Avid Radiopharmaceuticals Expands Management Team to Support Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease Imaging Programs

PHILADELPHIA-(Business Wire)-September 9, 2009 - Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the appointment of Christopher J. Bunting as the company’s Vice President, Marketing and Sales. In this role, Mr. Bunting will be responsible for the commercialization of ¹⁸F-AV-45 (AV-45), the most advanced F-18 compound in development for imaging amyloid plaque in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

“We are excited to begin planning the commercialization of our lead compound, AV-45,” said Daniel M. Skovronsky, MD, PhD, Avid’s President and CEO. “With our continued growth and the addition of Chris to our team, we are in a position to advance the company through Phase III development and eventual commercialization of our products. Chris is an accomplished global marketer whose extensive experience augments our executive management team. We look forward to Chris taking the lead on the development of our commercial operations.”

Mr. Bunting brings more than 20 years of marketing and sales experience to Avid, having most recently served as Global Brand Director for Neurology at General Electric Healthcare, based in the UK. Prior to his work with GE, Mr. Bunting led commercialization efforts, both globally and regionally, at several pharmaceutical companies, including GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca. He led the launch of several novel therapeutics and neuro-imaging agents, including a treatment for endometriosis, a hormone replacement therapy and a diagnostic agent for dementia and movement disorders. In his new position with Avid, Mr. Bunting will report directly to Dr. Skovronsky.

“Avid is an organization committed to changing the way chronic diseases are diagnosed and managed,” said Mr. Bunting. “The team at Avid is focused on addressing areas of significant unmet medical needs and has made great strides in making pre-symptomatic disease detection a reality. I am very excited to join this organization and am looking forward to working with this dedicated management team to dramatically alter the clinical course of neurodegenerative diseases through earlier detection and treatment, which is possible using the molecular imaging probes which Avid now has under development.”

Avid is a leading company in the development of novel molecular imaging compounds intended for the early detection and monitoring of significant chronic human diseases. Avid’s AV-45 was the first amyloid imaging compound to enter multi-center, IND-approved, clinical studies in the U.S., and has now been studied in more than 400 individuals, ranging from cognitively normal individuals to those with Alzheimer’s disease. AV-45 entered a pivotal registration study earlier this year using a unique trial design that was based upon recommendations by the FDA neurology advisory committee in October 2008.

Avid’s second program, ¹⁸F-AV-133 (AV-133) PET imaging of the vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) in patients with suspected dopaminergic degeneration, is currently in Phase II clinical trials. The first set of clinical studies has demonstrated the ability of AV-133 PET imaging to visualize decreases in the VMAT2 signal in the brain associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). A recent FDA neurology advisory committee recommended approval of Ioflupane I-123, a SPECT radiopharmaceutical for imaging dopaminergic degeneration. AV-133 will utilize the higher resolution PET imaging technique, can be imaged within one hour of injection, and will not require administration of a blocking agent to prevent radioactive iodine uptake by the thyroid.

AV-133 has also been shown to be a marker for beta cells of the pancreas in preclinical studies. The compound is now in Phase I studies to test the ability of this molecular imaging agent to distinguish type 1 and type 2 diabetes subjects from healthy normal individuals based on a PET scan of the pancreas.

About Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc.

Avid Radiopharmaceuticals is a leader in the development of molecular imaging products with the potential for earlier and more effective detection, diagnosis and monitoring of major chronic human diseases. Based in Philadelphia, PA, the company is a pioneer in the development of molecular imaging agents for Alzheimer’s disease that could lead to earlier diagnosis and better evaluation of drugs designed to prevent or reverse amyloid plaque build-up in the brain. Avid is currently conducting Phase III clinical studies of ¹⁸F-AV-45 for imaging amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s disease, and is in Phase I and II trials with ¹⁸F-AV-133 for imaging the vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT2) in diseases involving dopaminergic degeneration (Parkinson’s disease and Dementia with Lewy Bodies) and beta cell dysfunction (Type I and Type II Diabetes Mellitus). More information about Avid is available at www.avidrp.com.

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