08/13/2007
Sapphire Therapeutics Announces Promotions and New Appointment to Management Team

BRIDGEWATER, New Jersey (August 9, 2007): Sapphire Therapeutics, Inc., a private biopharmaceutical company that develops compounds acting within the ghrelin pathway as treatments for metabolic, oncologic, and gastrointestinal diseases, today announced two management promotions and a new appointment that reinforce the company’s team of pharmaceutical development experts who are advancing development of the company’s growing therapeutic pipeline.

Eleanor de Groot, PhD, has been promoted to vice president of technical operations, with increased responsibility for all drug product development and manufacturing activities. Dr de Groot joined Sapphire in 2002. Her previous experience includes process engineering, pharmaceutical and chemical development at Guilford Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (now MGI Pharma). There she managed API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) manufacturing processes as well as production of controlled-release and oral dosage forms for anti-cancer and neurological drugs. She was an associate research engineer at Shell Chemical Company, providing expertise for the development and commercial production of elastomers. She earned a PhD in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University, and a BS in chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Brenda Marczi, PharmD, MBA, has joined Sapphire Therapeutics as vice president regulatory affairs. Her 20 years of experience in regulatory affairs includes positions at both small and large pharmaceutical companies. Most recently, she was senior director, regulatory affairs, at Unigene Laboratories, Inc, with responsibility for regulatory, pharmacovigilance and clinical research functions. She headed the post-merger regulatory integration of Anaquest/ESI/Wyeth with Baxter Healthcare Corporation, building on her prior experience managing and preparing global NDA (new drug application) submissions for Berlex, Inc., Anaquest Corporation and Schering-Plough Corporation. Dr Marczi earned her PharmD at the University of Maryland at Baltimore, her MBA at the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton, and an MS in pharmaceutical sciences as well as a BS in pharmacy at Rutgers University, College of Pharmacy.

Richard V. Nelson, PhD, has been promoted to vice president of project planning and management, with continuing responsibility for clinical development projects at Sapphire. When he joined Sapphire in 2005, he brought 17 years of experience in pharmaceutical program development and project management including Sandoz (now Novartis), Knoll (now Abbott) and Sanofi-Aventis where he had primary responsibility for the project management of alliance projects inclusive of the development program for inhaled insulin (Exubera®) with Pfizer. Dr Nelson began his career as a research chemist at ICI before moving into project management and drug development. His training was as a synthetic organic chemist, receiving a BSc degree from Penn State University, a PhD from Purdue University, and performing postdoctoral research at Yale University.

“I am delighted to welcome Brenda to Sapphire; her wide-ranging pharma and biotech regulatory experience will be key as we advance our pipeline towards regulatory filings,” said William J Polvino, president and CEO of Sapphire. “I’m equally delighted to congratulate Ellee and Richard on their well-deserved promotions. Ellee’s leadership of our manufacturing function has played an important role in our success to date; in her new role she will bring similar leadership to all aspects of technical operations. Richard has successfully applied his extensive experience in global pharmaceutical development to, among others, our gastrointestinal motility programs.”

About Sapphire Therapeutics
Sapphire is a private biopharmaceutical company that develops promising small-molecule ghrelin mimetics to treat metabolic, oncologic, and gastrointestinal diseases for which existing therapies are limited or marginally effective. The company’s pipeline consists of first-in-class, composition-of-matter protected compounds acting within the ghrelin pathway. For more information, please visit Sapphire Therapeutics web site at www.sapphirethera.com.

Contacts:
William Polvino
President & CEO
Sapphire Therapeutics, Inc.
(908) 203-6545

Ellen M Martin
Kureczka/Martin Associates
(510) 832-2044
emm4@pacbell.net

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