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SPRINGBOARD SELECTS AFRICAN FOCUSED
PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURING BUSINESS,
LAGRAY CHEMICAL COMPANY, TO PRESENT AT THE
SILICON VALLEY WOMEN’S VENTURE CAPTIAL FORUM
-- One of 24 Chosen to Present West
Africa’s First Fully Integrated
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Company --
June 23, 2004
(Chicago, IL) – LaGray Chemical Company
today announced that it has been chosen by
Springboard Enterprises and the Women’s
Technology Cluster, to present its progress
and future development plans at Springboard:
Silicon Valley 2004. LaGray is building the
first fully-integrated pharmaceutical
manufacturing facility in sub-Saharan Africa
to provide affordable medications to people
in Africa. The company’s primary focus will
be on drugs essential for the treatment of
HIV-AIDS, TB and malaria, which have reached
epidemic levels on the continent.
LaGray is one of
24 companies that were chosen from a pool of
hundreds for this year’s forum, which will
showcase talented female entrepreneurs to an audience of
leading corporate, angel, and venture
investors on Thursday June 24, at Stanford
Law School in Palo Alto, Calif.
“LaGray’s vision is to
provide people on the African continent with
quality, life saving medicines that are
desperately needed at affordable costs,”
said Dr. Alexandra Graham, chief operating
officer and co-founder of LaGray. “This
year’s Springboard forum will be a great
opportunity to present this profitable,
sustainable, and socially responsible
venture to a focused investor community.”
LaGray is the first
company of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa.
Starting from raw commodity chemicals, the
company will manufacture critical active
pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and
convert them into finished dosage forms such
as capsules, topicals and injectables in
accordance with U.S.-Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) standards. LaGray is
being established initially in the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
but envisions a Pan-African expansion. It
will be a resource at the center of the
HIV-AIDS pandemic to global non-governmental
organizations seeking quality drugs at low
cost.
The company is focused
on branded generic and licensed
pharmaceuticals. “Statistics show that most
of the diseases that cause significant
mortality in Africa are treatable or
manageable with existing drugs. What stands
in the way of treatment, and hence survival,
is access to affordable drugs. We can help
address this need while we seek new
remedies,” said Dr. Graham. “Drug donations
by major pharmaceutical companies are
laudable gestures but are simply not a
sustainable solution.
LaGray’s practical approach to the problem
is to build capacity for independent
health-care by developing technologies for
local drug manufacture in Africa. Using
lower cost resources, the company can
substantially reduce the cost of goods sold
and sell the drugs at significantly lower
prices than imported drugs.
Since its inception,
LaGray has raised more than $2 million, all
of which has been invested in equipment and
manufacturing and laboratory facilities in
Ghana, West Africa. The company expects to
begin production in the fourth quarter of
2004.
Springboard Venture
Forums provide women-led, high growth
businesses with access to investment
capital. Springboard: Silicon Valley 2004
will showcase emerging businesses and social
ventures in the software, internet,
telecommunication, and life sciences
industries. LaGray will be the only company
to present a pharmaceutical business plan in
the social venture category.
“We founded LaGray because we are in a
position to make a difference and are
prepared to make the necessary personal
sacrifices”
said Dr. Graham.
“The immense social impact of this
project is perhaps the most compelling
reason to support LaGray because it is the
motivating force that keeps us going against
all odds. We will produce and market
affordable, quality drugs focused on
critical endemic diseases and introduce new
technology that will contribute to
self-sufficiency in healthcare in the
region. We will also create jobs, including
opportunities for highly educated persons.
This is truly a double-bottom-line venture."
About LaGray
Chemical Company
LaGray Chemical Company will
operate the first fully-integrated
pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in
West Africa, producing both the active
pharmaceutical ingredients as well as the
finished dosage forms. Founded in Ghana in
2000 and incorporated in the U.S. in 2002,
the company will manufacture pharmaceuticals
for the treatment of a
wide
variety of diseases such as HIV-AIDS and
opportunistic infections, malaria,
tuberculosis, parasitic, bacterial and
fungal infections, as well as hypertension.
The company was founded by
pharmaceutical industry veterans of West
African origin who have a combined 40 years
of experience in U.S. pharmaceutical
research and manufacturing as well as a deep
understanding of the African pharmaceutical
market and economic environment. For more
information on LaGray Chemical Company,
visit
http://www.lagraychem.com.
About Springboard
Enterprises
Springboard Enterprises is a
national not-for-profit organization
dedicated to accelerating women's access to
the equity markets. The organization
produces programs that educate, showcase and
support entrepreneurs as they seek equity
capital and grow their companies. For
more information
about Springboard, please visit
www.springboardenterprises.org.
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