Amylin Pharmaceuticals Board of Directors Elects Paulo F. Costa Chairman of the Board
SAN DIEGO, Aug. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMLN) today announced that its Board of Directors has elected Paulo F. Costa as Chairman of the Board, effective immediately.
Mr. Costa was formerly President and Chief Executive Officer of Novartis U.S. Corporation, where he held several other executive positions, including Head of the Americas and President and Chief Executive Officer of Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation. Prior to joining Novartis, Mr. Costa worked at Johnson & Johnson for 30 years, where he served as President of Janssen Pharmaceutica, Executive Vice President, Global Franchise Development, and was a member of Johnson & Johnson's Group Operating Committee. Mr. Costa has held various sales and marketing positions and has more than 20 years of general management experience, having launched 10 pharmaceutical products in various therapeutic areas in the U.S. market. He was elected to Amylin's Board at the Company's Annual Meeting of Stockholders on May 27, 2009.
"Our unanimous decision to name Paulo as Chairman reflects the Board's confidence in his leadership abilities," said James R. Gavin III, M.D., Ph.D., Director and Chair of Amylin's Corporate Governance Committee. "Paulo brings a fresh perspective to all aspects of Amylin's business at this important time for the Company, and his expertise regarding operational and commercial activities will be invaluable as we prepare for the launch of exenatide once weekly. We continue to position Amylin to compete and win in the diabetes and obesity markets. On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, we look forward to working with Paulo in his new leadership role."
"It is with great honor and pleasure that I accept the position of Amylin's Chairman," said Mr. Costa. "I am excited about working closely with my fellow Directors to help Amylin successfully discover, develop and commercialize innovative medicines to improve the lives of patients with diabetes. By doing this well, we will deliver superior value to our shareholders."
Amylin Pharmaceuticals
Amylin Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company committed to improving lives through the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative medicines. Amylin has developed and gained approval for two first-in-class medicines for diabetes, SYMLIN (pramlintide acetate) injection and BYETTA (exenatide) injection. Amylin's research and development activities leverage the Company's expertise in metabolism to develop potential therapies to treat diabetes and obesity. Amylin is headquartered in San Diego, California. Further information on Amylin Pharmaceuticals is available at http://www.amylin.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements about Amylin, which involve risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed due to a number of risks and uncertainties, including that our clinical trials may not start when planned and/or confirm previous results; our preclinical studies may not be predictive; our product candidates may not receive regulatory approval; and inherent scientific, regulatory and other risks in the drug development and commercialization process. These and additional risks and uncertainties are described more fully in the Company's most recently filed SEC documents, including its Form 10-Q. Amylin undertakes no duty to update these forward-looking statements.
SOURCE Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. -0- 08/24/2009 /CONTACT: Media: Anne Erickson, +1-858-754-4443, [email protected], or Financial: Michael York, +1-858-458-8602, [email protected], both of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc./