Blake M. Paterson MD, CEO and Co-founder of Alba Therapeutics, Wins Greater Baltimore Committee 2008 Leadership in Bioscience Award

BALTIMORE, March 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Alba Therapeutics Corporation today announced that Blake M. Paterson M.D., its CEO and Co-founder, has received the 2008 Leadership in Bioscience Award from the Greater Baltimore Council. Dr. Paterson was recognized from a field of distinguished nominees submitted by businesses, bioscience advocates, higher education institutions and government officials. This is the second successive time that Dr. Paterson has received this award from the Greater Baltimore Council.

Dr. Paterson's leadership accomplishments were examined for evidence of outstanding management practices that led to significant improvement in the company's performance, vision and steps taken to move toward fulfillment of that vision, fostering pioneering work with new or important applications in bioscience, and fundraising achievements. The award was presented today at a breakfast reception hosted by the Greater Baltimore Committee, the region's most prominent organization of business and civic leaders, to recognize outstanding achievements in the region's bioscience industry.

"It is a great honor to receive this award, and it is gratifying to be honored within the Baltimore bioscience and business community," stated Dr. Paterson. "Our goal at Alba has been to work with the 3 P's which include place, people, and perseverance. We are proud to be in the place of Baltimore, our people are working hard to create a new medicine for the unmet medical needs of patients with celiac disease and other inflammatory conditions, and our perseverance and determination toward achieving this goal is what drives us each day. This award recognizes the progress that Alba has made in the past year, and this provides further encouragement in our efforts to address the needs of patients and physicians, to provide value to our investors, and to increase the profile of the Baltimore bioscience community within the region and nationally."

Dr. Paterson has directed the growth of Alba Therapeutics since its inception in 2004, and his leadership has been characterized by methodical and rapid growth. Alba has grown into a thriving Baltimore biotechnology company with 45 employees in its headquarters at the University of Maryland BioPark, and this growth has been punctuated by a series of significant milestones including securing significant venture financing, rapid progress of Alba's clinical candidate (larazotide acetate) into Phase 2b clinical trials, and closure of a licensing and collaboration agreement worth up to $325 million with Shire Pharmaceuticals.

About Alba

Alba Therapeutics Corporation is a privately held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapies to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and is based in Baltimore, Maryland. Alba's technology platform is based upon a key pathway that regulates the assembly and disassembly of tight junctions in cell barriers throughout the body. As a result of its unique technology platform, Alba is a leader in mucosal biology and has developed a pipeline of innovative therapeutic candidates that has the potential to modify the course of disease and significantly improve upon existing treatments for a wide range of diseases such as celiac disease, Crohn's disease, and Asthma/COPD or acute lung injury.

    Contact:   Bernard McDonald, PhD
    Phone:     410-319-0780
    E-mail:    info@albatherapeutics.com
    Web site:  http://www.albatherapeutics.com