¡¡¡¡MONTREAL and SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Osprey Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., a privately held biotechnology company developing first-in-class Leukocyte Population Modulators (LPMs) for serious, chronic diseases, announced today the appointment of Jack M. Anthony to Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Philip Coggins, who previously held the position of CEO will continue as President and assume the new role of Chief Scientific Officer. Mr. Anthony will be based in San Francisco, where Osprey has located most administrative functions, while concentrating its laboratory and R&D operations in Montreal, Canada.

    "I am pleased to announce that Jack will take the helm of Osprey Pharmaceuticals and assume additional responsibilities as CEO," said Philip Coggins, President and co-founder of Osprey. "Looking at the powerhouse of talent assembled at Osprey, this transition is a ''no-brainer,'' and as a neurochemist I''m qualified to say that. With Jack as CEO and with the recent addition of Dr. Barbara Finck as Chief Medical Officer, we have the key individuals in place to take Osprey to the next level."

    "These changes will best leverage the extensive experience and track record of the senior management team at Osprey," said Janice LeCocq, Chairman of the Board. "This time next year we expect to have the first clinical proof of concept of our LPMs in the treatment of renal disease (glomerulonephritis, or GN). By validating a new treatment modality, we expect to open up a broad array of other clinical targets, building towards clinical and commercial success."

    Mr. Anthony began his career in healthcare with Baxter Healthcare and served the company for over 16 years, rising through the ranks to become Vice President in the Blood Therapy Group. In the 20 years since Baxter, he has held various senior executive positions in a number of biotechnology companies including Applied Immune Sciences (now part of Sanofi-Aventis), Inhale (now Nektar), FibroGen and Tularik (acquired by Amgen). Mr. Anthony was also CEO of Pharmix, a computational chemistry company in the San Francisco area. Most recently, Mr. Anthony served as Osprey''s Senior Vice President, Corporate Development.

    "This is an exciting time for us as we plan to enter clinical testing with our first product early next year and forge key partnerships around specific fusion proteins emerging from our LPM platform," said Mr. Anthony. "I believe we are in an incredibly strong position to manage multiple clinical trials as we advance our development pipeline and to engage experienced partners where a strategic collaboration is the best means to achieve late-stage development and commercialization."

    About Osprey Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

    Osprey Pharmaceuticals is a privately held biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing a first-in-class family of therapeutic proteins (Leukocyte Population Modulators) capable of treating chronic diseases. Osprey''s broad technology platform is based on the critical insight that many common diseases are propagated by overabundant and overactive leukocytes. The company''s proprietary LPMs selectively and systematically destroy disease-related leukocytes by infiltrating the chemokine system that regulates the movement and activity of leukocytes. The company expects to initiate its first Phase Ib trial for chronic kidney disease in early 2008.

    Osprey has a highly productive R&D engine and has developed a portfolio of 12 preclinical product candidates addressing a variety of diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurological disorders. The company anticipates initiating at least one clinical trial annually over the next three years. Osprey minimizes the risks inherent in drug development by using a technology with the capability to address immune system dysfunction system- wide, and then uniformly applying standardized testing and manufacturing protocols across its portfolio. Osprey Pharmaceuticals is based in Montreal, Canada and can be found online at www.ospreypharma.com .

    Contacts: Jack M. Anthony CEO anthony@ospreypharma.com Justin Jackson or John Cummings of Burns McClellan on behalf of Osprey jjackson@burnsmc.com jcummings@burnsmc.com Tel: 212-213-0006 Robert Wagstaff Vice President, Finance wagstaff@ospreypharma.com Tel: 514-336-3118

    Source: Osprey Pharmaceuticals, Ltd.
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