Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Announces Appointment of Dean P. Lewis as Chief Financial Officer

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BW HealthWire)--June 6, 2002--Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of Dean P. Lewis, MBA as Chief Financial Officer of the Company.

Mr. Lewis has over 20 years of direct experience in investment banking and corporate finance in the United States and abroad. He has extensive experience in preparing and negotiating with strategic investors in the United States, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa over a wide variety of industries.

"It is a pleasure to welcome Dean as a vital member of Panacea's management team," stated Hossein A. Ghanbari, Ph.D., President and CEO of Panacea. "Panacea will greatly benefit from Dean's extensive contacts in global financial markets, his diverse financial expertise, and his prior leadership roles in founding, operating, and financing biotechnology companies."

Mr. Lewis co-founded and is currently a Director of Iomai Corporation, a pioneer in the delivery of vaccines and immunostimulants to the skin. He served as President and CEO of Iomai from its inception in 1997 to 2000. Prior to establishing Iomai, Mr. Lewis worked for the International Finance Corporation/World Bank Group in Washington, D.C. from 1991 to 1997.

Mr. Lewis was an early team member of Southpac Corporation, a leading merchant bank in New Zealand, where he served as a Director from 1981 to 1991. At Southpac, he was primarily involved in merger and acquisition transactions for a variety of businesses and state-owned enterprises.

He also served as the Financial Markets Advisor to the New Zealand Minister of Finance from 1984 to 1986, holding responsibilities for coordinating the pace of implementation of the Government's financial reform package to maintain the stability of New Zealand's financial markets during periods of rapid reform.

Mr. Lewis holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, a Master of Economics from Leeds University in England, and is a graduate of the Executive Management Program at Stanford University.

Mr. Lewis stated, "I am delighted to join Panacea and its distinguished team, where I hope to utilize my experience and network to further assist shareholders realize their commercial potential. I plan to build upon the Company's solid academic and industry collaborations by expanding our institutional shareholder base both here in the U.S. and overseas. That funding will be instrumental in expanding Panacea's product development in the fields of oncology and neurodegenerative disease as well as other areas related to cell regulation."

About Panacea Pharmaceuticals

Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a development stage biopharmaceutical company focused on utilizing functional genomics and proteomics to develop therapeutics and diagnostics for cancer. The Company's technology pipeline includes drug development programs for central nervous system diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

More information is available at http://www.PanaceaPharma.com.