Names Gherardi to Lead New Business Unit - Adds Shah as Vice President, Research & Development

Norwich, NY -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/12/2009 -- Norwich Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an industry leader in contract manufacturing and packaging, has announced a comprehensive expansion of services and has named Carolyn A. Gherardi as principal point of contact for those interested in the company’s added capabilities.

In addition, the Company has appointed Shailesh B. Shah, MS, RPH to the position of Vice President, Research & Development. Shah, who joins the company from Par Pharmaceuticals, has 25 years of experience developing formulations of both immediate release as well as controlled release solid oral products from concept to market introduction, obtaining three registered US patents for such delivery systems.

Gherardi, who served as VP Operations for the past three years at Norwich, will now hold the title of Vice President, Technology & Development Services (TDS). Prior to joining Norwich in 2001, Gherardi held numerous positions with P&G Pharmaceuticals, covering all phases of the pharmaceutical manufacturing process. A graduate of Clarkson University, Gherardi earned her degree in Chemical Engineering and is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

According to Mrs. Gherardi, “As our company motto clearly states, we have always strived to provide our clients with uncommon value and everyday excellence. Through this expansion of our Technology & Development Services, we will be adding substantially to the ‘uncommon value’ portion of that equation – offering full service product development support from formulation through commercial product optimization, as well as individual services in many specialized areas.”

Norwich is currently expanding its development services offerings through a selective build¬up of technical personnel and capital investments in specialized equipment.

In the past, Norwich focused its scope of services primarily on commercial manufacturing and packaging, but have undertaken development and optimization projects for multiple customers. It now plans to apply this experience to assist customers throughout the life cycle of a product, as well as help customers plan and launch new initiatives, from line extensions to explorations into new product categories.

“Clients can come to us for a single specialized service or for a complete end-to-end solution,” says Gherardi. “We’re ready to take on any technical service request that is made of us, with no long-term or contingency commitment necessary. We’ll even help our customers overcome hurdles in their day-to-day operations, from improving their quality control processes to helping them replace inefficient suppliers.”

When asked who Norwich will be targeting with its full-service message Gherardi said, “The need for our Technology & Development Services exists in multiple segments of the Pharma industry. Our immediate goal is to communicate the full extent of our expanded services to all Pharmaceutical companies from Big Pharma to Virtual and Specialty Pharma companies. Those who see the greatest value in what we can now do for them, will be the first in line for our services. We expect demand for outsourcing to continue to grow given the downsizing and consolidation of development and manufacturing capacity currently taking place in our industry”.

About Norwich Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Norwich Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an outsourcing provider based in Norwich, NY providing comprehensive support – from clinical trial, through scale-up, to commercial launch – to the pharmaceutical industry. The company brings over 100 years of experience to the manufacture, packaging, associated quality services, and distribution of solid dose, semi-solid, and liquid pharmaceutical products.