BATTELLE PULMONARY THERAPEUTICS EXPERIENCES SIGNIFICANT GROWTH ADDS KEY SENIOR STAFF MEMBERS AND TRIPLES STAFF SIZE

Battelle Pulmonary Therapeutics (BPT) announced today the addition of four key senior staff members. The four bring years of pharmaceutical industry experience to the rapidly expanding specialty pharmaceutical company. In addition, BPT has enjoyed significant success in its first year of operation, more than tripling the size of its staff, prompting a move to a new high profile headquarters and R&D facility.

"Our new staff are recognized leaders in their fields and bring strong pharmaceutical experience to our company," said Dennis Cearlock, BPT President and CEO. "The commercial and market perspectives they bring, combined with the strong technology foundation of our existing scientific staff, and access to the superb science and engineering capabilities at Battelle, create a solid team to guide us toward commercializing our innovative drug delivery technologies."

Joining the BPT staff are:

  • Bethany A. Beck, Vice President and General Counsel, who was in private practice specializing in the pharmaceutical industry, joins BPT as Vice President and General Counsel. Beck currently also consults for Abbott Laboratories and was previously Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Pharmacia, Inc. At BPT, Beck will help build the legal structure under which future licensing, manufacturing and regulatory activities will be guided. "Her expertise as general counsel for a pharmaceutical company is hard to find," Cearlock said. "She understands regulatory development and FDA requirements, commercialization, and the manufacturing process. She'll help us build a legal structure that will support our long-term company growth."

  • Charles Bramlage, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Drug Delivery, who most recently worked for GlaxoSmithKline where he was Vice President, Respiratory Global Commercial Development. While at GSK, Chuck was responsible for launching the company's top two respiratory drugs: the global launch of Seretide in 1999 and the U.S. launch of Flovent in 1996. "Chuck's 19 years of experience in marketing and commercial development at Merck and GSK will be invaluable in helping us build our business," Cearlock said. As the general manager, Bramlage will be responsible for building BPT's future drug delivery business and new pulmonary drug product franchises."

  • Suketu D. Desai, Director, Pharmaceutical Development, who most recently worked as Director of Development and Operations for Aronex Pharmaceuticals, led efforts to develop the oncology drugs, Atragen and Aroplatin. Prior to that he worked at Alcon Laboratories and Sandoz Pharmaceuticals. At BPT, he will lead the department responsible for developing and characterizing pharmaceutical products for global registration and commercialization. "He has strong knowledge of innovative drug technology and an impressive history in developing formulations that meet regulatory approval and consumer acceptance," Cearlock said.

  • David J. Westaway, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Oncology, who most recently worked for Pharmacia, Inc. where his experience included directing the sales and marketing operations in oncology, as Vice President of Oncology for Pharmacia and Upjohn in the US. "He is internationally recognized in the commercialization of oncology products," Cearlock said. "He's launched several drugs, including Campotsan, a very important oncology product, and he has more than 20 years of experience in drug development and marketing." At BPT, he will be responsible for developing and selling the company's products.

    Since incorporating one year ago, in April 2000 with 11 staff members, Battelle Pulmonary Therapeutics, Inc has put together a solid string of agreements with pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, Abbott, ThermoElectron and ViroPharma. Several more research agreements are pending. BPT now employs 34 people with more staff additions planned in the next quarter.

    "The addition of these bright and talented people will help us reach our goals and execute our business plan," said Mike Placke, BPT's Vice President of Business Development. "We are rapidly recruiting skilled staff to keep pace with our increasing number of licensing agreements and development programs."

    "Our robust collaboration activity is a direct reflection of the talented and experienced team we've built. We're devoting all the resources, both human and capital, to meet the needs of our collaboration agreements," added Placke. "We're in a very promising position to move multiple products into mid and late stage clinical development over the next couple of years."

    BPT recently moved into the new Watermark Island headquarters and R&D facility in Columbus. The move allows the rapidly growing company to house additional staff and expand its research operations in developing its pulmonary delivery devices and drug products.

    The new BPT facility, at 1801 Watermark Dr. in Columbus, currently occupies 21,000 square feet of the 90,000 square foot new building, with near-term options to add another 8000 square feet of contiguous space. In addition to offices, 6,000 square feet is currently devoted to four laboratories for engineering and medical research.

    BPT is a for-profit subsidiary of Battelle Memorial Institute that specializes in commercializing novel pulmonary therapeutics, focusing on developing pulmonary drug products and medications that provide non-invasive drug delivery for respiratory diseases such as lung cancer, asthma and a variety of systemic diseases.

    Battelle, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, focuses on technology development and commercialization and product development. With 7,500 employees at more than 60 locations, Battelle develops technologies and products for industry and government. Annual revenues are approximately $1 billion.

    For more information contact BPT's Vice President of Business Development, Michael Placke at (614) 340-2360 or at placke@bpt-inc.com or contact Katy Delaney at (614) 424-5544 or at delaneyk@battelle.org.