Healthcare Industry News: Vidaza
News Release - August 7, 2008
Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Announces Key Management and Board Appointments at its European Affiliate
BETHESDA, Md.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCMP ) today announced that its wholly owned European subsidiary, Sucampo Pharma Europe, Ltd. (SPE), has appointed David Dodds, MRPharmS, M.B.A., to the position of Commercial Director of Europe. Mr. Dodds will be responsible for establishing Sucampo’s European operations, management, business development and commercial strategies.“We welcome David Dodds, a talented and experienced pharmaceutical marketing executive with over 20 years of experience. His experience in the European marketing industry is particularly important as we move AMITIZA® towards commercialization in Europe,” said Ryuji Ueno, M.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Sucampo Pharmaceuticals’ chairman and chief executive officer.
Before joining Sucampo, David Dodds was the Senior International Marketing Manager for Pharmion Ltd from July 2005. In this role, he managed the pan-European launch of Vidaza, pre-marketing for Vidaza, and Orplatna. Prior to Pharmion, he held various sales and marketing positions, with Mitsubishi Pharma Europe Ltd, Yamanouchi Pharmaceuticals Europe B.V., SmithKline Beecham, Eli Lilly, and ICI Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Dodds prior experience includes developing and managing business development activities with prospective in-licensees and partners. He has also been instrumental in developing pricing and reimbursement strategies in Europe. Mr. Dodds received his Executive MBA from The Open Business School and an Honours Degree in Pharmacy from the University of Sunderland School of Pharmacy.
Sucampo Pharmaceuticals also announced that Dr. Gayle Dolecek Sucampo Pharmaceuticals’ Senior Vice President of Research and Development has joined the Board of Directors of SPE.
“We are also pleased to welcome Dr. Gayle Dolecek to the Board of Directors of SPE. Gayle has played a critical role in the approval of Amitiza in the United States and his insight and extensive research and development experience will be a valuable asset for SPE for the approval process in Europe,” said Dr. Ueno.
Dr. Dolecek has been Sucampo’s Senior Vice President of Research and Development since May 2006. From August 1995 to April 2006, he was a Senior Consultant at AAC Consulting Group, Inc., a provider of regulatory consulting services to the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to 1995, Dr. Dolecek was an officer with the U.S. Public Health Service where he served in pharmacy and health service related positions. He completed his 30 year career with the government in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as Director of Compendial Operations in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Dr. Dolecek received his B.S. and Pharmacy Doctor from the University of Maryland and a M.P.H. in Health Services and Planning from the University of Hawaii.
About Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company based in Bethesda, Md., focuses on the development and commercialization of medicines based on prostones. The therapeutic potential of prostones, which are bio-lipids that occur naturally in the human body, was first identified by Ryuji Ueno, M.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Sucampo Pharmaceuticals’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Ueno founded Sucampo Pharmaceuticals in 1996 with Sachiko Kuno, Ph.D., founding Chief Executive Officer and advisor, international business development.
Sucampo Pharmaceuticals is marketing AMITIZA® (lubiprostone) 24 mcg in the U.S. for chronic idiopathic constipation in adults and AMITIZA® (lubiprostone) 8 mcg in the U.S. to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation in adult women, and is developing the drug for additional gastrointestinal disorders with large potential markets. In addition, the company has a robust pipeline of compounds with the potential to target unmet medical conditions affecting millions of patients worldwide. Sucampo Pharmaceuticals has two wholly owned subsidiaries: Sucampo Pharma Europe, Ltd. headquartered in Oxford, UK with a branch office in Basel, Switzerland, and Sucampo Pharma, Ltd. located in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan. To learn more about Sucampo Pharmaceuticals and its products, visit www.sucampo.com.
Sucampo Pharma Europe, Ltd. has filed Marketing Authorization Applications (MAA) for lubiprostone (24 mcg) for chronic idiopathic constipation in the United Kingdom through its Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, with additional applications filed with the concerned member states of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. A separate MAA for lubiprostone was filed with Swissmedic by SPE’s branch office in Basel, Switzerland.
Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Sucampo Pharmaceuticals are forward-looking statements made under the provisions of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the words “project,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “will,” ”may” or other similar expressions. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors described in Sucampo Pharmaceuticals’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 and other periodic reports filed with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements in this press release, including statements regarding the expansion in the number of indications addressed by AMITIZ® 8mcg, our ability to drive AMITIZA® sales growth and build greater brand awareness among patients and physicians, and the future success of our ongoing preclinical studies and clinical trials, represent Sucampo Pharmaceuticals’ views only as of the date of this release and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. Sucampo Pharmaceuticals anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its views to change. However, while Sucampo Pharmaceuticals may elect to update these forward-looking statements publicly at some point in the future, Sucampo Pharmaceuticals specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Source: Sucampo Pharmaceuticals
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