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November 28, 2002
Dr. Louis R. Lamontagne announces decision to step down.
Dr. Francesco Bellini chosen CEO of Neurochem.
Neurochem Inc. (TSX : NRM) today announced that Dr. Louis R. Lamontagne, President and
CEO, will step down at the next annual general meeting of shareholders to be held December
11, 2002. Dr. Francesco Bellini, presently Chairman of the Board also assumes the position
of CEO. Dr. Lamontagne will remain a member of Neurochem's Board and will become a special
advisor to the Company.
"I have steered Neurochem from the research and development phase to a mature and
diversified product pipeline," said Dr. Lamontagne. "With product candidates in
Phase II and Phase III clinical trials, the Company is now narrowing the gap to
commercialization. As our products move closer to the market, greater emphasis will be put
on this aspect of the business."
"Neurochem's potential for success is in large part due to the remarkable contribution
of Dr. Lamontagne who led the Company from early research to mid and late-stage development
for its three key product candidates and to the strategic positioning of Neurochem for the
next stage of growth," said Dr. Bellini. "The Board of Directors is very grateful
to him and very pleased that he is staying on as a board member and a special
advisor."
Dr. Lamontagne joined Neurochem in 1995, when the Company had 3 full-time employees and
academic researchers at Queen's University. At that time, it was still at an early stage
of research into amyloid-related diseases. During his tenure, the Company grew to 80
highly competent employees and succeeded in raising, through private placements and
Neurochem's Initial Public Offering, over $80 million to finance its innovative research
and drug development programs. Dr. Lamontagne also obtained support from several
governmental agencies including Technology Partnerships Canada for Neurochem's
ground-breaking drug candidate, Alzhemed™, a promising therapeutic approach for the
prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
The Company now has one major product, Fibrillex™ in Phase II/III clinical trials, two
more, Alzhemed™ and Cerebril™ in a Phase II trial and two additional product
candidates at the pre-clinical stage. Fibrillex™ is for the treatment of Secondary
Amyloidosis, a life threatening orphan disease for which no effective treatment exists
and which most often results in kidney failure in the hundreds of thousands of patients
who suffer from it. Alzhemed™ is a new class of disease-modifying drug for the
treatment of Alzheimer's Disease and Cerebril™ is the Company's lead drug candidate
for the treatment of Hemorrhagic Stoke. Neurochem's pipeline of products at the
pre-clinical stage includes one for the treatment of Diabetes Type 2 and a program for the
treatment of recurrent seizures induced by Traumatic Brain Injury.
About Neurochem
Neurochem is an industry leader in the development of therapeutic drugs
for central nervous system (CNS) and amyloid-related diseases associated with aging. The
Company has to date advanced three drug candidates to clinical trials: Fibrillex™, for
the life-threatening orphan disease, secondary amyloidosis in a pivotal Phase II/III clinical
trial, Alzhemed™, for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease advancing to Phase II clinical
trials, and Cerebril™, for hemorrhagic stroke also advancing to Phase II clinical
trials. The Company has built a strong product pipeline by developing a novel, proprietary
series of compounds that inhibit the formation, deposition and toxic effects of amyloid
fibrils within the body. Neurochem's overall therapeutic programs target CNS disorders
including Alzheimer's disease, epileptic seizures caused by head trauma or acute brain
injury, and hemorrhagic stroke (due to cerebral amyloid angiopathy), and other
life-threatening diseases including systemic amyloidosis and amyloid-associated diabetes
type 2. (www.neurochem.com).
All of the statements contained in this news release, other than statements of fact which
are independently verifiable at the date hereof, are forward-looking statements. Such
statements, based as they are on the current expectations of management, inherently involve
numerous risks and uncertainties, known and unknown. Some examples of known risks are: the
impact of general economic conditions, general conditions in the pharmaceutical industry, changes
in the regulatory environment in the jurisdictions in which Neurochem does business, stock
market volatility, fluctuations in costs, and changes to the competitive environment due to
consolidation or otherwise. Consequently, actual future results may differ materially from
the anticipated results expressed in the forward-looking statements.
For further Information, please contact:
Dr. Lise Hébert
Vice President, Corporate Communications
lhebert@neurochem.com
275 Armand-Frappier
Laval (Quebec)
H7V 4A7
Tel: (450) 680-4500
Fax: (450) 680-4501
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