Erkrath,
Germany. The transatlantic biopharmaceutical company CARDION AG, with operating
entities in Erkrath and Boston (USA), expanded its executive board effective January 1, 2002.
In addition to CARDION´s Chief Executive Officer Dr. Michael Ruhl, Mr. Niels Ackermann and
Dr. Manfred Rüdiger have been appointed to become members of CARDION?s executive
board: · Niels Ackermann, Chief Financial Officer, previously worked in the investment banking
division of Goldman Sachs where he gained extensive experience in the
mergers &
acquisitions business as well as the preparation of initial public offerings of German companies
at the Neuer Markt and NASDAQ. He joined CARDION in September 2001 and took over the
position of CFO at the same time. · Dr. Manfred Rüdiger, Chief Scientific Officer, joined
CARDION in 1998. Since then he has played a significant role in strengthening the
company?s therapeutic focus on inflammatory and cardiovascular disorders. Following his
appointment Dr. Rüdiger will hold responsibility for the research & development process from
drug discovery to phase IIa of clinical development. CARDION AG is a uniquely positioned
biopharmaceutical company that concentrates on the development of innovative, potentially
curative therapeutics for the treatment of inflammatory and
cardiovascular diseases. CARDION,
founded in 1996, is focusing on highly attractive, rapidly growing areas: a novel
immunotherapeutic protein for the treatment of
rheumatoid arthritis and other Inflammatory
diseases, cardiovascular disorders and a stem cell platform for the creation of regenerative
medicine products (with initial focus on the treatment of Type I diabetes).