Paris (France), 1st April 2008 — Ipsen (Euronext: FR0010259150; IPN) announced the appointment, of Dominique Bridon as Vice-President, Discovery of the Ipsen Group, effective today. He will report to Jacques-Pierre Moreau, Ipsen’s Executive Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer. Based in the research center of Ipsen in Boston, he will have under his responsibility the drug discovery teams (medicinal chemistry, endocrinology and oncology research, pharmacogenomics and genetics) and also be responsible for overseeing external research partnerships and collaborations.Dominique Bridon, 49, is a graduate, from the École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie and joined the laboratory of Nobel Laureate Sir Derek Barton at Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles at Gif-sur-Yvette (France) where he was awarded a Doctorate in Science. For his post doctoral studies in organic chemistry, he moved to the University of California Berkeley with Pr. William Dauben.
His professional career started in 1989 at Abbott Laboratories within the Diagnostics Division; he was also associated with Bioinformatic Venture and Peptide Engineering. In 1997, he joined the start-up company Conjuchem in Montreal as V-P Research and Chief Technology Officer. While at Conjuchem, Dominique originated the discovery and development of in situ conjugates as a mean to achieve controlled release of peptides and proteins. More recently, he served as a member on the Board of Directors and on the Scientific Board of Directors for several start-up companies; he has also been an advisor to several biotech companies and venture capital funds.
About Ipsen
Ipsen is an innovation driven international specialty pharmaceutical group with over 20 products on the market and a total worldwide staff of nearly 4,000. The company’s development strategy is based on a combination of products in targeted therapeutic areas (oncology, endocrinology and neuromuscular disorders) which are growth drivers, and primary care products which contribute significantly to its research financing. This strategy is also supported by an active policy of partnerships. The location of its four Research and Development centres (Paris, Boston, Barcelona, London) gives the Group a competitive edge in gaining access to leading university research teams and highly qualified personnel. In 2006, R&D expenditure was €178.3 million, i.e. 20.7% of consolidated sales, which amounted to €861.7 million while total revenues amounted to €945.3 million (in IFRS). 700 people in R&D are dedicated to the discovery and development of innovative drugs for patient care. Ipsen’s shares are traded on Segment A of Eurolist by EuronextTM (stock code: IPN, ISIN code: FR0010259150). Ipsen’s shares are eligible to the "Service de Regrave;glement Différé" ("SRD") and the Group is part of the SBF 120 index. For more information on Ipsen, visit our website at www.ipsen.com.
Ipsen Forward-Looking Statements
The forward-looking statements and targets contained herein are based on Ipsen's management's current views and assumptions. Such statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those anticipated herein. Moreover, the Research and Development process involves several stages at each of which there is a substantial risk that the Group will fail to achieve its objectives and be forced to abandon its efforts in respect of a product in which it has invested significant sums. Thus, in order to develop a product which is viable from a commercial point of view, the Group must demonstrate, by means of pre-clinical and human clinical trials, that the molecules are effective and not dangerous to human beings. Therefore, the Group cannot be certain that favourable results obtained during pre-clinical trials will be confirmed subsequently during clinical trials, or that the results of clinical trials will be sufficient to demonstrate the safe and effective nature of the product concerned, or that the regulatory authorities will be satisfied with the data and the information provided by the Company. Ipsen expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward looking statements, targets or estimates contained in this press release to reflect any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which any such statements are based, unless so required by applicable law. Ipsen's business is subject to the risk factors outlined in its information documents filed with the French Autorité des marchés financiers.
Source: Ipsen
