BASEL, Switzerland, and BRIDGEWATER, N.J. May 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Speedel . The Annual General Meeting of Speedel Holding Ltd took place today at the Fondation Beyeler, Riehen, Switzerland.
Each of the proposals of the Board of Directors were approved by the shareholders with strong majorities:
1. The Annual Report, the financial statements and the consolidated financial statements for 2005 were approved. 2. The retained balance sheet profit of CHF 81,330 at 31 December 2005 was approved to be carried forward to 2006. 3. The members of the Board of Directors were discharged from their duties. 4. Dr. Alice Huxley was re-elected as a member of the Board for a three year term. 5. Ralf Rosenow was re-elected as a member of the Board for a three year term. 6. PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd., Basel, were re-elected as auditors and group auditors for a further period of one year.
Dr. Fritz Kunz, Chairman of the Board, commented: "2005 was a tremendous year of achievement for Speedel, with great progress in research, clinical development and financial strength. I would like to thank all our employees, partners and shareholders for their dedication and support in making Speedel one of Europe's top-tier biopharmaceutical companies. We are ready to launch into a promising future and I firmly believe that Speedel will prove itself as a first-in-class opportunity."
First Quarter 2006 Results
These will be published on Wednesday 10 May at 07:00 CET.
On the same day at 17.00 CET /16:00 London/ 11:00 EDT, the company will host a webcast which can be accessed at http://www.speedel.com/section/6/subsections/7. Participants may already register for the webcast from today.
In addition participants may join a teleconference facility using the following telephone numbers:
Switzerland: +41 (0) 44 800 9464 UK: +44 (0) 208 974 7900 USA: +1 718 354 1175 International +44 (0) 208 974 7900 Passcode for all: C 013158
Slides for the webcast will be downloadable and the webcast will be accessible on the company's website until 09 June 2006
About Speedel
Speedel is a public biopharmaceutical company that seeks to create value for patients, partners and investors by developing innovative therapies for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Speedel is a world leader in renin inhibition, a promising new approach with significant potential for treating cardiovascular diseases. Our lead compound SPP100 (Rasilez(1)), the first-in-class renin inhibitor, is partnered with Novartis for Phase III development and commercialisation in hypertension. Our pipeline covers three different modes of action, and in addition to SPP100, includes SPP301 in Phase III, SPP200 in Phase II, SPP635 in Phase I, and several pre-clinical projects.
Speedel develops novel product candidates through focused innovation and smart drug development from lead identification to the end of Phase II. We either partner with big pharma for Phase III and commercialisation in primary- care indications, or we may ourselves complete Phase III development in specialist indications. Candidate compounds for development and the company's intellectual property come from our late-stage research unit Speedel Experimenta and from in-licensing.
Our team of approximately 70 employees, including over 30 experienced pharmaceutical scientists, is located at our headquarters and laboratories in Basel, Switzerland and at offices in New Jersey, USA and Tokyo, Japan. In March 2006 the company raised gross proceeds of CHF83.95 million (approximately EUR 53m or USD 64m) through the sale of 500,000 treasury shares. As a private company, we have previously raised gross proceeds of CHF 239 million (approximately EUR 154 million or USD 183 million) from private placements of equity securities and two convertible loans and we have had total revenues, principally from milestone payments, of CHF 57.7 million (approximately EUR 37 million or USD 44 million. The company's shares were listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange under the symbol SPPN on 08 September 2005.
Forward-looking statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and projections about future events. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, regarding our strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenues, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. The word "may" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations described in these forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on them. There can be no assurance that actual results of our research and development activities and our results of operations will not differ materially from these expectations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from expectations include, among others: our or our partners' ability to develop safe and efficacious products; our or our partners' ability to achieve positive results in clinical trials; our or our partners' ability to obtain marketing approval and market acceptance for our product candidates; our ability to enter into future collaboration and licensing agreements; the impact of competition and technological change; existing and future regulations affecting our business; changes in governmental oversight of pharmaceutical product development; the future scope of our patent coverage or that of third parties; the effects of any future litigation; general economic and business conditions, both internationally and within our industry, including exchange rate variations; and our future financing plans.
(1) Rasilez (SPP100, aliskiren) is a Novartis trade name pending
regulatory, including FDA, approval
Speedel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.CONTACT: Nick Miles, Director Communications & Investor Relations ofSpeedel, +41-61-206-40-00, or direct, +41-61-206-40-14, or fax,+41-61-206-40- 01, or cell, +41-79-446-25-21, or nick.miles@speedel.com; orFrank LaSaracina, Managing Director of Speedel Pharmaceuticals Inc,+1-732-537-2290, or fax, +1- 732-537-2292, or cell, +1-908-338-0501, orfrank.lasaracina@speedel.com
