Companies

ETHYPHARM is a pharmaceutical company which develops oral modified release formulations through its patented technologies. It focuses on developing, manufacturing and licensing pharmaceutical products based on optimization of delivery through proprietary technologies. Ethypharm is a French company, present on the principal world health markets with manufacturing and R & D sites in Europe, in North America and Asia. It employs 600 people worldwide. The company has a special focus on pain management, cardiovascular, oncology and CNS branded and generic products. Its know-how and dedicated plant for narcotics makes it one of the leading experts in developing and licensing controlled active substances worldwide. Its specificity is to offer its international partners the development of key products, with a total package of services and support, through the pharmaceutical and clinical development to registration and manufacture. Over the years, Ethypharm has developed more than 50 branded and generic products, based on its core proprietary technologies. The Group also develops scientific programs and partnerships, addressing new areas of Drug Delivery through innovative emerging technologies Contacts: Ethypharm Headquarters - 194 Bureaux de la Colline - 92 213 Saint Cloud cedex - France Phone : + 33 (0) 1 41 12 17 20 Contact : Bruno Delie, Jean-Philippe Lacombe, Yann Barrault E-mail : businessdeveloppement@ethypharm.com barrault.yann@ethypharm.com / www.ethypharm.com

Ethypharm is present on all of the world's major healthcare markets with operations in Europe, North America and Asia. Ethypharm has 4 main R&D centers located in France, one in Canada and in Asia. The company has also 5 main manufacturing facilities, and all are Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) compliant. 3 of them are located in France, the 2 others are in Asia. Ethypharm's sites Châteuneuf-en-Thymerais and Grand Quevilly, France, are FDA approved facilities. Ethypharm has broad range of proprietary technologies including controlled release technology, orally disintegrating dosage forms and enhanced solubilisation systems for poorly solube drugs. In addition, the company has a strong expertise in clinical development and registration. Ethypharm has gained a total of 1,600 approvals for 50 products. Ethypharm is working with more than 100 clients worldwide including many major pharmaceutical companies.

Ethypharm has a variety of drug delivery systems technologies that precisely control the delivery (timing, location and dosage) of therapeutic molecules into the human body. Ethypharm's proprietary drug delivery systems technologies are applicable to the majority of formulation challenges that laboratories might encounter with respect to release rate, specific-site release, taste-masking or the delivery of small molecules or biological products, such as proteins and peptides. Ethypharm's technologies have been used to develop and produce a broad range of currently marketed products.

Ethypharm's core expertise is in oral formulations, and today the company has one of the world's most complete portfolios including its oral modified release and taste-masking and orodispersible proprietary technologies. Through recent acquisitions, Ethypharm has extended its technological portfolio beyond oral delivery to more innovative drug delivery systems, including injectables, implantations and the oral delivery of macromolecules. This broad technology base allows Ethypharm to provide the most appropriate DDS solution for the chemical entities of its partners.

All of Ethypharm's technologies involve coating active pharmaceutical ingredients with biodegradable materials to achieve the desired delivery and release profile needed for a particular product. Its novel formulations can then be delivered in the form of a tablet, a suspension formula or an injection. The coating then dissolves in the body over time, or in response to specified stimuli, allowing the active ingredient to be released. Ethypharm has a track record of successfully translating its technology platforms into fully marketed products. Since 1981 the company has been able to bring products to the market in over 70 countries, and as of today Ethypharm together with its licensees has gained more than 1,500 marketing authorizations. These achievements are a reflection of the strengths of Ethypharm's DDS technologies as well as its development and regulatory expertise.

In the past Ethypharm has focused on applying its technologies to active ingredients nearing patent expiration. By developing new delivery mechanisms for these products, the company has been able to extend the patent life of the underlying products. The ability of Ethypharm's technology to achieve this extension of patent protection has been a significant factor in Ethypharm's ability to reach agreements with major pharmaceutical companies for the distribution and marketing of its products. In many cases, major pharmaceutical companies have continued to use their existing brand names on products produced by Ethypharm, a clear demonstration of the confidence that they have in the company's technology.

In recent years Ethypharm has started to put more and more effort into applying its technologies to develop effective delivery mechanisms for new chemical entities. This is invariably done with the company who has discovered the NCE and who has found that they need to improve the delivery of the active ingredient in order to optimize its therapeutic effect. Ethypharm has also been asked by its clients to work on novel formulations of existing drugs in order to extend the drug's use to new indications or to ensure its commercial success in the indications for which it is currently used.

Ethypharm has used its development and regulatory expertise to gain a total of 1,500 approvals for 50 products. It is this base of knowledge combined with its ability to deliver results that has allowed Ethypharm to build-up the strong customer base that it has today, a customer base that includes many of the world's major pharmaceutical companies. The company has grown its business beyond France, and its products are now sold in Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and North and South America. The company currently has operations located in France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Canada, USA, China, India, and Japan through these facilities it serves over seventy markets worldwide.

Ethypharm has established strategic alliances with CONBA and Biovail in addition to development collaborations with Alpha MOS and Aventis. Ethypharma has also licensed specific technologies to aaiPharma and Reliant Pharmaceuticals.

Patrice Debrégeas, M.B.A. (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ethypharm)
Mr. Debrégeas founded Ethypharm with Gérard Leduc in 1977. He holds a M.Sc. in Pharmacy (France) and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business (University of Pennsylvania, USA).

Gérard Leduc (Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer)
Mr. Leduc founded Ethypharm with Patrice Debrégeas in 1977. He began his career in 1971 as a trademark and patent Attorney after graduating from the Centre d'Etudes Internationales de la Propriété Intellectuelle (CEIPI) and qualifying as a Professional Representative before the European Patent Office. Mr. Leduc holds Master degrees in physical and chemical sciences from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie (Strasbourg, France) and a Degree in management from the Institut du Commerce International (Paris).

Laurent Le Portz (Chief Executive Officer, Ethypharm North America)
Mr. Le Portz started his career as a financial analyst with Goldman Sachs in London. He later joined Apax Partners in Paris and New York as an associate, specialising in healthcare investments. In 1997, he co-founded and was Chief Financial Officer of Mojave Therapeutics, a biotechnology start-up financed by Apax Partners and Lazard Frères, focused on cancer vaccines and located in Tarrytown NY. Mr. Le Portz is an alumnus from Ecole Polytechnique in France and holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He replaces Mr. Pierre Lapalme, former Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Rhone-Poulenc Rorer North America from 1990 to 1994 and CEO of Ethypharm North America since. Mr. Lapalme remains on the Board of Ethypharm North America.