Healthcare Industry News: human growth hormone
News Release - June 12, 2007
Emisphere Technologies, Inc. Appoints Laura Kragie as Vice President of Clinical Development/Chief Medical Officer
TARRYTOWN, N.Y., June 12 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- Emisphere Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: EMIS ) today announced that Laura Kragie, M.D., has been appointed to the position of Vice President of Clinical Development and Chief Medical Officer, effective immediately. Dr. Kragie is the previous President and Chief Scientific Officer of Kragie BioMedWorks, a strategic regulatory consulting group. Emisphere Technologies, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the oral delivery of otherwise injectable drugs. Dr. Kragie will report directly to Michael V. Novinski, President and CEO of Emisphere Technologies, Inc."Dr. Kragie's rich experience as a Medical Officer with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) working on regulatory review on a wide array of drug products, along with her deep knowledge of the many facets of biotech, are among the many skills Dr. Kragie brings to Emisphere," said Mr. Novinski. "Dr. Kragie also brings a real sense of business management, deep clinical trial experience and varied pharmaceutical development skills. We are very excited to have her bring this wealth of experience to Emisphere."
At BioMedWorks, Dr. Kragie specialized in pipeline and drug development strategies, efficacy and safety determination, biomarker/surrogate endpoints, intellectual property portfolio development, and regulatory strategies. She guided her clients at all stages of their FDA regulatory processes, from the pre-IND meeting all the way through to launch and post-approval phases.
Dr. Kragie also investigated unmet clinical needs and new indications for approved drugs. Dr. Kragie's research and nonprofit efforts worked to generate and communicate knowledge regarding food, drug and environmental interactions with endocrine systems and their impact on health and disease.
"I am thrilled to be joining the Emisphere team. I see so much positive potential in their pipeline and partnerships," said Dr. Kragie. "I am eager to start the expansion of their technologies into the development of more new therapies that will truly impact patient welfare and save lives."
Emisphere's broad-based oral drug delivery technology platform, known as the eligen® technology, is based on the use of proprietary, synthetic chemical compounds, known as Emisphere® delivery agents, or "carriers." Emisphere's eligen® technology makes it possible to orally deliver a therapeutic molecule without altering its chemical form or biological integrity.
Dr. Kragie received her BS in Biology, Psychology and Biochemistry from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and her Medical Doctorate from the University of Iowa, Iowa City. Dr. Kragie received an individual NIH Physician Scientist Award and performed her postdoctoral Translational Science research fellowship at the State University of New York at Buffalo, in the areas of Internal Medicine, Molecular Pharmacology, and Endocrinology. She went on to join the faculties of both Harvard and Georgetown Medical Universities. She has authored several significant research publications in areas of pharmacology, drug membrane transporters, p450 metabolism, and reproductive endocrinology. She was born in Oak Park, Illinois.
About Emisphere Technologies, Inc.
Emisphere Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: EMIS ) is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the oral delivery of otherwise injectable drugs. Emisphere's business strategy is to develop oral forms of injectable drugs, either on its own or with corporate partners, by applying its proprietary eligen® technology to those drugs or by licensing its eligen® technology to partners who typically apply it directly to their marketed drugs. Emisphere's eligen® technology has enabled the oral delivery of proteins, peptides, macromolecules and charged organics. Emisphere and its partners have advanced oral formulations or prototypes of salmon calcitonin, heparin, insulin, parathyroid hormone, human growth hormone and cromolyn sodium into clinical trials. For further information, please visit http://www.emisphere.com.
Safe Harbor Statement Regarding Forward-looking Statements
The statements in this release and oral statements made by representatives of Emisphere relating to matters that are not historical facts (including without limitation those regarding the timing or potential outcomes of research collaborations or clinical trials, any market that might develop for any of Emisphere's product candidates and the sufficiency of Emisphere's cash and other capital resources) are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the likelihood that future research will prove successful, the likelihood that any product in the research pipeline will receive regulatory approval in the United States or abroad, the ability of Emisphere and/or its partners to develop, manufacture and commercialize products using Emisphere's drug delivery technology, Emisphere's ability to fund such efforts with or without partners, and other risks and uncertainties detailed in Emisphere's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in Emisphere's Annual Report on Form 10-K (file no. 1-10615) filed on March 5, 2007.
Source: Emisphere Technologies
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