BASEL, SWITZERLAND--(Marketwire - Dec 7, 2011) -

Basilea Pharmaceutica AG / Basilea appoints Chief Financial Officer . Processed and transmitted by Thomson Reuters ONE. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. (SIX: [ BSLN ]) today announced that Joachim Blatter has been appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Basilea Pharmaceutica International Ltd.

Joachim Blatter will join Basilea mid-January 2012 as Chief Financial Officer and member of the management committee. In addition to finance he will be responsible for information technology and internal services reporting to Chief Operating Officer Ronald Scott, who has been acting as ad interim CFO.

Joachim Blatter, a German citizen, has held various senior finance positions, most recently as CFO of Swissmetal Industries Ltd. in Dornach, Switzerland. Mr. Blatter was previously CFO of Alcan Singen GmbH and Managing Director of Alcan Holdings Germany GmbH. He holds a degree in business administration from the University of Cologne, Germany, and is a certified management accountant as well as a certified financial manager.

Dr. Anthony Man, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We are very pleased to welcome Joachim Blatter to Basilea's executive management team as Chief Financial Officer. He has over 20 years of international experience in financial and operational management. In his new position, he will be able to build on Basilea's strong financial foundation with a continued focus on prudent financial management."

About Basilea

Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: [ BSLN ]). Basilea Pharmaceutica International Ltd.'s fully integrated research and development operations are focused on antibiotics, antifungals and oncology drugs, as well as on the development of dermatology drugs, targeting the medical challenge of resistance and non-response to current treatment options in the hospital and specialty care setting.

Basilea is currently marketing Toctino® (alitretinoin), the only approved treatment for adults with severe chronic hand eczema unresponsive to potent topical corticosteroids, in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom and has appointed distributors for Toctino® in other selected European markets, Canada, Israel, Mexico and the Republic of Korea. A phase III clinical program on alitretinoin for the treatment of severe chronic hand eczema is ongoing in the U.S.

For its phase III compound isavuconazole, a potential best-in-class azole antifungal for the treatment of life-threatening invasive fungal infections, the company has entered into a license, co-development and co-promotion agreement with Astellas Pharma Inc.

In addition, Basilea is developing ceftobiprole, a late-stage novel anti- MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) broad-spectrum cephalosporin antibiotic, for the first-line treatment of potentially life-threatening resistant bacterial infections. Ceftobiprole has a broad coverage of both Gram- positive bacteria, including MRSA, and many clinically important Gram- negative bacteria such as Pseudomonas spp.

Basilea's BAL30072, a novel antibiotic for the treatment of resistant Gram- negative infections, and the oncology drug BAL101553 for the treatment of drug- resistant cancers are in phase I clinical testing.

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.

This press release can be downloaded from [ www.basilea.com ].

Press release (PDF): [ http://hugin.info/134390/R/1569611/487930.pdf ]

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Source: Basilea Pharmaceutica AG via Thomson Reuters ONE

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