SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. : SciClone Announces Board of Directors and Officer Changes

SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCLN) today announced the resignation of Trevor M. Jones, Ph.D., C.B.E., from the Board of Directors. Prof. Jones made this decision based on the increasing demands of his other professional obligations, including his involvement in a new business venture and his service on several other boards of directors. Prof. Jones has been a member of the SciClone Board since 2009. 

Jon Saxe, SciClone's Chairman, commented: "The SciClone Board of Directors would like to express our sincere gratitude to Trevor for his service and for the contributions he has made to the Company's significant progress. We appreciate his years of strong support and counsel, his scientific insight, his elegance, his good humor and the dedication and leadership with which he fulfilled his commitment to SciClone. We wish him very well in his current and future endeavors." 

Separately, the Company announced that Dr. Israel Rios has resigned as of April 6, 2012. Dr. Rios departure was related to the Company's winding down of its U.S.-based product development programs. 

Friedhelm Blobel, SciClone's Chief Executive Officer, said: "Israel has been an outstanding member of our executive team for over six years, consistently contributing to our business in a positive way. I would like to thank Israel for his service and we all wish him well in his future efforts." 

The membership of the Board of Directors of the Company will be reduced from eight members to seven members following Dr. Jones departure

SciClone Pharmaceuticals Announces Share Repurchase Program and Reaffirms 2011 Guidance

SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program that authorizes the company to repurchase up to $20 million of its outstanding common stock over the next 24 months. In addition, SciClone reaffirmed its previously announced 2011 financial guidance with the understanding that any cash used to repurchase shares may decrease the year-end cash balance and that a reduction in shares outstanding may increase fourth quarter and full year earnings per share."The share repurchase program demonstrates our confidence in the Company's strategic plan and our commitment to delivering shareholder value," commented Friedhelm Blobel, Ph.D., SciClone's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We remain focused on executing our strategy of creating a market-leading specialty pharmaceutical company in China. With our expanded product portfolio and sales and marketing capabilities through our recent NovaMed acquisition, we believe we are well-positioned for long-term growth."Under the program, purchases may be made from time to time in the open market, in privately negotiated transactions or otherwise, at times and in amounts as the Company deems appropriate. The number of shares to be purchased and the timing of any purchases may be subject to various factors, which may include the price of the common stock, general market conditions, corporate and regulatory requirements, including restrictions in the Company's debt covenants, and alternate investment opportunities. The share repurchase program may be modified or discontinued at any time.Financial Outlook Update SciClone is also reaffirming its previous guidance that it expects its 2011 GAAP revenue to be between $133 and $138 million (which excludes NovaMed's revenue prior to the closing of the acquisition on April 18, 2011). The Company is also reaffirming its guidance that its non-GAAP earnings per share for 2011 (which excludes charges and write offs related to the acquisition of NovaMed and employee stock-based compensation), is expected to be between $0.52 and $0.57 per share. Cash, cash equivalents, and short and long term investments are expected to be greater than $55 million at the end of 2011. Any impact of the stock repurchase program (e.g. use of cash and reduced number of shares of common stock outstanding) is not included in these numbers.