ANPI Angiotech Pharmaceuticals - Common Shares (MM)

VANCOUVER, July 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANPINASDAQ:TSX:NASDAQ:ANP), a global specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company, today announced the appointment of Jeffrey P. Walker, MD as Senior Vice President, Research and Development. Reporting to Dr. William Hunter, Angiotech's President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Walker will lead the research and development team on a global basis and build upon a strong product pipeline to further support Angiotech's business strategy to capture value through the commercialization of internally developed products. "Dr. Walker brings to Angiotech a rare combination of experience including work as a practising emergency physician, a wealth of R&D knowledge from working at other pharmaceutical companies, and practical experience working at medical device companies with drug-device combination products, such as drug-eluting stents," said Dr. William Hunter. "We welcome Jeff to our management team, and believe that our ability to attract this level of talent to Angiotech is yet another indicator of our successful evolution to a fully-commercialized company within the past year," added Dr. Hunter. Dr. Walker has over 14 years' experience at pharmaceutical and medical device companies in developing combination medical devices, drug development, and drug delivery technologies. Prior to joining Angiotech, Dr. Walker was Vice President, Advanced Technology/New Ventures at Medtronic Vascular, Inc. During his career at Medtronic, Dr. Walker also held the position of Vice President, Science & Technology and was responsible for the development of next-generation medical devices that integrated biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. He also held senior positions in research and development at Miravant Pharmaceuticals based in Santa Barbara, California. In 1994, he formed his own start-up medical device company focused on solid tumor drug delivery and treatment. A graduate of the UCLA School of Medicine, Dr. Walker was an Emergency Physician at the St. Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, California for seven years. He also holds a B.A. in Psychobiology with post-graduate work in Anatomy and Physiology. About Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a global specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company with 14 facilities in 6 countries and over 1,500 dedicated employees. Angiotech discovers, develops and markets innovative treatment solutions for diseases or complications associated with medical device implants, surgical interventions and acute injury. To find out more about Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANPINASDAQ:TSX:NASDAQ:ANP), please visit our website at http://www.angiotech.com/. Note on Forward Looking Statement: Statements contained in this press release or in our other written or oral public communications that are not based on historical or current fact, including without limitation statements containing the words "believes," "may," "plans," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipates," "intends," "expects" and similar expressions, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All such statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of applicable securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, events or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Angiotech(R) is a trademark of Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. CONTACT: Analysts and Institutional Investors: Janet Craig, VP, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., ; Media and Retail Investors: Jodi Regts, Manager, Corporate Communications, Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., , (604) 221-7930 DATASOURCE: Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CONTACT: Analysts and Institutional Investors: Janet Craig, VP, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., ; Media and Retail Investors: Jodi Regts, Manager, Corporate Communications, Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., , (604) 221-7930

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