BENTLEY PHARMACEUTICALS PARTNERS WITH UNH
First hire of UNH graduate celebrated

Contact: Mary Peterson
603-862-3165
University Relations and UNH Foundation

June 24, 2004



DURHAM, N.H. -- University of New Hampshire administrators and senior executive officers of Bentley Pharmaceuticals, Inc. met recently to celebrate Bentley's first hire of a UNH graduate and lay the groundwork for future collaboration. Materials scientist Zhengmao Li, Ph.D. '04 has been named manager of protein/peptide delivery programs for the Exeter, N.H.-based company. "It's a perfect fit," said Robert J. Gyurik, Bentley's vice president of pharmaceutical development. "Zhengmao came to us fully formed, and he's already translating our needs into new technology."

From left to right, UNH President Ann Weaver Hart, Zhengmao Li '04, and Bentley Pharmaceuticals President James Murphy in Bentley's Exeter, N.H. laboratory.

As a graduate student at UNH, Li studied intranasal insulin delivery under materials science Professor Yvon Durant—a project jointly sponsored by the university, the New Hampshire Industrial Research Center, and Bentley. "At UNH, students can build life-long relationships with faculty who are conducting cutting-edge research," Li said.

" We are delighted to celebrate Zhengmao's new position and look forward to our ongoing partnership with Bentley," UNH President Ann Weaver Hart said. "The university is committed to the production of knowledge that addresses scientific needs in today's world, and one way we fulfill this mission is through deep and reciprocal relationships such as the one we recognize with Bentley."

" As a New Hampshire company, we appreciate that our state university can provide us with outstanding resources," said James R. Murphy, chairman, president, and CEO for Bentley. The company recently collaborated with UNH testing an intranasal spray as an alternative form of insulin delivery.

A specialty pharmaceutical company focused on advanced drug delivery technologies and pharmaceutical products, Bentley manufactures and markets a growing portfolio of generic and branded pharmaceuticals in Europe through its subsidiaries in Spain. In May, the company, which has 326 employees in Europe and the U.S., began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "BNT."

" At UNH, we don't create barriers between our research groups," said John Aber, vice president for research and public service. "Our relationship with Bentley is an excellent example of the kind of public-private partnership that UNH is creating. Our interaction with Bentley brings new resources and energy to the process of discovery that is a core UNH mission."

" Bentley is the largest pharmaceutical company in New Hampshire," said Arthur Greenberg, dean of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, "and we look forward to collaborations that will partner the resources of the university, state-of-the-art instrumentation, materials science, organic synthesis, and computational chemistry with this forward-looking company."

" The biggest thing we can offer Bentley is the collaborations we provide," added UNH's William Trumble, dean of the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture. "We have an environment in which we can pull in areas of expertise—for example, our genomics center, the use of robotics to develop chip technology, immunology, and endochrinomics." The college's Center to Advance Molecular Interaction Science (CAMIS) serves the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and materials science industries through the development of tools and techniques to characterize and control the interaction of biological molecules
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Members of the university party included President Ann Weaver Hart; John Aber, vice president for research and public service; Arthur Greenberg, dean, College of Engineering and Physical Science; William Trumble, dean, College of Life Sciences and Agriculture; Yvon Durant, professor, materials science; Jerome Claverie, professor, materials science; Jennifer Goldberg, associate director of major gifts, UNH Foundation, Inc.; and graduate student Floraine Collette, who is involved with the research programs funded by Bentley Pharmaceuticals.

The Bentley group included James R. Murphy, chairman, president, and CEO; Robert J. Gyurik, vice president, pharmaceutical development; James Hand, vice president, business development and licensing; Michael D. Price, chief financial officer; Paul Fitzgibbons, director, program and project management; Zhengmao Li, manager, protein/peptide development program; Carl Reppucci, manager, formulation science; and Ivo Velazco, manager, product development.

A photo is available for download at: http://www.unh.edu/news/img/bentley.jpg