New Chief Executive Officer and Vice President Commercial Operations USA at the Helsinn Group's American subsidiary, Helsinn Therapeutics (U.S.) Inc.

LUGANO, Switzerland, September 9 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of the Helsinn Group's development strategy, William Mann, PhD, has been appointed as new CEO in the American subsidiary, Helsinn Therapeutics (U.S.) Inc. William Mann, PhD, was already Chief Operating Officer of the recently acquired Helsinn Therapeutics, and has held leadership positions in a Swiss multinational with positions in Business Development and in Research.

Moreover, Helsinn announces that Mr. William Brown has been hired as Vice President Commercial Operations USA, to build a Helsinn Therapeutics direct sales structure in the United States. Mr. Brown has experience in multinational groups and in the management of Supportive Care, having previously managed the product Aloxi in MGI Pharma.

Dr. Riccardo Braglia, the Helsinn group's CEO said, "Helsinn wishes to implement a new group growth strategy in the United States, placing more and more importance on the project development and acquisition of new business expertise. The appointments of William Mann and William Brown will allow us to consolidate Helsinn's US business, the projects currently in development in cancer supportive care and in gastrointestinal areas and will lay the foundations for further development in North America also from a commercial point of view."

About Helsinn Group

Helsinn is a privately owned pharmaceutical group with headquarters in Lugano, Switzerland, and subsidiaries in USA and Ireland. Helsinn's unique business model is focused on the licensing of pharmaceuticals and medical devices in therapeutic niche areas. The Group in-licenses early stage new chemical entities, completes their development from the performance of pre-clinical/clinical studies and Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control (CMC) development, to the filing for and attainment of their market approval worldwide.

Helsinn's products are sold directly, through the Group subsidiaries, or eventually out-licensed to its network of local marketing and commercial partners, selected for their deep in-market knowledge and know-how, and assisted and supported with a full range of product and scientific management services, including commercial, regulatory, financial, legal and medical marketing advice.

The active pharmaceutical ingredients and the finished dosage forms are manufactured at Helsinn's cGMP facilities in Switzerland and Ireland, and supplied worldwide to its customers. Helsinn is the worldwide licensor of palonosetron, a second generation 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) and of post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in patients with cancer, and of the original nimesulide, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) distributed in more than 50 countries worldwide.

Helsinn, with a workforce of around 450 employees in Switzerland, Ireland and USA, reported a 2008 turnover of over CHF 280.3 million (about EUR 178 million), covering 75 countries worldwide, with over 20% of this turnover invested in R&D.

For more information about Helsinn Group, please visit the website: http://www.helsinn.com

    Contact person at Helsinn Healthcare SA:
    Paola Bonvicini
    Head of Communication & Press Office
    Tel.: +41-91-985-21-21
    E-Mail: info-hhc@helsinn.com

SOURCE Helsinn Healthcare SA