Alteon to Change Principal Accountants
13 Agosto 2004 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Alteon to Change Principal Accountants PARSIPPANY, N.J., Aug. 13
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alteon Inc. today announced that KPMG LLP
("KPMG") has informed the company that it has resigned as Alteon's
principal accountants following a review of its client portfolio
and allocation of resources. KPMG has served as Alteon's principal
accountants since May 30, 2002. KPMG has advised Alteon that its
resignation was not the result of any disagreements with Alteon on
any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial
statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedures. Kenneth I.
Moch, President and CEO said, "Alteon has worked with KPMG for over
2 years, and we have been pleased with our relationship. However,
as the accounting industry has changed and the time and cost
commitments by the accounting firms have increased due to
Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, we understand KPMG's need to direct its
resources to a more limited number of clients. We have commenced
discussions with other prospective principal accountants." About
Alteon Alteon is developing several new classes of drugs that
reverse or slow down diseases of aging and complications of
diabetes. These compounds have an impact on a fundamental
pathological process caused by protein-glucose complexes called
Advanced Glycation End-products (A.G.E.s). The formation and
crosslinking of A.G.E.s lead to a loss of flexibility and function
in body tissues, organs and vessels and have been shown to be a
causative factor in many age-related diseases and diabetic
complications. Alteon has created a library of novel classes of
compounds targeting the A.G.E. Pathway. Alteon's lead compound
alagebrium chloride (formerly ALT-711), the only A.G.E. Crosslink
Breaker in advanced human testing, has demonstrated safety and
efficacy in several Phase 2 trials and is actively being developed
for systolic hypertension and heart failure. Ongoing clinical
trials include SPECTRA (Systolic Pressure Efficacy and Safety Trial
of Alagebrium) and PEDESTAL (Patients with Impaired Ejection
Fraction and Diastolic Dysfunction: Efficacy and Safety Trial of
Alagebrium). For more information on Alteon, visit the company's
website at http://www.alteon.com/. Any statements contained in this
press release that relate to future plans, events or performance
are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties
including, but not limited to, those relating to technology and
product development (including the possibility that early clinical
trial results may not be predictive of results that will be
obtained in large-scale testing or that any clinical trials will
not demonstrate sufficient safety and efficacy to obtain requisite
approvals or will not result in marketable products), regulatory
approval processes, intellectual property rights and litigation,
competitive products, ability to obtain financing, and other risks
identified in Alteon's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. The information contained in this press release is
accurate as of the date indicated. Actual results, events or
performance may differ materially. Alteon undertakes no obligation
to publicly release the result of any revision to these
forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or
circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events. DATASOURCE: Alteon Inc. CONTACT: Susan M.
Pietropaolo, Director, Corporate Communications & Investor
Relations of Alteon Inc., +1-201-934-5000 Web site:
http://www.alteonpharma.com/ http://www.alteon.com/
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