Copenhagen, 25th May 2007 Santaris Pharma, the Danish biopharmaceutical company, announced today that Dr Flemming Ørnskov, Chief Executive Officer of Lifecycle Pharma A/S, has been elected non-executive Chairman of Santaris Pharma A/S. Dr Ørnskov takes over responsibilities from Santaris Pharma’s current Chairman, Martien van Osch, a general partner at Forbion Capital Partners, with immediate effect. Dr Ørnskov was appointed to the Santaris Pharma Board by shareholders at the Company’s Annual General Meeting on 24th May 2007 and elected Chairman by the Santaris Pharma Board immediately thereafter.
Announcing the appointment, Dr Keith McCullagh, President and CEO of Santaris Pharma, said:
"I am pleased to welcome Flemming Ørnskov to Santaris as the new Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors. He brings outstanding qualities of leadership and entrepreneurship to Santaris from the international pharmaceutical and biotech industry. I look forward to working in partnership with him and other members of the Board as we seek to build a competitive 21st century biopharmaceutical business.
I also warmly thank Martien van Osch from Forbion Capital Partners, who has chaired the Santaris Board over the past year. He has brought high quality judgement and collegiate leadership to Board decisions and made a significant contribution to the Company’s progress. I am delighted that Martien will continue to serve as a member of the Board."
Commenting on Santaris Pharma and his appointment, Dr Ørnskov said: "Santaris Pharma is a company at the forefront of modern molecular medicine. Its unique RNA Antagonist drug portfolio, now at a critical stage of pharmaceutical development, has the potential to transform patient outcomes across a range of serious human diseases. I am pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to the Company’s growth and future success."
Martien van Osch added: "With Flemming Ørnskov joining as new Chairman and independent board member, another important step has been taken towards the establishment of Santaris Pharma as a key player in the field of RNA therapeutics. I look forward to working with him."
Flemming Ørnskov is President and Chief Executive Officer of Lifecycle Pharma A/S, a Danish pharmaceutical development company which listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange in 2006. He is also Chairman of the Board of Astion Pharma A/S, a Danish specialist dermatology R&D company. From 2005 to 2006 Dr Ørnskov was President and CEO of Ikaria Inc., a US biopharmaceutical company now merged with Ino Therapeutics Inc. From 2001 to 2005 Dr Ørnskov worked in senior management positions at Novartis, first as Head of the Novartis US Cardiovascular Franchise and from 2003 – 2005 as President of the Novartis Ophthalmics Business Unit, Member of the Pharma Executive Committee and Member of the Novartis Research Committee. From 1994 to 2001, Dr Ørnskov held various senior management positions at Merck & Co, Inc. in the USA. Dr Ørnskov qualified in Medicine at the University of Copenhagen Medical School in 1984, received an MBA degree from INSEAD Business School, France in 1989 and a Masters in Public Health from Harvard Medical School in 1996.
Santaris Pharma Board
In addition to Dr Ørnskov, the Santaris Pharma Board of Directors includes Dr Claus Braestrup, CEO, Lundbeck A/S; Søren Carlsen, Managing Partner, Novo Ventures; Holger Reithinger, Principal, Global Life Science Ventures; Linda Sjøstrøm, Partner, BankInvest; Martien van Osch, Partner, Forbion Capital Partners; Dr Walter Wenninger, previously head of Bayer AG’s world wide health care businesses; and Keith McCullagh, President & CEO, Santaris Pharma.
For further information, please contact:
Dr. Keith McCullagh Dr Flemming Ørnskov
President & CEO, President & CEO,
Santaris Pharma, Lifecycle Pharma,
Tel. +45 4517 9819
Cell +44 7939 573548
km@santaris.com fo@lcpharma.com
About Santaris Pharma
Santaris Pharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a new class of drugs intended to switch off the expression of harmful genes. Called RNA Antagonists, these new drugs are being developed by Santaris and its corporate partners for the treatment of cancer and metabolic disorders. Created in May 2003 and backed by a broad group of leading international life science venture capital investors, Santaris Pharma completed a Euro 40m second round of equity financing in May 2006. In July 2006, the Company entered into a global partnership with Enzon Pharmaceuticals of New Jersey to co-develop and commercialise a series of Santaris RNA Antagonists for improving the treatment of cancer.
Santaris Pharma’s RNA Antagonist drug pipeline is based on its unique LNA technology. LNA drugs, with their high potency and biostability, have the potential to transform the field of RNAi medicines, making specific and effective gene silencing a reality in human medicine. If this potential is realised, even in part, it may be possible to design new drugs to treat the underlying genetic causes of disease rather than just the physical symptoms. Santaris Pharma holds the world wide patent rights to the exploitation of LNA in pharmaceuticals and presently has three drugs in preclinical or clinical development. The lead drug candidate, SPC2996, is currently undergoing international, multicenter, phase I/II clinical studies in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL).
For further company information see
www.santaris.com