GENEVA, Switzerland, May 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Serono (virt-x:SEO
and NYSE: SRA) announced today the appointment of Mr. Jacques Theurillat to
the new role of Senior Executive Vice President, Strategic Corporate
Development, in addition to his role as Deputy CEO. In this role, Mr.
Theurillat will be responsible for developing the Company's global strategy
and pursuing our acquisition and in-licensing initiatives. Strategic
Corporate Development will consist of two groups:
    - A Corporate Marketing group, responsible for global marketing
strategy. This group will be headed by Mr. Jurg Ambuhl, as Senior Executive
Vice President, Corporate Marketing. Mr. Ambuhl was previously Regional
Vice President Germany.
    - A Corporate Business Development group, responsible for delivering
the Company's acquisition and licensing strategy. This group will now
include Mr. Giampiero De Luca, Serono's Chief Intellectual Property
Counsel, as Senior Executive Vice President, Licensing and Intellectual
Property.
    Serono also announced that its Europe and International business
operations will be reorganized into two regions, and that both will be
represented at the Executive Management Board:
    - Mr. Roberto Gradnik, will take up the position of Senior Executive
Vice President, Europe. Mr. Gradnik was previously Regional Vice President
Hellas, Italy and Turkey.
    - Mr. Anders Harfstrand, will take up the position of Senior Executive
Vice President, International. Mr. Harfstrand was previously Senior Vice
President, Marketing and Sales.
    "I am delighted to announce these senior executive appointments", said
Ernesto Bertarelli, Chief Executive Officer. "This new structure will
further support our strategy of pursuing acquisitions and in-licensing
opportunities while at the same continuing to deliver strong business
performance".
    Mr. Leon Bushara, Senior Executive Vice President Corporate and
Business Development has accepted the role of CEO in a UK-based
biotechnology company. Over the last thirteen years, Mr. Bushara has been
instrumental in establishing Serono's business development strategy and
capabilities, and in bringing new products to Serono through external
collaborations. Serono thanks him warmly for his contribution and wishes
him well in his new role.
    Management profiles:
    Jurg Ambuhl joined Serono in 2003, as Regional Vice President Germany.
He previously held a number of international posts with a number of
companies, including CEO of metaGen Pharmaceuticals Germany and various
senior positions, mainly in sales and marketing, at BASF Pharma, MSD Sharp
and Dohme, Merck and Co.Inc, McKinsey & Company and Eli Lilly. He has a
Ph.D and Diploma in Chemistry from ETH Federal Institute of Technology,
Switzerland.
    Giampiero De Luca joined Serono in 1988, working in positions of
increasing responsibility related to intellectual property and product
development. Prior to joining Serono, Mr. De Luca worked as a patent
examiner at the European Patent Office, where he focused on patents related
to genetic engineering. Mr. De Luca holds a doctoral degree in industrial
chemistry from the University of Milan and a diploma from the Institut
Pasteur in general microbiology. He is a chartered European patent
attorney, chartered Italian patent attorney, and chartered attorney before
the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market.
    Roberto Gradnik joined Serono in 1999, initially as General Manager
Italy. His latest appointment was as Regional Vice President, Hellas, Italy
and Turkey. Previously he was with Knoll Pharmaceuticals, most latterly as
Director-General Italy. He is the President of the Cesare Serono Foundation
and the President of Assobiotec, the Italian National Association for the
Development of Biotechnology. He is a qualified M.D. and a specialist in
Cardiology and Internal Medicine.
    Anders Harfstrand joined Serono in 2005 as Senior Vice President,
Marketing and Sales. He previously held a number of senior and
international posts in Pfizer and Pharmacia, most latterly in Japan, where
he was Executive Vice President and member of the Board of Pfizer, Japan.
He is a qualified M.D. and a Doctor of Medical Science from the Karolinska
Institute, Sweden.
    Jacques Theurillat has been Serono's Deputy Chief Executive Officer and
President Marketing & Sales Europe and International since May 2002 and has
been a Serono S.A. director since May 2000. He held a number of roles,
including Chief Financial Officer (from 1996 until October 2002), and
Managing Director of Serono operations in Italy. He began his career with
Serono in 1987. Mr. Theurillat has law degrees from Madrid University and
Geneva University and holds a Swiss Federal Diploma (Tax Expert). He also
received an MBA from the Madrid School of Finance.
    Some of the statements in this press release are forward looking. Such
statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties
and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or
achievements of Serono S.A. and affiliates to be materially different from
those expected or anticipated in the forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are based on Serono's current expectations and
assumptions, which may be affected by a number of factors, including those
discussed in this press release and more fully described in Serono's Annual
Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
on February 28, 2006. These factors include any failure or delay in
Serono's ability to develop new products, any failure to receive
anticipated regulatory approvals, any problems in commercializing current
products as a result of competition or other factors, our ability to obtain
reimbursement coverage for our products, the outcome of government
investigations and litigation and government regulations limiting our
ability to sell our products. Serono has no responsibility to update the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release to reflect
events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.
    About Serono
    Serono is a global biotechnology leader. The Company has eight
biotechnology products, Rebif(R), Gonal-f(R), Luveris(R), Ovidrel(R
)/Ovitrelle(R), Serostim(R), Saizen(R), Zorbtive(TM) and Raptiva(R). In
addition to being the world leader in reproductive health, Serono has
strong market positions in neurology, metabolism and growth and has
recently entered the psoriasis area. The Company's research programs are
focused on growing these businesses and on establishing new therapeutic
areas, including oncology and autoimmune diseases. Currently, there are
more than 25 on-going development projects.
    In 2005, Serono, whose products are sold in over 90 countries, achieved
worldwide revenues of US$2,586.4 million. Reported net loss in 2005 was
US$106.1 million, reflecting a charge of US$725 million taken relating to
the settlement of the US Attorney's Office investigation of Serostim.
Excluding this charge as well as other non-recurring items, adjusted net
income grew 28.4% to US$565.3 million in 2005. Bearer shares of Serono
S.A., the holding company, are traded on the virt-x (SEO) and its American
Depositary Shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (SRA).
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