Shire Strengthens Specialty Pharmaceuticals Team With Senior R&D Appointments

NYON, Switzerland and PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Shire plc (LSE: SHP, Nasdaq: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced the appointment of two senior Research & Development executives to its Specialty Pharmaceuticals business. Lawson Macartney, DVM, PhD, FRCPath, has been appointed Senior Vice President of the Emerging Business Unit and Mario Saltarelli, MD, PhD, has been named Senior Vice President of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs.

"The experience and expertise that Drs. Macartney and Saltarelli bring to the Shire team will help us advance our pipeline, more effectively manage the lifecycle of our medicines, and provide growth opportunities – all in the spirit of helping patients with life-altering conditions to lead better lives," said Jeffrey M. Jonas, MD, Senior Vice President of Research & Development for Shire's Specialty Pharmaceuticals business and to whom Drs. Macartney and Saltarelli will report.

As leader of Shire's Emerging Business Unit, Dr. Macartney is responsible for the early pipeline and development efforts of Shire's Specialty Pharmaceuticals business, which is centered on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and gastrointestinal diseases.  Based initially in Shire's Wayne, PA office and transitioning to Shire's Nyon, Switzerland office, Dr. Macartney will direct the Research & Development evaluation of new product opportunities and explore new therapeutic areas for Shire's Specialty Pharmaceuticals business.

Dr. Macartney brings to Shire a wealth of global drug development and commercialization experience.  He spent nearly 20 years working with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) where he most recently served as Senior Vice President of Global Product Strategy and Project/Portfolio Management. Throughout his time at GSK, Dr. Macartney held leadership roles in the Cardiopulmonary Therapeutic Area, from Project Leader to Global Head for Cardiovascular, Metabolic and Urology. Prior to his experience at GSK, he worked at AstraMerck and Astra Pharmaceuticals in leadership roles in operations, marketing and customer service. Dr. Macartney is trained as a veterinarian and received his Ph.D. from Glasgow University Veterinary School in Scotland where he was a Royal Society Research Fellow.

In his role as Senior Vice President of Clinical Development & Medical Affairs for Shire's Specialty Pharmaceuticals business, Dr. Saltarelli will be based in Shire's Wayne, PA offices and provide overall scientific and professional leadership as well as clinical and medical strategies for Shire's global drug development programs.

Dr. Saltarelli's diverse background spans nearly two decades across medical science, clinical drug development, and the scientific and regulatory aspects of clinical program design. He joins Shire from Abbott Laboratories where he served as the Divisional Vice President directly accountable for all aspects of clinical development, medical affairs, and development strategy for Global Neuroscience and Anesthesia products. Prior to that, Dr. Saltarelli spent seven years at Pfizer Global Research and Development in Connecticut, ultimately as Executive Director of the CNS Early Clinical Development Group, and he served for four years as an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Saltarelli earned a BS in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an MD in Medicine and a PhD in Neuropharmacology from The Johns Hopkins University.  Dr. Saltarelli was an intern at the University of Maryland Medical Center and spent his Neurology residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Notes to editors

SHIRE PLC

Shire's strategic goal is to become the leading specialty biopharmaceutical company that focuses on meeting the needs of the specialist physician.  Shire focuses its business on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), human genetic therapies (HGT) and gastrointestinal (GI) diseases as well as opportunities in other therapeutic areas to the extent they arise through acquisitions.  Shire's in-licensing, merger and acquisition efforts are focused on products in specialist markets with strong intellectual property protection and global rights.  Shire believes that a carefully selected and balanced portfolio of products with strategically aligned and relatively small-scale sales forces will deliver strong results.

For further information on Shire, please visit the Company's website: www.shire.com.

"SAFE HARBOR" STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995

Statements included herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time. In the event such risks or uncertainties materialize, the Company's results could be materially adversely affected. The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks associated with: the inherent uncertainty of research, development, approval, reimbursement, manufacturing and commercialization of the Company's Specialty Pharmaceutical and Human Genetic Therapies products, as well as the ability to secure and integrate new products for commercialization and/or development; government regulation of the Company's products; the Company's ability to manufacture its products in sufficient quantities to meet demand; the impact of competitive therapies on the Company's products; the Company's ability to register, maintain and enforce patents and other intellectual property rights relating to its products; the Company's ability to obtain and maintain government and other third-party reimbursement for its products; and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Shire plc