Beyond Genomics Becomes BG Medicine, Appoints Pieter Muntendam, MD President; Moves Underscore Sharpened Focus On Drug Development Applications

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 3, 2005--Beyond Genomics, Inc. today announced its name change to BG Medicine Inc. The company also announced the appointment of Pieter Muntendam, MD as its new President to lead the company's business operations and strategy. BG Medicine's new name and new leadership reflect the decision to focus on high-value drug development applications of its proprietary Systems Pharmacology platform that is based on the scientific advances in the nascent Systems Biology field.

"The public's demand for safer and more effective treatments and the pharmaceutical industry's growing need for new products present tremendous opportunities for BG Medicine," said Noubar B. Afeyan, PhD, Executive Chairman. "Recent events in the pharma industry have fuelled the recognition that the time has come for science-enabled drug development using the approach pioneered by BG Medicine. Pieter Muntendam brings the right mix of entrepreneurial and corporate experience to lead the next phase of this company's development, capitalizing on the company's leadership in the field." Afeyan continued.

"With over four years of experience in solving complex problems for our pharmaceutical partners, BG Medicine is unique in having the production-ready platform to rapidly characterize the molecular pharmacology of drugs and drug candidates in both animal studies and clinical trials - we call this Systems Pharmacology," explained Pieter Muntendam, President. "Our platform integrates metabolite, protein and gene transcript profiling to systematically characterize the molecular changes due to disease or drug effects. Our experience in obtaining such Systems Response Profiles(TM) in a variety of conditions, including metabolic, cardiovascular and CNS diseases and oncology, illustrates the important role we can play in drug development, by improving its efficiency, and producing higher overall pharmaceutical R&D productivity. This creates exciting opportunities to improve upon leading drug classes, identify new indications, and explore novel drug combinations." Muntendam added.

Pieter Muntendam received his MD from Leiden University in The Netherlands, where he began his career with Organon International. He went on to hold key roles in some of the world's largest pharmaceutical firms. As Vice President of Care Management at Glaxo Wellcome (now GlaxoSmithKline), Dr. Muntendam was responsible for the development and implementation of its entry strategy into the field of care and disease management. Previously he was Vice President of Research and Development, International, and a member of the Board of Directors for two Johnson & Johnson operating companies. Most recently he led the Biopharmaceutical and Healthcare practice at NetNumina, a professional services company focused on leveraging information technology to improve biopharma yield and efficiency. Dr. Muntendam's extensive experience with early-stage companies includes founding health management firm ProMedex, acquired by SHPS in 2004; and co-founding a subsidiary of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Vitivity, where he served as Vice President of Medicine.

About BG Medicine

BG Medicine is pioneering the commercial application of Systems Pharmacology, which is based on scientific advances in the Systems Biology field. Its advanced proprietary platform enables novel paths to new medicines through molecular fingerprinting of genes, proteins, and metabolites combined with powerful bioinformatics integration to produce Systems Response Profiles(TM). These profiles, which combine information from multiple physiological compartments and often include thousands of distinct analyte levels, have enabled unprecedented molecular characterization of disease states and drug responses. BG Medicine applies its novel approach through collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies. Founded in 2000 and located in Waltham, Mass., BG Medicine is backed by Flagship Ventures and Gilde Investment Management. For more information see www.bg-medicine.com.

Contacts

BG Medicine, Inc.
Stacie Rader, 781-890-1199
srader@bg-medicine.com