Head of Marketing and Business Development Strengthens Biacore's Executive Management Team
12/15/2003 6:00 AM EST
Head of Marketing and Business Development
Strengthens Biacore's Executive Management Team
Uppsala, Sweden, December 15, 2003. Biacore International AB (Biacore)
(Stockholmsbörsen: BCOR; Nasdaq: BCOR) today announced the decision to
establish a new position, Head of Marketing and Business Development,
reporting to the President and Chief Executive Officer, and has
appointed Mr Erik Walldén to fill this position: Mr Walldén will join
Biacore on January 19, 2004, and will be based at the Company's head
office at Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The Board of Directors has appointed
Mr Waldén Executive Vice President in Biacore International AB.
Ulf Jönsson, President and CEO, says: "The situation on the market has
made 2003 a very tough year for Biacore with declining sales. This is
not due to any lack of customers' satisfaction with our products or any
price erosion due to competition but is mainly the result of a slowdown
in the pharmaceutical industry's investments in the early phases of R&D.
On this basis, we see a need to focus, strengthen our resources and
change the structure of our marketing organization. In view of Erik
Walldén's solid experience of marketing and business development, I am
convinced that he will greatly contribute to a positive development for
Biacore."
Erik Walldén, born in 1949, has extensive experience from the biotech
supply industry. After 13 years in various R&D and marketing positions
within Pharmacia Biotechnology (today Amersham Biosciences), he was
appointed vice president worldwide marketing, sales and support at
Pharmacia Biosensor (name changed to Biacore in conjunction with the
IPO) in 1989. In this position, he was responsible for establishing
Biacore's marketing and sales organization, marketing communication and
branding. From 1992 onwards Erik Walldén held a number of vice president
positions, among others in PerSeptive Biosystems and Applied Biosystems
in the United States. In 1998 he was appointed President and CEO of
Pyrosequencing AB which he has managed from an early-stage start-up
company to its present position as a publicly listed biotech supplier
with global presence. Mr Walldén has an education in analytical
chemistry and biochemistry (Uppsala University)..
- Ends -
About Biacore
Biacore is a global market leader in Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR)
technology based systems with its own sales operations in the U.S.,
across Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. A strong patent
portfolio protects Biacore's SPR technology, which gives unique real-
time insights into biomolecular interactions. Target groups for the
Company's products consist primarily of medical and life science
research laboratories and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies
around the world. Biacore is focusing on drug discovery and development
as its prime areas for future growth. The Company currently has seven
systems on the market, the most important of which are: Biacore®S51 for
applications downstream of high-throughput screening (HTS) including
rapid characterization of HTS hits and comprehensive pre-clinical
evaluation of lead compounds, Biacore®3000, which offers flexibility in
key life science research and drug discovery applications upstream of
HTS, and Biacore®C which is specifically designed for compliant
concentration analysis of biopharmaceuticals in GLP/GMP applications. A
new [REMOVED GRAPHICS]SPR array chip system, which will provide higher
information content, is expected to reach the market in 2004.
Based in Uppsala, Sweden, the Company is listed on Stockholmsbörsen and
Nasdaq in the U.S. In 2002 the Company had sales of SEK 614.2 million
and an operating income of SEK 140.6 million.
Further information on Biacore can be found on the web: www.biacore.com
For further information, please contact:
Ulf Jönsson, President and CEO
+41 (0)79 668 8336
Scientific/Trade Press Enquiries:
Sarah Perceval, De Facto Communications
Michaels Mahon, De Facto Communications
+44 (0) 207 496 3300