- Annual General Meeting to be held on 15 April 2008 -
Basel/Switzerland and Bridgewater NJ/USA, 20 March 2008
Speedel (SWX: SPPN) today announced that it has published its Annual
Report 2007. The document is available in English, as well as a
short-form version in German. On 15 April 2008, the company will hold
its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Voltahalle, Voltastrasse 27,
Basel.
The Annual Report 2007, together with the invitation to the AGM, is
being sent today to all shareholders. The admission card and voting
material for the AGM will be sent to shareholders who are registered
in the company's share register as of 11 April 2008 at 17.00hrs.
Shareholders may address any enquiries about their shareholding or
the procedure for voting at the AGM to:
SAG SIS Aktienregister AG
Baslerstrasse 90
CH - 4600 Olten
Switzerland
Tel: +41 (0)62 205 36 95
Fax: +41 (0)62 205 39 66
mailto:christian.menzi@sag.ch
Non-shareholders may also order a copy of the Annual Report 2007 at
the company's website at:
http://www.speedel.com/investor relations
A PDF version of the Annual Report 2007 may also be downloaded from
the company's website at:
http://www.speedel.com/investor relations
The programme and motions for the AGM may be downloaded from the
company's website at:
http://www.speedel.com/investor relations
About Speedel
Speedel is a public biopharmaceutical company that seeks to create
value for patients, partners and investors by developing innovative
therapies for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Speedel is a
world leader in renin inhibition, a promising new approach with
significant potential for treating cardiovascular diseases. Our lead
compound SPP100 (Tekturna/Rasilez[1] ), the first-in-class direct
renin inhibitor, was in-licensed from Novartis in 1999 and
licensed-back to Novartis Pharma in 2002 for further development and
commercialisation; SPP100 was approved by the FDA in the US in March
2007, and by the EMEA in the EU in August 2007. Our pipeline covers
three different modes of action, and in addition to SPP100, includes
SPP301 in Phase II, SPP200 in Phase II, SPP635 in Phase Il, SPP1148
and SPP676 in Phase I and several pre-clinical projects.
Speedel develops novel product candidates through focused innovation
and smart drug development from lead identification to the end of
Phase II. We either partner with big pharma for Phase III and
commercialisation in primary-care indications, or we may ourselves
complete Phase III development in specialist indications. Candidate
compounds for development and the company's intellectual property
come from our late-stage research unit Speedel Experimenta and from
in-licensing. Our team of approximately 70 employees, including over
30 experienced pharmaceutical scientists, is located at our
headquarters and laboratories in Basel, Switzerland and at offices in
New Jersey, USA and Tokyo, Japan.
In January 2007 the company raised gross proceeds of CHF 55.5 million
(approximately EUR 33.5 million or USD 49 million) through a
convertible bond issue. In March 2006 the company raised gross
proceeds of CHF 83.95 million (approximately EUR 50.7m or USD 74.2m)
through the public offering of 500,000 treasury shares. Previously,
as a private company, we raised gross proceeds of CHF 256.5 million
(approximately EUR 155 million or USD 226.6 million) from private
placements of equity securities and two convertible loans including
the conversion premiums. We have had total revenues, principally from
milestone payments, of CHF 60.8 million (approximately EUR 36.7
million or USD 53.7 million)[2]. The company's shares were listed in
September 2005 on the SWX Swiss Exchange under the symbol SPPN.
Forward looking statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements that involve
substantial risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements
are based on our current expectations and projections about future
events. All statements, other than statements of historical facts,
regarding our strategy, future operations, future financial position,
future revenues, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of
management are forward-looking statements. The word "may" and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements,
although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying
words. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or
expectations described in these forward-looking statements and you
should not place undue reliance on them. There can be no assurance
that actual results of our research and development activities and
our results of operations will not differ materially from these
expectations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from
expectations include, among others: our or our partners' ability to
develop safe and efficacious products; our or our partners' ability
to achieve positive results in clinical trials; our or our partners'
ability to obtain marketing approval and market acceptance for our
product candidates; our ability to enter into future collaboration
and licensing agreements; the impact of competition and technological
change; existing and future regulations affecting our business;
changes in governmental oversight of pharmaceutical product
development; the future scope of our patent coverage or that of third
parties; the effects of any future litigation; general economic and
business conditions, both internationally and within our industry,
including exchange rate variations; and our future financing plans.
-Ends-
[1] Tekturna/Rasilez® are Novartis trademarks
[2] Foreign currency exchange rate as at year end 2007.
For further information please contact
Konrad P. Wirz
CFO. Communications & Investor Relations ad interim
Speedel
Hirschgässlein 11
CH - 4051 Basel
Switzerland
T +41 (0) 61 206 40 00
D +41 (0) 61 206 40 40
F +41 (0) 61 206 40 01
M +41 (0) 79 760 25 44
E konrad.wirz@speedel.com
www.speedel.com
Frank LaSaracina
Managing Director
Speedel Pharmaceuticals Inc
1661 Route 22 West
P.O. Box 6532
Bridgewater, NJ 08807
United States of America
T +1 732 537 2290
F +1 732 537 2292
M +1 908 338 0501
E frank.lasaracina@speedel.com
www.speedel.com
