Coreo AG — Board/Management Information 2009

Dec 10, 2009

News Details

Corporate | 10 December 2009 07:45

Nanostart majority-owned MagForce Nanotechnologies AG names Dr. Peter Heinrich as new CEO

Nanostart AG / Miscellaneous

10.12.2009

Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by
DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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• Senior executive of international standing
• Proven leadership as company enters a crucial phase
• Dr. Heinrich: 'declared objective to generate significant value'

Berlin / Frankfurt - December 10, 2009 - MagForce Nanotechnologies AG
(Entry Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, ticker MF6), the
Berlin-based medical technology company majority owned by Nanostart AG, has
announced the appointment of Dr. Peter Heinrich as its new chief executive
officer effective January 1, 2010. Dr. Heinrich, who is a renowned
executive within the life sciences business in Germany and a leading figure
in the European biotechnology world, has served until now as deputy
chairman of the supervisory board of MagForce. Until the middle of this
year, he was CEO of MediGene AG, a biotechnology company listed on the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange and included in the TecDax index.

Dr. Heinrich will succeed outgoing chief executive Dr. Uwe Maschek, who has
resigned at his own request as of the end of the year. Professor Wolfgang
M. Heckl is rejoining the supervisory board, taking the place of Dr.
Heinrich. Professor Heckl, who is regarded as Germany's leading
nanotechnology expert, teaches at the Technical University of Munich (TU
München) and is general director of Germany's largest science museum,
Munich's renowned Deutsches Museum. He also serves as deputy chairman of
the supervisory board of Nanostart AG.

'With the appointment of Peter Heinrich, we've been able to bring on board
a highly experienced and internationally recognized business executive,'
said Marco Beckmann, CEO of Nanostart AG. 'We are confident that Dr.
Heinrich will do a superb job in leading our portfolio company MagForce
through this critical phase. We extend our sincere thanks to Dr. Maschek,
the CEO until now, for his many contributions and look forward with great
enthusiasm to working together with Dr. Heinrich. His experience and
expertise make him the ideal candidate to drive forward with the marketing
and further development of Nano-Cancer(R) therapy, for the benefit of
cancer patients as well as the company and its shareholders.'

Dr. Heinrich added that 'with its Nano-Cancer(R) therapy, MagForce
possesses an extremely innovative and effective therapeutic procedure for
treating solid tumors. Following the successful results of clinical trials
in patients with glioblastoma, a malignant and particularly aggressive type
of brain tumor, an application for EU-wide regulatory approval has been
submitted for this first medical indication. The next step is to drive
forward vigorously with preparations for the commercialization phase and to
rapidly expand the scope of application of our Nano-Cancer(R) therapy to
encompass other medical indications, as well as to position our company in
the international market. It is my declared objective to generate
significant value for patients as well as for shareholders in the coming
years.'

Over his entire career as a pharmaceutical executive, Dr. Heinrich has been
able to produce a superb track record of successful achievements. He was
co-founder of MediGene AG, the exchange-listed biotechnology company, and
served as its managing director and CEO from 1995 until the middle of 2009,
over this time the company focused on the development of pharmaceuticals in
the fields of oncology, immunology and cardiology. There he held
board-level responsibility for all areas until the company's stock exchange
listing in 2000, after which time he was responsible for the areas of
administration, business development, controlling, corporate finance,
investor and public relations, organizational development, intellectual
property and human resources, as well as for the company's facilities in
San Diego (California) and Oxford (UK).

With strategic far-sightedness, scientific rigor and business know-how, he
built up MediGene from a venture capital-financed start-up to an
established international biopharmaceutical company with pharmaceutical
products successfully brought to market and further candidates now in the
development pipeline.

During his career at MediGene, Dr. Heinrich played a key role in achieving
a number of noteworthy milestones in the company's development, including
the regulatory approval of the drugs Eligard(R), Veregen(R) and Oracea(R),
the acquisition of companies, the licensing in and licensing out of product
candidates, strategic partnerships with pharmaceutical corporations, and
the company's listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2000 as well as
follow-on capital market transactions.

Before founding MediGene, Heinrich held various positions over eight years
at Wacker Chemie AG in Munich. During this time he was substantially
involved in the development of biotechnology products which have since been
successfully brought to market.

Dr. Heinrich studied biology and chemistry at the University of Munich, and
after receiving his doctoral degree there in biochemistry, he continued
with post-doctoral work at Harvard University. He is co-founder and
chairman of the executive board of BIO-Deutschland, an independent
organization representing the interests of the German biotechnology
industry. From 2001 to 2009 he served as a member of European
Biopharmaceutical Enterprises (EBE), including as its president from 2003
to 2006. Dr. Heinrich also serves on the board of trustees of Bayern
Innovativ GmbH, as a mentor and tutor at the Bavarian Elite Academy, and on
the supervisory board of the University of Augsburg's MBA program.

About Nanostart:
Nanostart AG is the world's leading nanotechnology investment company. The
Frankfurt-based company provides venture capital financing for
nanotechnology companies in various growth phases. It also provides the
benefits of its experience and expertise to developers of financial
instruments and to investors in the nanotechnology sector. For further
information about the company, please visit www.nanostart.de.

About MagForce Nanotechnologies:
MagForce Nanotechnologies AG is the world's leading company in the area of
nanotechnology-based cancer treatment. Its patented therapy allows the
targeted destruction of tumors using magnetic nanoparticles. MagForce's
nanotechnology represents a revolutionary approach to the future successful
treatment of solid tumors. For more information, please visit
www.magforce.com.

Disclaimer:
This notice constitutes neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of
offers to purchase or subscribe to securities. There will be no public
offering of securities of Nanostart AG in conjunction with the existing
listing of its shares in the 'Entry Standard' segment of the regulated
unofficial market (Freiverkehr) on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. This
notice does not constitute a securities prospectus. Neither this notice nor
the information contained within is intended for direct or indirect
distribution within the United States of America, Canada, Australia or
Japan.

Media contact:
Nanostart AG
Public Relations
Dr. Hans Joachim Dürr
Goethestrasse 26-28
D-60313 Frankfurt
Germany
phone: +49 (0)69-21 93 96 111        
fax: +49 (0)69-21 93 96 122        
e-mail: presse@nanostart.de

Pressekontakt:
Nanostart AG
Public Relations
Dr. Hans Joachim Dürr
Goethestraße 26-28
D-60313 Frankfurt am Main
Telefon: +49 (0)69-21 93 96 111
Telefax: +49 (0)69-21 93 96 122
E-Mail: presse@nanostart.de

10.12.2009 Financial News distributed by DGAP. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de

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