Full Press Release Details
Anika Therapeutics, Inc.
Charles H. Sherwood, Ph.D., CEO
Kevin W. Quinlan, CFO
THERAPEUTICS PROMOTES RANDALL WILHOITE
TO VICE PRESIDENT-OPERATIONS
Replaces Departing Frank Luppino
September 18, 2007 Anika Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANIK) today
announced that it has promoted Randall Wilhoite, 42, to Vice
President-Operations. Mr. Wilhoite has
nearly two decades of operations experience in the life sciences industry and
has served as Anika s Director of Operations since January 2006. He replaces Frank Luppino, who will be
leaving the Company in the near future to take another position in the
We look forward to Randy s
contributions as Anika s new Vice President-Operations, said Charles H.
Sherwood, Ph.D., Anika s President and Chief Executive Officer. Randy s broad operational experience and his
knowledge of Anika will be instrumental as we move forward with several key
initiatives including the launch of the Elevess product line and establishing
our manufacturing and operations at our Bedford facility currently under
construction. We also would like to
thank Frank for his many outstanding contributions to the Company during his
tenure at Anika, and we wish him continued success in his future endeavors.
Mr. Wilhoite s previous
experience includes 16 years at Abbott Laboratories, a global broad-based
health care company, where he served in various management roles with
increasing responsibility. Mr. Wilhoite received a B.A. in chemistry from the
University of Indiana.
About Anika Therapeutics, Inc.
Headquartered in Woburn,
Mass., Anika Therapeutics, Inc. develops, manufactures and commercializes
therapeutic products for tissue protection, healing and repair. These products are based on hyaluronic acid
(HA), a naturally occurring, biocompatible polymer found throughout the
body. Anika s products include ORTHOVISC , a treatment for
osteoarthritis of the knee available internationally and marketed in the U.S.
by DePuy Mitek; HYVISC , a treatment
for equine osteoarthritis marketed in the U.S. by Boehringer Ingelheim
Vetmedica, Inc.; and the ELEVESS family of cosmetic dermatology products for
facial wrinkles, scar remediation and lip augmentation, which will be marketed
by Galderma Pharma. Anika also develops
and manufactures Amvisc and Amvisc Plus , HA viscoelastic products for ophthalmic
surgery. It also produces STAARVISC -II,
which is distributed by STAAR Surgical company and Shellgel for Cytosol
The statements made in this press
release which are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including, without
limitation, statements that may be identified by words such as expectations, remains,
focus, expected, prospective, expanding, building, continue, progress,
plan, efforts, hope, believe, objectives, opportunities, will, seek,
and other expressions which are predictions of or indicate future events and
trends and which do not constitute historical matters identify forward-looking
statements. These statements also
include statements regarding: (i) the Company s move to a new facility and launch
of the Elevess product line and (ii) the promotion of Randall Wilhoite to Vice
President-Operations. These statements
are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company s management
and are subject to significant risks, uncertainties and other factors. The company s actual results could differ
materially from any anticipated future results, performance or achievements
described in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors
including: (i) the company s ability to successfully commence and/or complete
clinical trials of its products on a timely basis or at all, obtain clinical
data to support a pre-market approval application and/or FDA approval, and/or
receive FDA or other regulatory approvals of its products, or that such
approvals will not be obtained in a timely manner or without
the need for additional clinical
trials; (ii) the company s research and product development efforts and their
relative success, including whether the company has any meaningful sales of any
new products resulting from such efforts; (iii) the cost effectiveness and
efficiency of our manufacturing operations and production planning; (iv) the
strength of the economies in which the company operates or will be operating,
as well as the political stability of any of those geographic areas or (v)
future determinations by the company to allocate resources to products and in
directions not presently contemplated.
Any delay in receiving any regulatory approvals may adversely affect the
company s competitive position. Even if
regulatory approvals are obtained, there is a risk that meaningful sales of the
products may not be achieved. There is
also a risk that (i) the company s existing distributors (including its
distributor in Turkey) or customers will not continue to place orders at
historical levels or that any of them will seek to modify or terminate existing
arrangements, (ii) the company s efforts to enter into long-term marketing and
distribution arrangements, including with new international distributors for
will not be successful, (iii) new distribution arrangements, including the
agreement with Galderma Pharma S.A. pertaining to its ELEVESS product, will not result
in meaningful sales of the company s products, (iv) the company will be unable
to achieve performance and sales threshold milestones in its distribution
agreements, (v) competitive products will adversely impact the company s product
sales, (vi) the estimated size(s) of the markets which the company has targeted
its products will fail to be achieved, (vii) lack of adequate coverage and
reimbursement provided by governments and other third party payers for our
products and services, including non-reimbursement of ORTHOVISC in Turkey, could have a material adverse
effect on our results of operations, or (viii) increased sales of the company s
products, including HYVISC ,
ORTHOVISC , or its ophthalmic products, will not
continue or sales will decrease or not reach historical sales levels, or even
if such increases occur that such increases will improve gross margins, any of
which may have a material adverse effect on the company s business and
operations. Certain other factors that might
cause the company s actual results to differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements include those set forth under the headings Business,
Risk Factors and Management s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition