HAYWARD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 31, 2008--IMPAX
Laboratories, Inc. (OTC: IPXL) today announced the formal
establishment of its branded products division, IMPAX Pharmaceuticals,
with the appointments of Michael Nestor as divisional president
reporting to Larry Hsu, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer
of IMPAX, and Suneel Gupta, Ph.D., as divisional chief scientific
officer reporting to Mr. Nestor. They will be leading the division and
implementing the company's current strategy to develop products for
unmet needs in the treatment of Central Nervous System (CNS)
disorders. The Company's first branded product, Vadova(R), as well as
three products in development, will be a priority for Mr. Nestor and
Dr. Gupta.
Dr. Hsu said, "We are excited to announce the establishment of
IMPAX Pharmaceuticals, our branded products division. We have made
significant progress to date in our branded products business and this
growth requires a separate management focus. We look forward to
capitalizing on these opportunities with a team of high caliber and
experience. Mr. Nestor and Dr. Gupta bring decades of industry
experience to our company and we are very pleased to welcome them to
the team. We have very high expectations for IMPAX Pharmaceuticals and
its mission to add value for patients by bringing products in the CNS
therapeutic category."
Mr. Nestor has almost 30 years of pharmaceutical company
experience of increasing responsibility. Prior to joining IMPAX
Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Nestor was chief operating officer for Piedmont
Pharmaceuticals in Greensboro, North Carolina and before that chief
executive officer of Ann Arbor, Mich.-based NanoBio Corporation, a
development stage company. Before this, he was president of the
specialty products division of Alpharma, leading Alpharma's entry into
proprietary pharmaceuticals. He has also held leadership positions
with Faulding Pharmaceuticals, Banner Pharmacaps, Inc. and
Wyeth-Ayerst Labs. He holds an M.B.A. degree from Pepperdine
University.
Before joining IMPAX Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Gupta worked at ALZA
Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, for
nearly 20 years, where he was most recently responsible for strategic
vision and execution of clinical research and development as senior
vice president and distinguished research fellow. Dr Gupta brings to
us extensive experience in development of drug delivery based
products. He has been instrumental in the development of several
marketed products including Duragesic(R), Nicoderm(R), Ditropan-XL(R),
Concerta(R), Ionsys(R) and Invega(R). He is co-inventor on more than
20 patents related to drug discovery and drug delivery. Dr. Gupta
holds a Ph.D. from the University of Manchester, in Manchester, United
Kingdom and was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of
California, San Francisco under Professor Leslie Z. Benet.
About IMPAX Laboratories, Inc.
IMPAX Laboratories, Inc. is a technology based specialty
pharmaceutical company applying its formulation expertise and drug
delivery technology to the development of controlled-release and
specialty generics in addition to the development of branded products.
IMPAX markets its generic products through its Global Pharmaceuticals
division and markets its branded products through the IMPAX
Pharmaceuticals division. Additionally, where strategically
appropriate, IMPAX has developed marketing partnerships to fully
leverage its technology platform. IMPAX Laboratories is headquartered
in Hayward, California, and has a full range of capabilities in its
Hayward and Philadelphia facilities. For more information, please
visit the Company's Web site at: www.impaxlabs.com.
"Safe Harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995:
To the extent any statements made in this news release contain
information that is not historical, these statements are
forward-looking in nature and express the beliefs and expectations of
management. Such statements are based on current expectations and
involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that
could cause IMPAX's future results, performance or achievements to
differ significantly from the results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks
and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, possible adverse
effects resulting from the delisting of and suspension of trading in
IMPAX's stock, the SEC proceeding to determine whether to suspend or
revoke the registration of IMPAX's securities under section 12 of the
Securities Exchange Act, IMPAX's delay in filing its 2004 Form 10-K,
its Form 10-Q for each of the first three quarters of 2005, 2006, and
2007, its Form 10-K for 2005 and 2006, the actual time that will be
required to complete the filing of IMPAX's delinquent periodic
reports, IMPAX's ability to obtain sufficient capital to fund its
operations, the difficulty of predicting FDA filings and approvals,
consumer acceptance and demand for new pharmaceutical products, the
impact of competitive products and pricing, IMPAX's ability to
successfully develop and commercialize pharmaceutical products,
IMPAX's reliance on key strategic alliances, the uncertainty of patent
litigation, the availability of raw materials, the regulatory
environment, dependence on patent and other protection for innovative
products, exposure to product liability claims, fluctuations in
operating results and other risks detailed from time to time in
IMPAX's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Forward-looking statements speak only as to the date on which they are
made, and IMPAX undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise
any forward-looking statement, regardless of whether new information
becomes available, future developments occur or otherwise.
CONTACT: Company Contacts:
IMPAX Laboratories, Inc.
Larry Hsu, Ph.D. President & CEO
510-476-2000, Ext. 1111
or
Arthur A. Koch, Jr., Sr. VP & CFO
215-933-0351
www.impaxlabs.com
or
Investor Relations Contacts:
Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates, Inc.
Kim Sutton Golodetz, 212-838-3777
kgolodetz@lhai.com
or
Bruce Voss, 310-691-7100
bvoss@lhai.com
www.lhai.com
SOURCE: IMPAX Laboratories, Inc.