Exhibit 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NASTECH ACQUIRES ATOSSA HEALTHCARE
TO EXPAND NASAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
DR. STEVEN QUAY, OF ATOSSA, NAMED
CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF NASTECH-
Hauppauge, New York, August 9, 2000 - Nastech Pharmaceutical Company, Inc.
(Nasdaq: NSTK), today announced that the Company has acquired privately held
Atossa Healthcare, Inc. The acquisition is a strategic move designed to solidify
Nastech's position as a leader in the development of therapeutics that are
administered nasally. The merger also enables the Company to develop new
capabilities in the area of women's health beginning with the further
development of Atossa's lead breast cancer diagnostic product. Financial terms
of the agreement were not disclosed.
Nastech also announced today that under the terms of the agreement Steven C.
Quay, M.D., Ph.D., the founder of Atossa Healthcare, will join the Company as
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.
"We are excited about the acquisition of Atossa because it provides Nastech with
a tremendous leverage opportunity and synergy within our core competency," said
Devin Wenig, director and member of Nastech's Executive Committee. "This
opportunity is exemplified by Atossa's breast cancer risk assessment test, and
Nastech's key programs in pain management and sexual dysfunction - all of which
rely on nasal delivery. We are also delighted to welcome Steven Quay at this
exciting time for Nastech. His proven expertise and leadership will enable us to
accelerate our clinical programs and commercialize our products."
"I am truly pleased about the opportunity to join Nastech and to help the
company solidify its position in the nasal drug delivery arena," said Dr. Quay.
"The ability to combine the strengths of Nastech and Atossa and to use those
strengths to build a portfolio of safe, efficacious and fast-acting nasally
administered pharmaceuticals, including small molecules, peptides and
macromolecules, is a challenge I am eager to undertake."
Atossa, based in Washington State, is focused on the development of a
proprietary platform of diagnostics and treatments related to breast cancer risk
assessment and therapeutics and other women's health care products. The
Company's lead product is a diagnostic test currently being evaluated for its
ability to identify patients who are at high risk for breast cancer.
Key strengths of the combined company include:
o One of Nastech's two commercially available, FDA-approved products,
Stadol NS(R) (butorphanol tartrate) - a pharmaceutical to treat
moderate to severe pain, including migraine headache pain - is
marketed in the United States by Bristol Meyers Squibb. Nastech
receives royalties on sales. The company recently began a clinical
development program on a new, faster-acting formulation of
butorphanol tartrate.
o Nastech's other FDA-approved product, Nascobal, is indicated for the
treatment of pernicious anemia and other vitamin B-12 deficiencies,
including during treatment for cancer. Schwarz Pharma Inc. markets
Nascobal in the United States, and Nastech is paid to manufacture
Nascobal and also receives royalties on sales. Nascobal is awaiting
market approval in Europe.
o Nastech's product portfolio encompasses several exciting therapeutic
areas, including pain management, sexual dysfunction and motion
sickness. Products in development include intranasal scopolamine for
motion sickness (Phase III), intranasal apomorphine for male sexual
dysfunction (Phase II), intranasal morphine for the treatment of
moderate to severe pain, including breakthrough pain (Phase II), and
intranasal butorphanol for the treatment of acute migraine pain
(Phase II). Atossa's breast cancer product brings Nastech into the
women's health market.
o The company has state-of-the-art research laboratories and an
FDA-approved manufacturing facility, allowing rapid development
timelines.
About Dr. Steven Quay
Dr. Quay, a distinguished scientist and business leader, has founded two
pharmaceutical companies, holds more than 40 patents, is a member of a broad
range of scientific and business associations and has published more than 100
papers in diagnostic imaging, oncology, protein chemistry and genetics.
In 1991, Dr. Quay founded SONUS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop ultrasound
agents based on his inventions. EchoGen(R), SONUS first product, is approved for
sale in Europe and awaits FDA approval. In 1984, Dr. Quay founded Salutar Inc.
to develop magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents and was awarded 24
patents covering MRI technology. There, he launched the pharmaceuticals
OmniScan(R) and TeslaScan(R) which are approved for use in the United States,
Europe and Japan. Dr. Quay has been successful in raising more than $100 million
in public and private transactions.
Dr. Quay has served on the faculty of Stanford University School of Medicine and
as the industrial representative to the Food & Drug Administration Advisory
Panel for Radiological Products. He holds an M.D., M.A. and Ph.D. from the
University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. Quay completed post-graduate research
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received his residency training
at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
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This press release may contain forward-looking statements that reflect the
Company's intentions, expectations or beliefs concerning future events,
including, but not limited to, expectations with respect to FDA approval of new
products, technology and product development milestones, the ability of the
Company to leverage its product development and negotiate favorable
collaborative agreements, the commencement of sales and the sufficiency of the
Company's cash flow for future liquidity and capital resource needs. The
forward-looking statements are qualified by important factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking
statements. In addition, significant fluctuations in quarterly results may occur
as a result of varying milestone payments and the timing of costs and expenses
related to the Company's research and development program.