Published:

MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals Hires Key Commercial Team Members

Company prepares to launch Moxatag(TM), the first and only FDA-approved once-daily amoxicillin, in the first quarter of 2009

GERMANTOWN, Md., Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: MBRK), today announced it has hired the following key commercial team members:

    --  Frank L. Koos has joined MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals as senior vice
        president, sales & business development.  Koos brings nearly 20
        years' experience in sales and sales management to his role at
        MiddleBrook.  Prior to joining MiddleBrook, Koos served as vice
        president of professional sales for Adams Respiratory Therapeutics(R)
        (Adams).  Prior to Adams, Koos held successive leadership roles
        including vice president of sales for PharMetrics and group director,
        sales and service at IMS Health.  Previously, Koos was a sales
        representative and a sales trainer for the Ortho Pharmaceutical division
        of Johnson and Johnson, and he served as a lieutenant in the United
        States Army.

    --  Salvatore A. Buscema has joined MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals as vice
        president, sales.  Prior to joining MiddleBrook, Buscema held multiple
        roles of increasing responsibility at Adams where he led two sales force
        expansions, directed a comprehensive sales force automation project and
        facilitated trade sales.  The Adams field sales teams under
        Buscema's leadership grew sales from $20 million to over $400
        million annually.  Buscema began his sales career at IMS Health where
        his key accounts included Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca.

    --  Sheila Filipponi has joined MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals as vice
        president, trade sales.  Filipponi brings over 20 years of sales and
        sales management experience to MiddleBrook.  Prior to joining
        MiddleBrook, Filipponi was executive director, trade sales at Adams
        where she was responsible for managing national drug customer accounts. 
        Previously, Filipponi held successive leadership roles in sales
        management at the Consumer Health division of Novartis, including
        national account manager and business development manager.  Prior to
        that, she held various positions in sales management at the McNeil
        Consumer Products division of Johnson and Johnson, including district
        management and sales training roles.

    --  Ronald E. Hunt has joined MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals as associate vice
        president, sales training and incentives.  Prior to joining MiddleBrook,
        Hunt served as director, field sales training at Reckitt Benckiser(R). 
        Previously, he held key positions in sales, sales management and sales
        operations at Adams, Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Aventis'
        legacy companies.

    --  Sonya Sharp-Stenken has joined MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals as associate
        vice president, managed markets.  Prior to joining MiddleBrook,
        Sharp-Stenken was director of national accounts for the Eastern United
        States with Reckitt Benckiser(R).  Previously, she held the position of
        executive director, managed markets at Adams.  Sharp-Stenken has spent
        over 12 years in the pharmaceutical industry and brings both small and
        large manufacturer experience from her time with leading companies such
        as Muro Pharmaceutical and AstraZeneca.  She has held multiple sales,
        marketing, and managed care positions.

John Thievon, MiddleBrook president and CEO, said, "With the addition of Frank, Sal, Sheila, Ron and Sonya, our commercial leadership team is now fully in place. I am extremely pleased that we have been able to attract these talented professionals to MiddleBrook. They have worked together before, and their common background of success will enable them to quickly execute our plan to hire our national field force representatives, begin sales training and prepare for the launch of Moxatag, the first and only FDA-approved once-daily amoxicillin."

About Moxatag:

Moxatag (amoxicillin extended-release) Tablets, 775mg, is a once-a-day extended-release formulation of amoxicillin for oral administration consisting of three components: one immediate-release component and two delayed-release components. The three components of Moxatag are combined in a specific ratio to prolong the release of amoxicillin compared to immediate-release amoxicillin. Moxatag is intended to provide a lower treatment dose, once- daily alternative to currently approved penicillin and amoxicillin regimens for the treatment of adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older with tonsillitis and/or pharyngitis. For more information about Moxatag, please visit www.middlebrookpharma.com.

About MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals:

MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: MBRK) is a pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing anti-infective products that fulfill unmet medical needs. We are currently developing a portfolio of anti-infective products utilizing our proprietary, once-a-day pulsatile delivery technology called Pulsys. Our near-term corporate strategy is to improve dosing regimens and/or frequency of dosing which we believe will result in improved patient dosing convenience and compliance for antibiotics that have been used and trusted by physicians and patients for decades. The Company currently markets the Keflex brand of cephalexin and has received regulatory approval for Moxatag - the first and only once-daily amoxicillin product approved for marketing in the U.S. For more information about MiddleBrook, please visit www.middlebrookpharma.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This announcement contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, that involve risks and uncertainties. In some cases, forward-looking statements are identified by words such as "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "potential, " "estimate," "will," "may," "predict," "should, " "could," "would" and similar expressions. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this announcement. All of these forward-looking statements are based on information available to us at this time. Actual results could differ from those projected in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those identified in the sections titled "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," and elsewhere in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2008, our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007, and in similar disclosures made by us from time to time in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. MiddleBrook, MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals (stylized), MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Pulsys, Moxatag and Keflex are our trademarks and have been registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or are the subject of pending U.S. trademark applications. Each of the other trademarks, tradenames or services marks appearing in this document belongs to its respective holder.

SOURCE MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Tags: ,MTC,HEA,BIO,PER,MD-MiddleBrook-Pharma

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