Kevin J. Kinsella named permanent CEO of Sequana Therapeutics; Sequana board changes announced.

LA JOLLA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 21, 1995--Sequana Therapeutics, a privately held genomics company, today named its acting chief executive officer, Kevin J. Kinsella to that position on a permanent basis.

The company also announced that Irwin Lerner, former chairman and CEO of Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc. and a director of Sequana, has been appointed chairman of Sequana's board. In addition, Richard Darman, partner and managing director of The Carlyle Group, has joined the Sequana board of directors.

"One doesn't often have the opportunity to contribute to the creation of a new industry, much less one like genomics that will revolutionize medical diagnosis, treatment and drug discovery," said Kinsella. "The opportunity to lead Sequana through a period of brilliant scientific discovery and rapid growth was irresistible."

Kinsella, age 49, has been managing general partner of Avalon Ventures, a private venture capital limited partnership in La Jolla, CA, since its founding in 1983. Avalon successfully helped found and invested in over 30 companies. These include such life sciences companies as Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Athena Neurosciences, Idun Pharmaceuticals, Metra Biosystems, Microcide Pharmaceuticals, NeoRx Corporation, Neurocrine Biosciences, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacopeia and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Additionally, Kinsella served as the founding chairman of Athena, Onyx, Synaptics, NeoRx, Microcide and Vertex. He is currently a director of Gryphon Software, Microcide Pharmaceuticals, and Onyx Pharmaceuticals.

Prior to forming Avalon Ventures, Kinsella founded two successful high technology start-ups, Spectragraphics Corporation, a manufacturer of high performance CAD/CAM workstations, and Landmark Graphics Corporation (LMRK), a leading manufacturer of CAEX workstations for seismic data interpretation.

Kinsella holds a B.S. degree in management with a minor in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.A. degree in international economics from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He held a Rotary International Fellowship at the University of Stockholm, Sweden. He is also a trustee of Boston University and a former member of MIT's Corporation Development Committee.

Irwin Lerner joined Sequana as a director in July 1994. He was formerly employed by Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc. for over 31 years, where besides serving as chairman, he was president and CEO from 1980 to 1992. In addition to his industry experience, Lerner has also served actively on the boards of numerous trade and professional associations. In particular, he was a member of the board of directors of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PMA), where he served for seven years as chairman of the PMA Foundation and also chaired the association's FDA Issues Committee.

Richard Darman formerly served from 1989 - 1993 as director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and was a member of President Bush's Cabinet. In addition to his service in the Bush Cabinet, Darman held senior policy positions under four Presidents in six Cabinet Departments and the White House. In the private sector, he was managing director of Shearson Lehman Brothers, Inc. (1987 - 1989); principal and director of ICF, Inc. (1974 - 1975 and 1977 - 1980), and a director of several privately held firms. He is an honors graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School.

Sequana Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 1993 to discover the genes involved in major diseases and to participate in the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic products based on these discoveries. The genetic aspects of many diseases such as Type II diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, asthma, and ulcerative colitis are believed to be polygenic, involving more than one gene. Sequana is developing and using high-throughput analytical systems coupled with advanced bioinformatics to decipher the genetic basis of many polygenic diseases.

CONTACT: Sequana Therapeutics, La Jolla

Kevin J. Kinsella, 619/452-6550