PQS Phoqus

RNS Number:7680H
Phoqus Pharmaceuticals PLC
15 November 2007


  Phoqus Pharmaceuticals Appoints Michel Grandjean as Chief Operating Officer

West Malling, UK, 15 November 2007: Phoqus Pharmaceuticals plc (AIM: PQS) 
("Phoqus Pharmaceuticals" or "the Company"), the speciality pharmaceutical
company, announces it has appointed Michel Grandjean to the new position of
Chief Operating Officer, effective 1 January 2008.

Mr Grandjean's appointment completes the strengthening of the Company's senior
management team outlined during the fundraising in July 2007 in which the
Company raised #5 million to progress the in-house development of 
Chronocort(TM).  As Chief Operating Officer, Mr Grandjean will be responsible 
for leading the manufacturing and supply chain operations at Phoqus 
Pharmaceuticals, including the commercial manufacture of Chronocort(TM) in 
preparation for its launch planned at the end of 2009/early 2010, subject to 
regulatory approval.

Mr Grandjean holds a degree in electromechanical engineering from ECAM Bruxelles
and has 30 years' experience in the international pharmaceutical industry.  He
has a proven track record establishing and managing manufacturing organisations,
controlling the supply chain, reducing costs, gaining regulatory approval,
problem solving and project management.  Mr Grandjean joins Phoqus
Pharmaceuticals from Patheon, Inc. ("Patheon"), a Toronto Stock Exchange-listed
international contract pharmaceutical manufacturer, where he is currently
Director of Strategic and Continuous Improvement for the three Patheon sites in
Puerto Rico, in charge of business operational excellence since 2006. Prior to
this, he was European Purchasing Director for Patheon and has held site director
positions at Patheon and Hoechst Marion Roussel in the UK and Belgium, supplying
global markets in highly complex environments.  He has also led engineering,
supply chain and production teams.

Phoqus Pharmaceuticals' CEO, Dr Richard Mason, commented:

"The Board is delighted to have attracted such an experienced professional to
this key newly created position of Chief Operating Officer.  Michel's proven
track record in designing and managing international manufacturing capabilities
and supply chains will be critical to the success of Phoqus Pharmaceuticals as
we move towards the pivotal trial programme of our lead product, Chronocort."

Enquiries:

Phoqus Pharmaceuticals plc                             Tel: 01732 870227
Dr Richard Mason, CEO
Dr Peter Johnson, CFO

Financial Dynamics                                     Tel: 020 7831 3113
David Yates/Sue Quigley

Nomura Code Securities                                 Tel: 020 7776 1200
Juliet Thompson/Phil Walker



Notes to Editors

About Chronocort(TM)

Chronocort(TM) is the first circadian endocrine treatment for congenital adrenal
hyperplasia ("CAH") and adrenal insufficiency ("AI").  Chronocort(TM) uses 
Phoqus' proprietary Qtrol(TM) modified release technology to provide a
delayed-and-sustained release profile of hydrocortisone to mimic the natural
over-night and early morning hormone levels found in healthy individuals that
are considered important in controlling both actual disease symptoms and also
reducing unwanted side effects resulting from excess steroid treatment.

Phoqus appointed a medical advisory board at the beginning of 2007 comprising
leading endocrinologists from Europe and the USA to assist the Company in the
design of the clinical development programmes able to demonstrate patient
benefits and clinical superiority of Chronocort(TM) over existing therapies for
both CAH and AI.

Some of the underlying intellectual property supporting the Chronocort(TM) 
product is licensed from Diurnal Limited, a spin-out from the University of 
Sheffield financed by Biofusion plc.  Phoqus and Diurnal collaborate on certain 
aspects of Chronocort(TM)'s development.


About Phoqus Pharmaceuticals

Phoqus Pharmaceuticals is a speciality pharmaceutical company that develops
differentiated products for use in high value, specialist indications. It seeks
to accelerate the rate and lower the risk of new drug development by applying
its novel re-formulation expertise and drug delivery technologies to finding new
indications for known, approved drugs. This avoids the high failure rate
typically associated with new chemical entities (NCEs) which often founder due
to safety issues encountered early in development.

The company's lead product is Chronocort(TM) for the treatment of patients with
cortisol deficiency due to diseases such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia and
Addison's Disease. It is differentiated from existing therapies because it is
designed to release steroid in a pattern that mirrors a healthy subject. At
present Chronocort(TM) is scheduled to reach the market in 2009/10.

Phoqus Pharmaceuticals aims to in-license product development opportunities from
academia and university spin-out companies. By collaborating with these groups
the company will access fundamental biological and clinical insights into
existing drug action and apply this knowledge to develop new indications for
those drugs. The company aims to capitalise on accelerated regulatory pathways
such as the priority review process to further fast track products to market.

Further background on the Company can be found at  www.phoqus.com.




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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