoBupivacaine(TM), a long-acting injectable formulation of the local anaesthetic bupivacaine for the control of post-operative pain. DepoBupivacaine(TM) has completed Phase II development and will commence Phase III trials shortly. It has been licenced to Mundipharma for all territories outside North American and Japan and to Maruho for Japan. The Board remains convinced that DepoBupivacaine(TM) addresses an important area of unmet medical need and has major commercial potential. However the Board is conscious of the fact that a substantial investment in clinical development would be required to maximise the potential of DepoBupivacaine(TM) and of the biologicals pipeline. This development investment, together with the associated investment in manufacturing capacity, would not only place a significant burden on the Company's current resources but also impact the Company's profitability for several years.
The Company believes that the injectables business is a valuable asset and the funds raised by its divestment will be available to enhance the core oral and pulmonary business, including accelerating the development of certain pipeline products. The residual core business will consist of the oral and pulmonary products business, with development based in Muttenz, Switzerland and manufacture in Muttenz and in Lyon, France. There are seven marketed oral and pulmonary products, including Paxil CR(TM), Xatral(R) OD and Triglide(TM), and a number of late-stage products that are close to the market. The pipeline includes SkyePharma's most important pipeline project Flutiform(TM), a combination asthma product that will enter Phase III development in the next few days. More details of the product portfolio and pipeline will be disclosed at the Company's R&D Days. These had to be postponed during the Strategic Review and revised dates will be announced shortly.
Dr Karabelas said: "I am honoured to take on the role of Chairman and look forward to implementing our new strategic initiatives particularly given my background in the development of oral and respiratory products. I am very enthusiastic about Flutiform(TM) and confident I can make an important contribution to its future success. I also relish the opportunity to help rebuild shareholder confidence."
The conclusion of the Strategic Review and the fact that the Company is no longer in discussions nor seeking to pursue discussions with any party concerning an offer for the Company as a whole means that the Company is no longer in an "Offer Period" as defined by the UK Takeover Panel. Further announcements will be made in due course about the ongoing initiatives to reinforce the Company's executive management team.
For further information please contact: SkyePharma PLC Michael Ashton, Chief Executive +44 207 491 1777 Peter Laing, Director of Corporate Communications +44 207 491 5124 Sandra Haughton, US Investor Relations +1 212 753 5780 Buchanan Communications +44 207 466 5000 Tim Anderson / Mark Court About SkyePharma
SkyePharma PLC develops pharmaceutical products benefiting from world-leading drug delivery technologies that provide easier-to-use and more effective drug formulations. There are now eleven approved products incorporating SkyePharma's technologies in the areas of oral, injectable, inhaled and topical delivery, supported by advanced solubilisation capabilities. For more information, visit www.skyepharma.com.
Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements and are made in reliance on the safe harbour provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995. Although SkyePharma believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will materialize. Because the expectations are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may vary significantly from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements based upon a number of factors, which are described in SkyePharma's 20-F and other documents on file with the SEC. Factors that could cause differences between actual results and those implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release include, without limitation, risks related to the development of new products, risks related to obtaining and maintaining regulatory approval for existing, new or expanded indications of existing and new products, risks related to SkyePharma's ability to manufacture products on a large scale or at all, risks related to SkyePharma's and its marketing partners' ability to market products on a large scale to maintain or expand market share in the face of changes in customer requirements, competition and technological change, risks related to regulatory compliance, the risk of product liability claims, risks related to the ownership and use of intellectual property, and risks related to SkyePharma's ability to manage growth. SkyePharma undertakes no obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.
SkyePharma PLCCONTACT: Michael Ashton, Chief Executive, +44-207-491-1777, or PeterLaing, Director of Corporate Communications, +44-207-491-5124, or SandraHaughton, US Investor Relations, +1-212-753-5780, all of SkyePharma PLC; orTim Anderson or Mark Court of Buchanan Communications, +44-207-466-5000,for SkyePharma PLC
Web site: http://www.skyepharma.com//
