Message #21 From:
NewsBot Date: December 7, 2006 03:30:00 AM
XKEM News Xechem CEO Dr. Ramesh Pandey Wins the MarketWatch Readers' Choice 2006 CEO of the Year Award
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Chairman and CEO of Xechem International, Inc. (OTC BB: XKEM),
Dr. Ramesh Pandey, was named Marketwatch Readers’
Choice 2006 CEO of the year, just ahead of Steve Jobs of Apple Computer,
with Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway a close third.
Xechem International had a watershed year in 2006. In July, Xechem
successfully launched NICOSAN™, its
breakthrough drug for the prophylactic management of Sickle Cell Disease
in Nigeria. Nigeria has the highest incidence of Sickle Cell Disease in
the world, with approximately 4 million people affected. The drug was
approved by Nigerian drug regulatory authority NAFDAC, on July 3rd,
2006, and was launched just a few days later at a ceremony in Abuja,
Nigeria presided over by His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the
President of Nigeria. NICOSAN™ is currently
being sold in Nigeria. Xechem is conducting the necessary studies for
the submission of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the
FDA to start Clinical Trials in the USA and Europe in 2007. The year
also witnessed the ground-breaking for what will be Xechem’s
state-of-the-art FDA/cGMP-compliant factory in Abuja for the full
commercial scale production of NICOSAN™. The
facility is scheduled to be operational in 2007.
Dr. Pandey commented, “While I am honored to
have won the MarketWatch Readers’ Choice 2006
CEO of the Year Award, particularly given the impressive group of
accomplished and renowned executives named as finalists for this award,
what is really motivating me is how close Xechem International is to
making a crucial health difference to millions of sufferers of Sickle
Cell Disease, first in Nigeria, and eventually throughout the world. We
have made enormous progress toward this goal in 2006, and I want to
personally thank MarketWatch’s readers for
recognizing my efforts by honoring me with this prestigious award. I
would also like to thank each and every shareholder for their votes,
support and confidence in me.”
About NICOSAN™
NICOSAN™ is an anti-sickling drug developed
by Nigerian scientists at the National Institute for Pharmaceutical
Research and Development (NIPRD). In clinical studies conducted under
NIPRD’s auspices, the drug has shown to
substantially reduce the degree of sickling of the red blood cells of
those afflicted with the disease. While not a cure, the clinical trials
have confirmed that the large majority of patients taking NICOSAN™
no longer experience sickle cell “crises”
while on the medication, and even among those whose crises are not
eliminated, the number and severity of the crises are substantially
reduced.
About Xechem
Xechem International is a development stage biopharmaceutical company
working on Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), antidiabetic, antimalarial,
antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer and antiviral (including AIDS)
products from natural sources, including microbial and marine organisms.
Its focus is on the development of phyto-pharmaceuticals (Natural Herbal
Drugs) and other proprietary technologies, including those used in the
treatment of orphan diseases. Xechem’s
mission is to bring relief to the millions of people who suffer from
these diseases. Its recent focus and resources have been directed
primarily toward the development and launch of NICOSAN™
(to be marketed as HEMOXIN™ in the US and
Europe). With the Nigerian regulatory approval now in hand, Xechem is
now working on the commercialization of the drug in Nigeria and the
pursuit of US FDA and European regulatory approval. In addition to
NICOSAN™, Xechem is also working on another
sickle cell compound, 5-HMF, which it has licensed from Virginia
Commonwealth University (VCU).
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward looking statements within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,
which are intended to be covered by safe harbors created hereby.Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties.
