WINNIPEG, Manitoba - (January 21, 2004) Medicure
Inc. (TSX:MPH), a cardiovascular drug discovery and development
company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Gerald P. McDole,
MBA, former President and Chief Executive Officer of AstraZeneca
Canada Inc., to its Board of Directors, effective January 16, 2004.
Mr. McDole retired on October 1, 2003 from AstraZeneca Canada, after
leading the company and its predecessor, Astra Pharma Inc., for
20 years.
"We are both delighted and honoured to have Mr. McDole join
Medicure's team to provide us with the benefit of his extensive
background and experience in the pharmaceutical industry,"
stated Albert D. Friesen, PhD., Medicure's President and CEO. "Mr.
McDole brings with him an exceptional level of understanding of
the Canadian and international pharmaceutical industry, which will
be an important asset to Medicure as we continue to focus on advancing
our clinical, business development and drug commercialization programs."
About Gerald McDole
Mr. McDole was named President and CEO of AstraZeneca Canada Inc.'s
pharmaceutical operations in 1999 and immediately led the merger
of Astra Pharma and Zeneca Pharma Inc. later that year. Prior to
this, Mr. McDole was president and CEO of Astra Pharma Inc., a position
he assumed in 1985 after having served as Executive Vice-President.
Highly active in a variety of health-related associations, Mr.
McDole is a past Chairman of the Board of the Advanced Coronary
Treatment (ACT) Foundation and is a past President of the Canadian
Foundation for Pharmacy. He is an advisor to both the Institute
of Health Economics in Edmonton and the Principal's Advisory Council,
University of Toronto at Mississauga, and a former member of the
Board of the Canadian Stroke Network.
Mr. McDole was selected for inclusion in the 2002 Canadian Healthcare
Marketing Hall of Fame, and in 2002, Canadian Healthcare Manager
Magazine recognized him with the Who's Who in Healthcare Award in
the pharmaceutical category. He was also presented with the Queen's
Golden Jubilee Medal for his contribution to reBOOT Canada. In 1999,
the Mississauga Board of Trade recognized Mr. McDole as Businessperson
of the Year.
In recognition of Mr. McDole's outstanding contributions to the
biotech and pharmaceutical industries, the University of Manitoba
recently established The Gerry McDole Fellowship in Health Policy
and Economic Growth. The Fellowship is intended to build capacity
in health policy research as it relates to the links between health
care and the Canadian economy. It will provide fellowship support
to promising graduate students for exceptional contributions and
innovations in health care that relate directly to economic growth.
Born and raised in Manitoba, Mr. McDole holds a Bachelor of Science
degree and a Certificate of Business Management from the University
of Manitoba, an MBA from Simon Fraser University, and a Business
Administration diploma from the University of Toronto.
Mr. McDole's appointment to the Medicure Board of Directors is
subject to regulatory approval.
About Medicure Inc.
Medicure Inc. is a cardiovascular drug discovery and development
Company focused on developing effective therapeutics for unmet needs
in the field of cardiovascular medicine. The Company's lead drug,
MC-1, is focused on the prevention and treatment of ischemia, ischemic
reperfusion injury, and stroke. The cardiovascular and stroke market
is the largest pharmaceutical sector with annual global sales of
over US $70 billion.
The Company's second product candidate, MC-4232, is being targeted
for the treatment of hypertension, a common disorder in which blood
pressure remains abnormally high. Approximately 73% of the more
than 50 million adult Americans who have hypertension, are not adequately
treated.
Medicure also has a medicinal chemistry based Drug Discovery program
focused on discovery and advancement of novel small molecule, anti-ischemics
and anti-thrombotics towards human clinical studies.
This news release
contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, which may
cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made,
and accordingly may be deemed to be forward-looking statements made
pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements are
made as of the date hereof, and the Company disclaims any intention
and has no obligation or responsibility to update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise.
For more information, please contact:
Derek Reimer
Chief Financial Officer
Don Bain
Director of Investor & Public Relations
