MediQuest Hires Pharmaceutical Industry Veteran as VP, Clinical Development

(BOTHELL, WA - Feb. 5) MediQuest Therapeutics, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for inflammatory/ infectious diseases that recently completed Phase IIIa clinical trials for a therapy designed to treat Raynaud's Disease, is pleased to announce that Eric Batson, M.D., Ph.D. has joined the Company as its Vice President of Clinical Development.

In his new role, Batson will join the Company's management team designing and executing the Company's clinical trial programs. As MediQuest continues to introduce new drug candidates, Batson will guide the strategy of their development through each stage of clinical testing.

"Having just completed Phase III-clinical trials for MQX-503 - a therapy designed to treat Raynaud's Disease - the addition of a seasoned expert like Eric Batson comes at a pivotal time in our Company's development," said Frederick Dechow, President and CEO of MediQuest Therapeutics, Inc. "We are pleased to welcome Eric to MediQuest's management team and are confident his background in designing, implementing and evaluating clinical trials will help us advance our pipeline of drug candidates."

An independent consultant for the last nine years, Batson has an extensive background in designing, executing and reporting all phases of clinical trials for drugs, biologicals and devices. He has also overseen the medical evaluation of adverse events for both clinical and marketed products.

"I'm excited to be joining a company with such a robust product pipeline," Batson said. "In the years to come I look forward to establishing the efficacy of MediQuest's innovative drug candidates for a number of diseases and conditions afflicting many patients."

Prior to his consultancy, Batson was also Director of Clinical Affairs and Director of Biometrics for SONUS Pharmaceuticals in Bothell, Wash. Prior to that, he worked six years for Abbott Laboratories and started a new medical department at their offices in Silicon Valley. Batson was also responsible for all of Abbott's high-tech medical devices and critical care products. He served six years on staff at the American Medical Association, with a final post as the Director of the Department of Technology Assessment.

Batson graduated from Dartmouth College and received his M.D. from the Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He completed a family practice internship at the Eastern Virginia School of Medicine in Portsmouth, Va. and has a Ph.D. in Medical Computing from the Southwestern Medical School.