Actelion proposes expansion of its Board of Directors

27 maart 2009Corporate news announcement processed and transmitted by Hugin AS. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- Annual General Meeting of Actelion Shareholders to be held in Basel on 24 April 2009 ALLSCHWIL/BASEL, SWITZERLAND - 27 March 2009 - Actelion Ltd (SIX: ATLN) today announced that its Board of Directors proposes three new Board members at the upcoming Annual General Meeting. Andre J. Mueller, one of Actelion's five founding members and currently Vice-Chairman of Actelion and Head of the Finance and Audit Committee, has decided not to seek a new mandate for reason of his gradual transition into full retirement. Jean-Paul Clozel, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Actelion, company founder and a member of the Board of Actelion, commented: "Andre has contributed tremendously to the success of Actelion. He was instrumental in gaining outside financing for Actelion in its founding days. As the company's first Chief Financial Officer, he focused on developing both strong financial reporting systems and a company culture driven by value creation for all stakeholders, patients and shareholders alike. We at Actelion are all in his debt and wish him all the best for his future." To fill the open position on the Board, the Actelion Board of Directors proposes the candidacy of Dr. Michael Jacobi who served until 2007 as Chief Financial Officer of Ciba Specialty Chemicals Inc. He is a member of several Boards of Directors, including Sonova where he also serves as the Head of the Finance and Audit Committee. The Actelion Board of Directors also proposes expanding the Board with the addition of two further positions. To these positions the Board proposes the candidacy of: Joseph C. Scodari, who served until March 2008 as Worldwide Chairman Pharmaceuticals, member of the Executive Committee and Corporate Officer of Johnson & Johnson, brings with him a distinguished global business career in the pharmaceutical industry that spanned more than 30 years. As president and CEO of Centocor, he gained significant experience in managing the growth of an innovative biotechnology company. He has also served as vice-chairman on the Board of BIO, the US biotechnology association, with more than 1'000 members. Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. who served until October 2008 as the Director of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world's leading public health agency with more than 18'000 employees. The NIH mission is to lead the way toward important medical discoveries that improve people's health and save lives. In addition to his career as a world expert in public health matters, Dr. Zerhouni, a distinguished scientist with more than 200 publications, is a Professor of Medicine at the John Hopkins University (Baltimore) and a senior fellow at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Rob Cawthorn, Chairman of Actelion's Board of Directors commented: "It speaks to Actelions' reputation for innovation that we can attract highly qualified experts to serve as new board members. In the coming years, Actelion is poised to turn innovation into medicines that can positively affect patient outcomes and quality of life. The addition of three board members, with significant experience in supervising and guiding the related value creation process, will allow the Board of Directors to provide the required strategic guidance to enable Actelion to fulfill its potential." The invitation to the Annual General Meeting of the Actelion Shareholders with all proposal put forward to Actelion shareholders is available on www.actelion.com. ### Notes to the editor About the proposed three new members of the Actelion Board of Directors Dr. Michael Jacobi Dr. Michael Jacobi, a German citizen, was Chief Financial Officer at Ciba Specialty Chemicals Inc. from 1996 until 2007. Dr. Jacobi joined the Ciba Group in 1978 and subsequently held various executive positions in the financial area in Switzerland, Brazil and the U.S. Since 2003, Dr. Jacobi serves on the Board of Directors of Sonova Holding AG, formerly Phonak AG, since 2004 as the Head of the Audit Committee. Sonova, located in Staefa/Zurich, is a leading provider of innovative hearing healthcare solutions and the market leader in wireless communication systems for audiology applications. Furthermore, Dr. Jacobi serves on the Board of Directors of Hilti AG since 2007. Hilti, located in Schaan (Liechtenstein), provides leading-edge technology to the global construction industry. Since 2008, Dr. Jacobi is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Martin Hilti Family Trust. Dr. Jacobi received a PhD in Business Administration from the University of St. Gallen (HSG), St. Gallen, Switzerland, continued his studies at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA, and completed a Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School, Boston, USA. Joseph C. Scodari Joseph C. Scodari, a citizen of the U.S., was Worldwide Chairman Pharmaceuticals, member of the Executive Committee and Corporate Officer of Johnson & Johnson from February 2005 until March 2008. Mr. Scodari joined Johnson & Johnson in 1999 as President of Centocor, Inc. when Johnson & Johnson acquired Centocor. At the time of that acquisition, he had been the President and Chief Operating Officer of Centocor and a member of Centocor's Board of Directors since December 1997. In 2001, he was named Company Group Chairman for the Johnson & Johnson North American pharmaceutical business, and became a member of the Pharmaceuticals Group Operating Committee and, in 2003, was named Company Group Chairman, Global Biopharmaceutical Businesses. Prior to his appointment at Centocor and Johnson & Johnson, Mr. Scodari was Senior Vice President, General Manager - Americas at Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Pharmaceuticals Inc. and previously served in various executive positions at Rhone-Poulenc Rorer and Sterling Drug Inc. From 2003 to 2007, Mr. Scodari served on the Board of Directors of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) in Washington, D.C., and served as Vice-Chairman of the Board and Member of the Executive Committee from 2007 until February 2008. BIO represents more than 1,000 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations in all 50 U.S. states and 33 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of health care, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. Mr. Scodari received a Bachelor's of Arts degree from Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio. Elias A. Zerhouni, MD Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni, a citizen of the U.S., served as Director of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) from May 2002 until October 2008. He was nominated by the President of the United States in March 2002 and confirmed by the US Senate in April 2002. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research. Helping to lead the way toward important medical discoveries that improve people's health and save lives, NIH scientists investigate ways to prevent disease as well as the causes, treatments, and even cures for common and rare diseases. From 1978 until 2002, Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni held various academic appointments at The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. In 1992, he was named Professor of Radiology at The John Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 1995, Professor Zerhouni was additionally appointed as Professor of Biomedical Engineering at The John Hopkins University. He became Director of the Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science at The John Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1996. Concurrently, he served as Executive Vice Dean, Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs and President of the Faculty Association at the John Hopkins University School of Medicine. From 1999 until 2002, he served as Executive Vice Dean and Vice Dean for Research at the John Hopkins University School of Medicine before being named to the directorship of the NIH. Professor Zerhouni received a M.D. degree at the University of Algiers School of Medicine in Algeria in 1975 and continued his studies at the Department of Radiology at The John Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Professor Zerhouni is the author of over 212 publications and holds 8 patents. He has received multiple awards and honors. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the US National Academy of Sciences in 2000. Professor Zerhouni is currently a senior fellow at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and has returned to his professorship at The John Hopkins University. He is a consultant and serves on multiple boards, such as the Lasker Foundation, the Mayo Clinic, Research America Board and the Board of the King Abdallah University of Sciences and Technology. Actelion Ltd Actelion Ltd is a biopharmaceutical company with its corporate headquarters in Allschwil/Basel, Switzerland. Actelion's first drug Tracleer®, an orally available dual endothelin receptor antagonist, has been approved as a therapy for pulmonary arterial hypertension. Actelion markets Tracleer® through its own subsidiaries in key markets worldwide, including the United States (based in South San Francisco), the European Union, Japan, Canada, Australia and Switzerland. Actelion, founded in late 1997, is a leading player in innovative science related to the endothelium - the single layer of cells separating every blood vessel from the blood stream. Actelion's over 2'000 employees focus on the discovery, development and marketing of innovative drugs for significant unmet medical needs. Actelion shares are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ticker symbol: ATLN) as part of the Swiss blue-chip index SMI (Swiss Market Index SMI® ) For further information please contact: Roland Haefeli Vice President, Head of Investor Relations & Public Affairs Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Gewerbestrasse 16, CH-4123 Allschwil +41 61 565 62 62 +1 650 624 69 36 http://www.actelion.com --- End of Message --- Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd Gewerbestrasse 16 Allschwil Switzerland WKN: 936767; ISIN: CH0010532478; Index: SBIOM, SLIFE, SMCI, SMIEXP, SMIM, SPI, SPIEX; Listed: Main Market in SIX Swiss Exchange;