Novagali appoints Dr Florence Barouki-Binlich vice-president development and medical affairs

New vp brings skills and industry experience to accelerate pharmaceutical development of Novagali's innovative products in ophthalmology and oncology

Evry, France, March 18, 2005 -- Novagali Pharma, a drug delivery specialist using cationic emulsions to address ophthalmic and other applications including oncology, announces today the appointment of Dr Florence Barouki-Binlich as vice president development and medical affairs. She will be responsible for all stages of pharmaceutical development including regulatory affairs, the definition of procedures and fields of investigation, the management of resources and scheduling, devising preclinical and clinical research, finding investigators, and the analysis of results. Dr Barouki-Binlich's appointment is particularly important as Novagali is this year embarking on major preclinical and clinical trial activity, particularly in ophthalmology (cyclosporine formulations) but also in oncology (paclitaxel formulations).

Dr Barouki-Binlich comes to Novagali Pharma after four years at Bayer Pharma (France) where she was head of the company's Therapeutic Group (Medical Affairs Department). At Bayer, she was in charge of clinical programs (national and international trials in various therapeutic areas including cardiovascular, infectious diseases, oncology, urology, biological products, metabolism, central nervous system) as well as having an oncology specialization. Prior to Bayer, Dr Barouki-Binlich was with Fournier Laboratories from 1996 to 2000 as head of the Immunology Clinical Group (Clinical Research Department) and then as head of a Development Unit coordinating the development of an immunosuppressive compound. Earlier positions included from 1991-96 as Senior Clinical Research Physician with Produits Roche where she managed Phase II to III clinical trials in oncology and immunology, from 1988-91 as European Clinical Leader with the Rhone Poulenc-Tanabe Seiyaku joint venture where she was in charge of clinical development of a cardiovascular compound, and from 1987-88 as Clinical Research Physician (Medical Affairs Department) working on phase II to IV clinical trials for cardiovascular products with Pfizer Laboratories France. Dr Barouki-Binlich has a post-doctoral fellowship in clinical pharmacology from the Johns Hopkins Medical School, Baltimore, USA 1983-85, and a Medical Doctorate Thesis (Medical Degree), University of Paris V (1983).

"The arrival of Florence Barouki-Binlich is a key part of Novagali's plan to accelerate its pharma development in 2005 with two major clinical trials already scheduled," said Jérôme Martinez, president and CEO of Novagali Pharma. "Her skills and experience will be essential to successful development."

"Novagali's new technology allows the delivery of drugs with proven therapeutic effects but which hitherto have been difficult or impossible to administer efficiently," said Dr Barouki-Binlich. "Novagali's cationic nano-emulsions will bring a whole new future to these under-used molecules as recent research has shown, especially in ophthalmology. This enormous potential makes me delighted to join the Novagali team."

About Novagali Pharma http://www.novagali.com
Novagali Pharma, Evry, near Paris, develops innovative drug delivery technologies focused on ophthalmology and oncology. Created in 2000, Novagali already has a number of products in Phase I and II clinical trials. These include ophthalmic emulsions to treat dry eye syndrome and orally administered anti-cancer drugs. Since its creation, Novagali Pharma has raised close to EUR18 million from investors including 1.2.3. Multinova, Auriga Partners, CDC Entreprises Innovation, Fonds de co-investissement J.E., Rothschild Investment Partners, Siparex Ventures et Tech_Invest.

The technology is based on cationic nano-emulsions. The originality of this approach lies in creating emulsion droplets with positive charges on their surface (whereas these droplets usually have negative charges). Thanks to this, the positive emulsion droplets are attracted to all biological membranes as the latter are negatively charged. Novagali's nano-emulsion droplets are about 150 nanometers in size and allow the formulation of a wide range of molecules while enhancing their absorption and effectiveness. This technology platform can be applied in many delivery applications, including ocular, oral, injectable and dermatological, and also across a variety of therapeutic areas.

Other developments under way include the treatment of various eye pathologies, such as age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) which is on the increase and can cause blindness.


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