Addrenex Pharmaceuticals' New Hires Further Company Goal to Identify New Drugs for Adrenergic ...( DURHAM N.C. Aug. 19 /- Addrenex P...),Health

DURHAM, N.C., Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Addrenex Pharmaceuticals ( http://www.addrenex.com ) has made three strategic hires this month to further its goal of identifying and developing as many new drug candidates as possible over the next 18 months.

The fast-paced timeline they have set for drug discovery mirrors the company's recent successes in developing two new drugs, Clonicel(R) for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and CloniBID for hypertension, over the past two years. A new drug application has already been filed for CloniBID, with Food and Drug Administration review expected by December 2008, and Clonicel is in phase 3 clinical trials. Commercial rights to both drugs have been granted to Atlanta-based Sciele Pharma.

The additions of Steven Butts, M.B.A., as vice president of commercial operations and Gary Bream, Ph.D., as senior director of scientific affairs will strengthen Addrenex's ability to pursue additional drugs to treat conditions such as menopausal flushing, pain, addiction, aggression, and post traumatic stress disorder, said Moise Khayrallah, Ph.D., cofounder and chief executive officer of Addrenex. Yuki Prescott has also joined as clinical trials manager and will enhance the clinical team's ability to oversee a growing clinical program.

"We now have a solid partnership in place with Sciele that will enable us to develop our lead compounds and to pursue additional compounds in our portfolio that target the alpha-2 adrenergic receptors," said Khayrallah. "We're using our lead compounds to power the rest of the portfolio. The highly skilled team we have now assembled gives us the capability to deliver on our commitments and meet our fast-paced timelines."

The indications being targeted by Addrenex are each associated with an overactive adrenergic system, a group of hormones produced by the adrenal glands that regulate the body's reaction to stress, hormonal
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