Basilea appoints new Chief Financial Officer BASEL

BASEL, Switzerland, Nov. 4, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. (SIX: BSLN) announced today the promotion of Mr. Donato Spota to Chief Financial Officer of the Company, effective today. As a member of the management committee, he will be responsible for finance, information technology, and internal services. Mr. Spota has served as Global Head of Finance and Services since February 2013. Prior to this position, Mr. Spota acted as Head of Basilea's Global Controlling since 2002. Ronald Scott, Chief Executive Officer of Basilea, stated: "Donato Spota has been with the company for over ten years. He has demonstrated exceptional execution in leading Basilea's finance and controlling functions. He was instrumental in establishing Basilea's finance organization and has been a key participant in all our major financing and partnering transactions. I am confident that with his longstanding financial and operational experience Donato will continue to significantly contribute to lead our business forward." Mr. Spota holds a master degree in business administration from the University of Applied Sciences Nürtingen, Germany and a diploma in information technology from SFBI (Staatssekretariat für Bildung, Forschung und Innovation), Switzerland. He has over 16 years of experience as a finance professional in the pharmaceutical industry, including with F. Hoffmann-La Roche prior to joining Basilea. About Basilea Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: BSLN). Through the fully integrated research and development operations of its Swiss subsidiary Basilea Pharmaceutica International Ltd., the company focuses on innovative pharmaceutical products in the therapeutic areas of bacterial infections, fungal infections and oncology, targeting the medical challenge of rising resistance and non-response to current treatment options. Disclaimer This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward- looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For further information, please contact: +-----------------------------+--------------------------------+ | Media Relations | Investor Relations | +-----------------------------+--------------------------------+ | Peer Nils Schröder, PhD | Barbara Zink, PhD, MBA | | Head Public Relations & | Head Corporate Development | | Corporate Communications |   | | +41 61 606 1102 | +41 61 606 1233 | | media_relations@basilea.com | investor_relations@basilea.com | +-----------------------------+--------------------------------+ This press release can be downloaded from www.basilea.com . Press release (PDF): http://hugin.info/134390/R/1740094/584178.pdf [HUG#1740094]