LA JOLLA PHARMACEUTICAL ADDS VICE PRESIDENT OF MANUFACTURING

SAN DIEGO, January 22, 2002 -- La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company (Nasdaq: LJPC) announced today that it has appointed Bruce Bennett to the position of Vice President of Manufacturing in preparation for the commercialization of LJP 394, which is a drug candidate for lupus renal disease currently being evaluated in a Phase III clinical trial. Mr. Bennett will be responsible for production, quality control, materials and other activities related to LJP 394. Paul Jenn, Ph.D., formerly Vice President of Operations, will become Vice President of Product Development and be responsible for the pilot plant, process development, analytical development and process engineering.

"We are pleased to welcome Bruce to our management team. His arrival represents an important milestone in LJP's growth and his 20 years of manufacturing experience will contribute significantly as we plan for the commercialization of LJP 394," said Steven B. Engle, Chairman and CEO. "Our thanks go to Paul Jenn who with his talented team has created this opportunity and who will continue to drive the development of new products."

Mr. Bennett has over 20 years of operations experience in plants of more than 1,000 employees making therapeutic compounds, medical devices and other products. Most recently, he was Vice President Operations at Provasis Therapeutics, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of liquid embolics for the treatment of vascular diseases. Prior to Provasis, he has been Vice President of Operations for Via Medical, Cygnus Therapeutic Systems and Sulzer Intermedics. Previously he had manufacturing responsibility at Kendall's Respiratory Care division and at American Hospital Supplies' McGaw Laboratories. Mr. Bennett holds an MBA from Pepperdine University and a BS in Industrial Technology from California State University, Long Beach.

La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company is a biotechnology company leading the development of therapeutics for antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases afflicting several million people in the United States and Europe. The Company is conducting a Phase III trial of LJP 394 in patients with lupus kidney disease, a leading cause of sickness and death in these patients. The Company is also conducting a Phase I/II trial of LJP 1082 for the treatment of antibody-mediated thrombosis, a condition in which patients suffer from recurrent stroke, deep-vein thrombosis and other thrombotic events. The Company's common stock is traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol LJPC. Patients interested in the Phase III lupus trial may call 1-888-30-LUPUS for information.

Except for historical statements, this press release contains forward-looking statements, including, without limitation statements regarding the analysis of results from preclinical and clinical studies as well as La Jolla Pharmaceutical's drug candidates and drug development plans. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and a number of factors, both foreseen and unforeseen, could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Previously announced clinical results for LJP 394 are derived from a trial that was terminated prior to completion, and certain data are incomplete. The Company's blood test to measure binding affinity for LJP 394 is experimental and has not been validated by independent laboratories. Tolerance, or the specific inactivation of pathogenic B cells, is a new technology that has not been proven. The Company's ability to develop and sell its products in the future may be affected by the intellectual property rights of third parties. Future clinical trials of the Company's drug candidates may have negative or inconclusive results. Future clinical trials of the Company's drug candidates may not support results of preclinical or other prior trials and pre IND studies of the Company's new candidate for treating antibody-mediated thrombosis may reveal a potential safety issue requiring the development of a new candidate. Any delays in testing of the Company's drug candidates and/or termination of development by the Company would result in delays or lack of government approval to market the compound. The development of drug candidates involves many risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, whether the drug can provide a meaningful clinical benefit, and any positive results observed to date may not be indicative of future results. La Jolla Pharmaceutical's other potential drug candidates involve comparable risks. Interested parties are urged to review the risks detailed from time to time in La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including the report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000.

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