05/2004 Press Release

BIOALLIANCE PHARMA NAMES RICHARD KEATINGE TO NEW POSITION AS VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Company Continues Efforts to Strengthen Management Tea

Paris – 10 May 2004 – BioAlliance Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the field of drug resistance, today announced that Richard Keatinge, Ph.D., has joined BioAlliance as Vice President of Business Development. Dr. Keatinge brings more than 20 years of experience in the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry to BioAlliance, according to Dominique Costantini, MD, President and CEO of BioAlliance. 

In March, the company announced other senior appointments in regulatory and pharmaceutical affairs, clinical research, and business unit directors in the areas of nanotechnology and adhesive technology.

“We are very pleased to have Dr. Keatinge join BioAlliance,” said Dr. Costantini.  “With his comprehensive business development expertise, including extensive knowledge of partnering opportunities in Europe, the United States, and Asia, we have strengthened the business aspects of the company and infused our partnering efforts with a seasoned international business executive.”

Dr. Keatinge will join company co-founders Dr. Costantini and Dr. Gilles Avenard, Chief Operating Officer, on the Board of Directors of the company, reporting to the Supervisory Board.  His responsibilities will include worldwide business development activities, commercial partnerships, technology transfer agreements and corporate communications.

Prior to joining BioAlliance, Dr. Keatinge was Vice President of Corporate Development at FeRx Incorporated, a targeted drug delivery company. Previously, he was Vice President, Business Development at Digital Gene Technologies, Inc.  For 8 years previously he was President of Keatinge & Associates, Inc., a biotechnology consulting firm serving clients throughout the western United States.  Earlier in his career, he held positions as Vice President and Director, Technology Division at The Gable Group, Director of Corporate Communications at ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and taught on the faculty of Columbia University in New York.  Dr. Keatinge is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from Harvard University.

About BioAlliance Pharma

BioAlliance Pharma is a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapeutics and predictive assays in the field of drug resistance, targeting cancer and infectious diseases, including in particular HIV. The Company has a balanced portfolio of products and proprietary technologies in various stages of development, from preclinical research to a product approved for marketing. To supply this pipeline of products, BioAlliance maintains a unique network of alliances with leading academic investigators from French research institutions, including Le Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), L'Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) and the Institut Pasteur, among others.

To exploit the opportunities represented by the BioAlliance pipeline, the company emphasizes four areas of product development:

Predictive Assays, with a HIV drug resistance test, Phenoscriptä, currently marketed through distribution partnerships in the US and Europe;

Adhesive Technology, with a lead product represented by Miconazole-Lauriadä, a once-a-day buccal bio-adhesive tablet developed to provide improved therapy for treatment of candidiasis in cancer and HIV patients receiving chemotherapy or immuno-suppressive drugs, currently in Phase III clinical trials in France in HIV patients with candidiasis;

Nanotechnology, focused on a portfolio of products including the Transdrugä program with an initial product, Doxorubicin-Transdrug, in a Phase I/II trial being conducted at clinical sites in France for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Doxorubicin-Transdrug consists of a polymer used to entrap doxorubicin administered by the intra-arterial route to treat primary liver cancer. HCC is a known resistant cancer without an approved therapy. Additional studies using this delivery nanotechnology are planned for treatment of liver metastasis and refractory solid tumors by the IV route;

New Chemical Entities, focused on resistance issues in HIV and cancer that could benefit from intra-cellular targeting, including an anti-HIV integrase inhibitor and cancer drugs covered by 20 exclusive patents and licenses.