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Clinical Data Adds James P. Shaffer, Experienced Sales and Marketing Executive, to Lead Sales and Marketing Team for PGxHealth Division

Posted on: Tuesday, 10 April 2007, 12:00 CDT

Clinical Data, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLDA) announced today that James P. Shaffer has been hired to serve as Vice President, Sales and Marketing, for the Company's PGxHealth™ division, the provider of Therapeutic Diagnostics™ and its PGxPredict™ line of pharmacogenetic tests.

Shaffer comes to Clinical Data from New River Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: NRPH), which recently announced that it is the subject of a tender offer from Shire plc, where he served as Vice President, Sales & Marketing. Previously, Shaffer served at Prestwick Pharmaceuticals since 2004 as Senior Director, Commercial Operations where he was instrumental in launching that company's first CNS drug in the U.S. Prior to that, Shaffer worked at InterMune as National Sales Director. He has also held positions at GlaxoSmithKline Inc. and Merck Human Health Division. Shaffer holds an M.B.A. in marketing from Ohio State University.

Drew Fromkin, President and CEO of Clinical Data, said, "We are delighted that Jim has joined Clinical Data in this important new role. His experience in launching new specialty products to providers and accelerating product adoption brings a critical skill set to PGxHealth. His experience in this area will be instrumental in building awareness among physicians of our strong and growing portfolio of pharmacogenetic tests as the Company enters its next phase of growth. We are excited to have attracted a professional of Jim's caliber to execute on a strategy to build physician and patient awareness of these and future PGxPredict tests."

Jim Shaffer commented, "I am excited to become a part of Clinical Data and the PGxHealth team as they continue to introduce novel pharmacogenetic tests into the market and emerge as a leader in this new and exciting area. I look forward to shaping and executing on the Company's strategies designed to build awareness and drive adoption of our pharmacogenetic tests among providers, patients and supporting groups."

The Company's FAMILION® test, launched in 2004, is intended for individuals with suspected Familial Long QT Syndrome, Brugada Syndrome, Short QT Syndrome, or related syndromes, or for family members of individuals who have previously tested positive for a genetic variant associated with one of these conditions. In recent months, PGxHealth has launched a number of new pharmacogenetic tests including:

PGxPredict™:RITUXIMAB to help physicians predict the likelihood of a given patient responding to rituximab monotherapy in the treatment of follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) allowing oncologists to identify whether a patient is among the 20% of people that will demonstrate a high likelihood of responding to rituximab;

PGxPredict™:CLOZAPINE which aids physicians prescribing or considering prescribing clozapine for the treatment of schizophrenia by providing information on whether a patient is at higher or lower risk of developing clozapine-induced agranulocytosis (CIA) compared to the untested population; and

PGxPredict™:WARFARIN which predicts how individual patients will respond to warfarin, a well-established anti-clotting agent often prescribed after cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke, for prophylaxis of clot formation in the setting of major surgery, and for the treatment of other clotting disorders. By helping doctors quickly and accurately establish the correct dose, it may: increase warfarin's efficacy; reduce the risk of serious side effects including life-threatening bleeding; and help patients achieve faster recovery.

About PGxHealth

PGxHealth™ has extensive experience and capabilities in the development, clinical validation and delivery of genomic-based tests, in particular in the areas of efficacy and safety biomarkers for appropriate drug utilization. Through its own know-how and resources, work conducted with some of the world's most prestigious genomics thought leaders and institutions, and use of innovative technologies, PGxHealth is focused on reducing treatment costs and improving clinical outcomes in those disease states and therapeutic classes beset with expensive, inefficient or suboptimal treatment options. It has branded its genetic tests based on these proprietary genetic markers Therapeutic Diagnostics™.

About Clinical Data, Inc.

Clinical Data, Inc. is a global biotechnology company unlocking the potential of molecular discovery, from targeted science to better healthcare. Its PGxHealth division focuses on genetic test and biomarker development to help predict drug safety and efficacy, thereby reducing health care costs and improving clinical outcomes. Its Cogenics division provides molecular biology and pharmacogenomics services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies and academics institutions in both research and regulated environments. Its Vital Diagnostics division offers in vitro diagnostics solutions for the clinical laboratory. Through these divisions, Clinical Data is leveraging advances in molecular discovery to provide tangible benefits for patients, doctors, scientists, and health plans worldwide.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995

This press release contains certain forward-looking information about Clinical Data that is intended to be covered by the safe harbor for "forward-looking statements" provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Words such as "expect(s),""feel(s),""believe(s),""will,""may,""anticipate(s)" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to statements regarding: our ability to successfully integrate the operations, business, technology and intellectual property obtained in our acquisitions; our ability to obtain regulatory approval for, and successfully introduce our new products; our ability to expand our long-term business opportunities; our ability to maintain normal terms with our customers and partners; financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions; and statements regarding future performance. All of such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of the Company, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: whether our PGxPredict tests will gain wide acceptance in the market; the extent to which genetic markers (haplotypes) are predictive of clinical outcomes and drug efficacy and safety; our ability to achieve the expected synergies and operating efficiencies from all of our acquisitions; the strength of our intellectual property rights; competition from pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostics companies; the development of and our ability to take advantage of the market for pharmacogenetic and biomarker products and services; general economic downturns; and other risks contained in our various SEC reports and filings, including but not limited to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2006, and our subsequent Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date hereof, and we do not undertake any obligation to revise and disseminate forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of or non-occurrence of any events.

Internet Website: www.clda.com

Source: Business Wire

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