SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
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FORM 8-K
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CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): May 25, 1999
ALEXION PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
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(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
Delaware 0-27756 13-3648318
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(State or Other Jurisdiction (Commission (IRS Employer
of Incorporation) File Number) Identification No.)
25 Science Park, New Haven, CT 06511
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(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (203) 776-1790
Not Applicable
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(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)
Item 5. Other Events
On May 25, 1999, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. issued the press release
filed herewith as Exhibit 99.
Item 7. Financial Statements, Pro Forma Financial Information and Exhibits.
(c) Exhibits.
99 Press Release dated May 25, 1999.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
ALEXION PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
Date: June 7, 1999 By: /s/ Leonard Bell
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Name: Leonard Bell, M.D.
Title: President, Chief Executive Officer,
Secretary and Treasurer
IMMEDIATE RELEASE Alexion Contacts: Leonard Bell, M.D. Lisa Burns, Justin Jackson (Media)
- ----------------- President and CEO Burns McClellan 212-213-0006
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Rhonda Chiger (Investor Relations)
203/776-1790 Thomson Investor Relations 212-510-9280
Alexion Elects Alvin Parven, Former Head of Operations at Aetna Health Plans
to Board of Directors
NEW HAVEN, Conn., May 25, 1999 -- Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALXN)
today announced that Mr. Alvin S. Parven has been elected to the Company's Board
of Directors. A former vice president of operations at Aetna Health Plans, Mr.
Parven possesses more than thirty-five years of management experience in the
healthcare sector.
Mr. Parven, currently President of ASP Associates, a strategic consulting
business, previously held several senior management positions at Aetna including
Vice President of Pension Services at Aetna, Vice President of Operations at
Aetna Health Plans, and Vice President at Aetna Business Consulting. In these
capacities, Mr. Parven was responsible for directing the 14,000 employee
nationwide healthcare organization and focused on transactions with both the
federal government and healthcare providers. During his tenure, Aetna was the
largest commercial contractor for Medicare Parts A and B. Mr. Parven also
reported directly to the Office of the Chairman and initiated reviews and
recommendations concerning the strategic direction of various business units in
the corporation.
"We are enthused that Al has agreed to join our Board at a time when the Company
is preparing to make a transition into late stage clinical development of
several promising products. Al's broad operational skills and talents coupled
with his specific transaction-oriented experience in healthcare reimbursement,
should be valuable assets as the Company continues to build on its development
opportunities," said Dr. Leonard Bell, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Alexion. Noting that Tim Howe of Collinson, Howe, & Lennox has resigned to
commit more time to venture opportunities, Dr. Bell continued, "I would also
like to thank Tim Howe for his service over the last several years and wish him
continued success."
"I am very much looking forward to working with the team of dedicated
professionals at Alexion who are systematically focusing on the business of
developing new and more effective disease treatments," noted Mr. Parven. "Their
commitment to achievement and strategic innovation will be absolutely vital to
further building on the company's success to date. I look forward to
contributing my skills and understanding of the healthcare market environment to
Alexion's strong product development programs."
Alexion's two lead product candidates, the C5 inhibitors 5G1.1-SC and 5G1.1, are
specific and potent recombinant anti-inflammatory drugs which are designed to
selectively intervene in the complement cascade. The Company believes that these
proprietary C5 Inhibitors intervene at an optimal point which generally
preserves the normal disease-preventing functions of complement proteins while
generally inhibiting the disease-causing actions. 5G1.1-SC has been shown to
significantly reduce cardiac damage, new cognitive (brain) deficits, and blood
loss in Phase I/II and Phase IIa clinical studies in patients undergoing
cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) during coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
5G1.1-SC, currently in a 1000 patient Phase IIb CPB study, is being co-developed
with Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals for acute cardiovascular indications.
5G1.1, under development for chronic autoimmune indications, has been observed
to significantly and beneficially affect objective measurements of disease
activity in Phase I/II clinical studies in Rheumatoid Arthritis patients. 5G1.1
has also completed dosing in a Phase I/II clinical study in Systemic Lupus
patients.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is engaged in the
development of selective immunotherapeutic drugs that generally are designed to
inhibit the disease-causing segments of the immune system while preserving the
disease-preventing aspects of the immune system. The Company is developing three
technology platforms: C5 Complement Inhibitors and Apogen T-Cell Therapeutics
which together target severe cardiovascular and autoimmune disorders; and
xenografts for organ transplantation.
This news release contains forward-looking statements. Such statements are
subject to certain factors which may cause Alexion's plans to differ or results
to vary from those expected including unexpected pre-clinical or clinical
results, the need for additional research and testing, delays in manufacturing,
access to capital and funding, delays and adverse changes in development of
commercial relationships and a variety of risks set forth from time to time in
Alexion's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not
limited to the risks discussed in Alexion's Annual Report on Form 1O-K for the
year ended July 31, 1998. Alexion undertakes no obligation to publicly release
results of any of these forward-looking statements which may be made to reflect
events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events.
