Westaim Corp V.WED

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Westaim's NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals appoints Paul J. Schechter to lead drug development and regulatory approval processes [space] Advertisement [space] [Click here to find out more!] 08:30 EDT Monday, April 22, 2002 WAKEFIELD, MA, April 22 /CNW/ - NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of The Westaim Corporation, announced it has appointed Paul J. Schechter, M.D, Ph.D., as Vice President, Drug Development & Regulatory Affairs and Chief Medical Officer, effective May 1, 2002. Dr. Schechter brings several decades of pharmaceutical industry experience in the areas of drug discovery, pre-clinical and clinical development research. He has held leadership positions with large, international pharmaceutical companies as well as with smaller, start-up biotech firms. His role at NUCRYST will be to guide the company's drug candidates through the clinical trial and regulatory approval processes. "NUCRYST's strategy to bring new drugs to the marketplace based on our proprietary nanocrystalline technology will be greatly enhanced by Paul's successful track record of advancing numerous drug candidates through all phases of development, clinical trials and regulatory processes," said Scott H. Gillis, President of NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals. "He is a seasoned industry leader with strong pharmacology, clinical and regulatory experience, and will be a great addition to the NUCRYST management and science teams." Dr. Schechter started his career at the NIH (National Institutes of Health) in Bethesda, Maryland where he conducted biochemical and pharmacology research as well as human clinical trials. Subsequently, during his 16 years at Merrell Dow, he held positions of increasing responsibility in Europe and the United States, taking a number of new chemical entities through phase I, II and III clinical trials to regulatory approval as Vice President, Clinical Research. Dr. Schechter then moved to the Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Company as Vice President, Research & Development, where he led the company's efforts to establish an R&D presence in the United States. Dr. Schechter also served as Senior Vice President, Drug Development at Hybridon, Inc., a Massachusetts biotech company and, most recently, as Vice President, Drug Development and Regulatory Affairs at MacroChem Corporation, where he established and managed drug development and regulatory processes for topical/transdermal agents. He has published over 140 papers in the fields of biochemistry, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, drug metabolism and clinical medicine, and has seven U.S. published patents. Dr. Schechter received his M.D. and his Ph.D. (Pharmacology) from the University of Chicago. He has been elected to membership in numerous professional societies in the United States and abroad. About NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals ----------------------------- NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals Corp. (www.nucryst.com) researches, develops and commercializes medical devices and pharmaceutical products based on noble metal nanocrystalline technology. The company's first products, Acticoat antimicrobial dressings for burns and serious wounds, use NUCRYST Pharmaceutical's proprietary SILCRYST technology and are marketed, sold and distributed by Smith & Nephew, the world's leading wound care company with more than 500 sales representatives worldwide. About The Westaim Corporation ----------------------------- The Westaim Corporation is a technology accelerator that launches exceptional technologies into the marketplace. In addition to NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals Corp., its technology investments include iFire Technology Inc., which has developed a revolutionary low-cost flat panel display. Westaim's common shares are listed on Nasdaq under the symbol WEDX and on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol WED. This news release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and the Company can give no assurance that these expectations are correct. Various factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in such statements, including financial considerations and those predicting the timing and market acceptance of future products. The Company disclaims any intention or obligations to revise forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this Cautionary Statement. For further information: Tony Johnston, Senior Vice President, The Westaim Corporation, [phone], [e-mail], www.westaim.com; To request a free copy of this organization's annual report, please go to https://www.newswire.ca and click on reports@cnw. © 2002 Canada Newswire Ltd.