Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Appoints Donald A. Zelm as Vice President for Finance

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BW HealthWire)--January 18, 2001--Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the appointment of Donald A. Zelm, M.B.A., C.P.A. as Vice President for Finance.

Mr. Zelm brings with him more than twenty years experience as a financial manager in the pharmaceutical industry.

"I am excited to join Panacea, with its promising programs, attractive product pipeline, and exceptional management and support team," stated Mr. Zelm.

Mr. Zelm spent the last eleven years with Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of Gaithersburg, Maryland. From 1989 to 1995, he served as Controller and from 1995 to 2000 as Vice President of Finance.

While serving in these capacities, he was responsible for the financial management of the company including accounting, budgeting, taxes, cash management, establishing internal controls, and evaluating new business opportunities. During Mr. Zelm's tenure, Sigma-Tau's annual revenue increased from $200 thousand to over $50 million.

He also participated in the negotiation of co-promotion agreements with Roche, SmithKline Beecham, Warner Lambert, and Abbott Laboratories, contracts for multi-center clinical trials, and large-scale contract manufacturing.

Prior to Sigma-Tau, Mr. Zelm served as Senior Financial Analyst for the Diagnostic Imaging Division of DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware, where he was responsible for coordinating and preparing the annual budget of a $500 million x-ray film and equipment division within the Medical Products Department. He was also responsible for the financial analysis of new product proposals and contracts.

Mr. Zelm served as Financial Planning Manager for American Critical Care, a division of American Hospital Supply Corporation and Baxter, where he was responsible for the annual budgets and monthly forecasts of the Critical Care Division, a $65 million pharmaceutical business with over 400 employees.

Mr. Zelm also spent several years with Arthur Andersen & Company as a Senior Auditor.

Mr. Zelm received his B.S. in Accountancy from the University of Illinois and his M.B.A. from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.

"Don's highly relevant industry specific experience is welcomed given the tremendous partnering opportunities and financing possibilities available to the Company," stated Kasra Ghanbari, Chief Operating Officer of the Company. "Panacea is in a position to effectively utilize Don's financial management expertise as we continue our aggressive growth and approach the clinical trial phase for several of our drug candidates."

About Panacea Pharmaceuticals

Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. focuses on developing and utilizing protein-based technologies to detect and identify changes associated with and involved in diseases of the central nervous system and cancer such as Alzheimer's disease, brain tumors, transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, and Lewy body diseases such as Parkinson's disease. Changes in disease-relevant proteins by altered expression, post-translational modification, and functional variation are utilized to develop diagnostic tests and therapeutic agents.