Arpida Ltd. (SWX: ARPN) today announced that Dr Jürgen Raths will succeed Dr Khalid Islam as Chief Executive Officer. Dr Jürgen Raths commands extensive knowledge in the commercialisation of drugs for the treatment of severe infections in hospitals and has successfully built and lead the European Critical Care sales, medical and marketing organisation of Eli Lilly and Company for many years.
At the Annual General Meeting of 7 May, the Board of Directors will propose to appoint Dr Khalid Islam to the Board of Directors of Arpida Ltd. Dr Islam will work closely with Dr Raths for a seamless transition and will continue thereafter as a consultant for the coming years. As a result, his experience and expertise in the anti-infective area and his thorough knowledge of Arpida s programmes will continue to be available to the company. Dr Raths, a member of the Arpida board since 2006, will assume his responsibilities as CEO on 1 May 2008 focusing during the first two months on deepening his knowledge of the company and getting to know Arpida s shareholders and business partners.
Dr André Lamotte, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Arpida Ltd., commented: "Arpida s Board, employees, shareholders and business partners owe a lot to Khalid Islam. His outstanding leadership, unwavering energy and deep knowledge have been crucial for Arpida s progress over the past nine years. On behalf of Arpida s Board and staff, I would like to thank Khalid for his vital contributions. I am very pleased that he will continue to serve Arpida both in his function as a board member as well as in his active advisory role going forward. I am particularly delighted and convinced that Jürgen Raths extensive knowledge of successfully building and managing sales organisations will enable Arpida to move into the next important phase of becoming a fully integrated pharmaceutical company."
Dr Khalid Islam commented, "I am very proud of what we have achieved over the past nine years. Our key programme iclaprim which started out as an early preclinical compound is now under regulatory review. The years ahead will pose new challenges, requiring a different set of skills of a CEO. With this in mind, I feel it is the right time for a change in leadership at Arpida and to hand over the reigns into the experienced hands of Jürgen Raths. It has been a privilege for me to serve this company during these nine years and I look forward to joining Arpida s Board of Directors and to actively support the company in its continuing progress."
The nomination of Dr. Khalid Islam to be elected to the Board of Directors will be put forward to the Annual General Meeting to take place on 7 May 2008 in Basel. With effect as of 1 May 2008, Dr Raths will resign from the Board of Directors. The amended invitation is made available on our website with immediate effect.
About Dr Jürgen Raths
Dr Jürgen Raths studied medicine and dentistry at the Universities of Heidelberg, Bonn and Cologne. He obtained his MD at the University of Bonn. Since 1990, he held several positions in the global pharmaceutical group, Eli Lilly and Company, both in Europe and in the US. While at Lilly, he was involved in developing and analysing product portfolio strategies, in product launches and the build-up of sales organisations. In August 1999, Dr Raths was appointed Head Critical Care Europe, the European hospital-focused business of Eli Lilly and Company. In this function he managed the European sales, medical and marketing organisation of approximately 200 people and was also responsible for the unit s finance and human resources. During this assignment he was responsible for the commercialisation of drugs for the treatment of severe infections (i.e. Xigris). Dr Raths, born 1956, is a German citizen, married, with three children, living in Switzerland. He has been on Arpida s Board of Directors since 2006.
At the Annual General Meeting of 7 May, the Board of Directors will propose to appoint Dr Khalid Islam to the Board of Directors of Arpida Ltd. Dr Islam will work closely with Dr Raths for a seamless transition and will continue thereafter as a consultant for the coming years. As a result, his experience and expertise in the anti-infective area and his thorough knowledge of Arpida s programmes will continue to be available to the company. Dr Raths, a member of the Arpida board since 2006, will assume his responsibilities as CEO on 1 May 2008 focusing during the first two months on deepening his knowledge of the company and getting to know Arpida s shareholders and business partners.
Dr André Lamotte, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Arpida Ltd., commented: "Arpida s Board, employees, shareholders and business partners owe a lot to Khalid Islam. His outstanding leadership, unwavering energy and deep knowledge have been crucial for Arpida s progress over the past nine years. On behalf of Arpida s Board and staff, I would like to thank Khalid for his vital contributions. I am very pleased that he will continue to serve Arpida both in his function as a board member as well as in his active advisory role going forward. I am particularly delighted and convinced that Jürgen Raths extensive knowledge of successfully building and managing sales organisations will enable Arpida to move into the next important phase of becoming a fully integrated pharmaceutical company."
Dr Khalid Islam commented, "I am very proud of what we have achieved over the past nine years. Our key programme iclaprim which started out as an early preclinical compound is now under regulatory review. The years ahead will pose new challenges, requiring a different set of skills of a CEO. With this in mind, I feel it is the right time for a change in leadership at Arpida and to hand over the reigns into the experienced hands of Jürgen Raths. It has been a privilege for me to serve this company during these nine years and I look forward to joining Arpida s Board of Directors and to actively support the company in its continuing progress."
The nomination of Dr. Khalid Islam to be elected to the Board of Directors will be put forward to the Annual General Meeting to take place on 7 May 2008 in Basel. With effect as of 1 May 2008, Dr Raths will resign from the Board of Directors. The amended invitation is made available on our website with immediate effect.
About Dr Jürgen Raths
Dr Jürgen Raths studied medicine and dentistry at the Universities of Heidelberg, Bonn and Cologne. He obtained his MD at the University of Bonn. Since 1990, he held several positions in the global pharmaceutical group, Eli Lilly and Company, both in Europe and in the US. While at Lilly, he was involved in developing and analysing product portfolio strategies, in product launches and the build-up of sales organisations. In August 1999, Dr Raths was appointed Head Critical Care Europe, the European hospital-focused business of Eli Lilly and Company. In this function he managed the European sales, medical and marketing organisation of approximately 200 people and was also responsible for the unit s finance and human resources. During this assignment he was responsible for the commercialisation of drugs for the treatment of severe infections (i.e. Xigris). Dr Raths, born 1956, is a German citizen, married, with three children, living in Switzerland. He has been on Arpida s Board of Directors since 2006.
