Raptor Pharmaceutical Hires Patrick Reichenberger To Lead Commercial Development Of DR Cysteamine For Nephropathic Cystinosis

NOVATO, Calif., Jan. 10, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp. ("Raptor" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:RPTP) announced today the appointment of Patrick Reichenberger to the newly created position of Vice President, Commercial Operations. Additionally, Raptor has engaged Cambrex Corporation (NYSE:CMB) for the manufacturing of the active pharmaceutical ingredient ("API"), cysteamine bitartrate, and Patheon, Inc. (TSX:PTI) to produce the commercial product, DR Cysteamine.

A 20-year industry veteran with significant expertise in commercial operations and product-launch management, Mr. Reichenberger will lead the development and management of Raptor's sales and marketing efforts along with its commercial manufacturing, supply and distribution programs. Prior to joining Raptor, Mr. Reichenberger served as Senior Director of Commercial Development at XOMA, LLC. In this role, he led XOMA's commercial development department with particular emphasis on XOMA 052, an anti-IL1 antibody for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and Behcet's Uveits, an orphan disease.

Prior to XOMA, Mr. Reichenberger was in charge of marketing, sales and distribution at Questcor Pharmaceuticals where he developed patient access and reimbursement programs supporting the successful commercial re-launch of H.P. Acthar ^® Gel for the treatment of infantile spasms, an ultra-orphan, pediatric disease. Prior to Questcor, he led commercial and strategic marketing for brands at Genentech, Athena Neurosciences, and Parke-Davis, where he assisted in the launch of Lipitor ^®.

 "The addition of Patrick is particularly appropriate at this time as we work towards a potential commercial launch of DR Cysteamine for nephropathic cystinosis in 2012. His hands-on commercial development expertise will be central to our efforts to build the necessary commercial infrastructure and capability for the near term and as the Company grows in later years." stated Christopher M. Starr, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Raptor.

Mr. Reichenberger stated "My experience in building commercial infrastructures around orphan therapeutics, especially Acthar ^® Gel, is particularly applicable to Raptor's nephropathic cystinosis program. I am encouraged by the enthusiastic patient and foundation support for Raptor's DR Cysteamine program, and I look forward to working to create a sound patient access program ready for commercial launch.  While developing and implementing such a program for nephropathic cystinosis is my top priority at Raptor, I am also very excited about the entire Raptor pipeline. I am impressed with the commercial opportunities at Raptor with a near term program in an orphan indication for nephropathic cystinosis and mid-stage programs in other indications, including Huntington's Disease and NASH. I'm pleased to have the opportunity to use all of my capabilities, from long-term strategic planning to practical marketing and sales, in this position."

Ted Daley, President of Raptor stated "We are very pleased to welcome Patrick to lead our commercial efforts. The addition of Patrick to our leadership team, along with our recently established long-term manufacturing agreements with Cambrex and Patheon, are significant milestones in the continued advancement of our DR Cysteamine programs. Both Cambrex and Patheon have significant expertise working with cysteamine bitartrate.  Cambrex has provided us with cysteamine bitartrate for all our clinical studies and, for over 10 years, has been one of the few API manufacturers worldwide that is capable of providing a commercial source of pharmaceutical-grade cysteamine bitartrate. Patheon developed Raptor's DR Cysteamine microbead formulation and currently manufactures our clinical drug supply. We look forward to employing their combined expertise and capabilities in our commercial manufacturer."  

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