TARRYTOWN, N.Y., April 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of
Directors of Emisphere Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: EMIS) today announced
that it has appointed Michael V. Novinski to the position of President and
Chief Executive Officer effective immediately. Previously, Mr. Novinski was
President of Organon USA Inc., a business unit of Organon BioSciences Inc,
for the last four years. During his tenure as President, Organon USA
received FDA approval for a number of ethical pharmaceutical products in
the areas of Women's Healthcare, Fertility, Neuroscience, Anti-thrombotics
and Anesthesia.
Mr. Novinski, who will assume his duties at the Company beginning in
early May, replaces Lewis Bender, who was appointed interim Chief Executive
Officer on January 16, 2007. Mr. Bender will continue in the role of acting
CEO until that time. Mr. Novinski brings to Emisphere a significant level
of leadership and experience in the development of pharmaceutical products.
He has over 28 years of industry and specialty product experience which is
critical to the Company as it moves to late stage product development. Mr.
Novinski held several senior executive positions within Organon BioSciences
prior to becoming President of Organon USA and served on its board for the
last 4 years. On March 12, 2007, Akzo Nobel announced the intended sale of
Organon BioSciences to Schering-Plough for $14.4 Billion in cash.
"I am very excited about this opportunity to join Emisphere," said Mr.
Novinski. "The Company's technology is exciting and well advanced and I
believe that it will yield important improvements in healthcare. Many key
Emisphere programs have the potential to create brands with substantial
value and unique profiles and benefits for both prescribers and patients."
Mr. Novinski was appointed Director of Marketing in 1992 at Organon and
later became the Vice President of the Department. For ten years, he led
the Company's marketing efforts and directed the launch of eight new brands
in the U.S. market. In addition, from June 2000 through December 2001, he
was General Manager for Organon Sanofi-Synthelabo LLC. In 2002, he became
Executive Vice President of Operations and Marketing for Organon
International. At the same time, he was elected as a Board Member for
Organon International. In February, 2003 Mr. Novinski was named President
of Organon USA. In June, 2003 he assumed responsibility for Worldwide
Business Development and Lifecycle Management and led collaborative
agreements with a number of pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer,
Sanofi-Aventis, and Ligand Pharmaceuticals.
Prior to joining Organon, from 1982 to 1986 Mr. Novinski held several
positions in product management with Wyeth-Ayerst International. In 1986,
he was appointed Product Marketing Director, Female Healthcare. In 1988, he
was appointed Group Marketing Director, Pharmaceuticals. From 1990-1992, he
was the Assistant Vice President in Market Planning for Pharmaceuticals and
was responsible for the international marketing of products.
Mr. Novinski was elected to the Board of Directors for Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) in June 2004. He has served
in different capacities for a number of organizations including the New
Jersey Cystic Fibrosis Association, Coalition for Excellence in Critical
Care Medicine, American Foundation for Urological Diseases, Society for
Advancement of Women's Health Research and America's Pharmaceutical
Research Companies Association.
Mr. Novinski earned a Bachelor's Degree in 1978 with a major in Biology
from Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, PA. He also studied
under fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School, Department
of Microbiology, 1978-1979.
About Emisphere Technologies, Inc.
Emisphere Technologies, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company pioneering
the oral delivery of otherwise injectable drugs. Emisphere's business
strategy is to develop oral forms of injectable drugs, either alone or with
corporate partners, by applying its proprietary eligen(R) technology to
those drugs or licensing its eligen(R) technology to partners who typically
apply it directly to their marketed drugs. Emisphere's eligen(R) 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. Emisphere has strategic alliances with world-leading pharmaceutical
companies. For further information, please visit the Emisphere website,
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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Related links:
http://www.emisphere.com/
CONTACT:
investors, Stewart Siskind, Emisphere
Technologies, Inc., +1-914-785-4742; media, Dan Budwick, BMC
Communications, +1-212-477-9007, ext. 14
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