WELLESLEY HILLS, Mass., March 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MacroChem Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: MACM) today announced the appointment of David P. Luci to the position of Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Luci has served as MacroChem's General Counsel and Vice President, Corporate Development since joining the Company in December 2007 .

Mr. Luci was formerly the CFO of Bioenvision, Inc. prior to its successful merger transaction with Genzyme Corporation valued at $345 mm, and has over 16 years of experience servicing or working in the finance, accounting and legal functions within the healthcare industry. Bioenvision's primary focus was developing compounds for the treatment of cancer. While Mr. Luci was at Bioenvision, the company raised over $100 million of capital through equity financings, primarily lead by UBS and JP Morgan, and developed and successfully obtained regulatory approval for a compound to treat pediatric acute leukemia in end-stage patients.

Mr. Luci is also a member of the board of directors, audit committee chairman and compensation committee chairman of Access Pharmaceuticals (OTC Bulletin Board: ACCP.OB) of Dallas , Texas, a biopharmaceutical company focused on development of novel therapies for cancer and other indications. Prior to Bioenvision he also served as a senior associate in the corporate department of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP (New York Office) and senior auditor at Ernst & Young, LLP (New York Office). In 1991, Mr. Luci earned certification in public accounting.

Mr. Luci stated. 'Since joining the company, I have been further encouraged by our potential for future success and look forward to working in this expanded role through the coming stages of growth and opportunity for the Company.'

Bernard Patriacca, MacroChem's Chief Financial Officer, will be retiring as planned following the filing of the company's annual report for the year ended December 31, 2007 which occurred on Monday, March 17, 2008 . Mr. Robert DeLuccia, President and CEO of MacroChem, stated, 'On behalf of our Board of Directors and the Company, we sincerely thank Mr. Patriacca for his substantial contributions to our operations over the past seven years and offer our very best wishes in his retirement. Mr. Patriacca will remain a consultant to the Company to ensure a smooth transition.' He continued, 'We are very pleased to have someone with David's experience and skill contributing to our ongoing development activities in his expanded capacity.'

He added, 'Mr. Luci brings a diverse legal, financial, and business background as well as excellent knowledge of the biotech sector, both with pharmaceutical companies and the investment community of our industry. His experience includes capital markets financing, negotiating deals, and license agreements (both U.S. and ex-U.S.), corporate partnerships, and mergers and acquisitions. I believe this impressive skill set will serve us well as we seek to capitalize on our recent achievements and advance MacroChem's initiatives in the coming year.'

Mr. Luci received his JD, cum laude, from Albany Law School of Union University, and his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Bucknell University. He is a member of the New York Bar Association and a Certified Public Accountant (Pennsylvania).

About MacroChem

MacroChem Corporation is a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops and seeks to commercialize pharmaceutical products. Our lead product candidates are EcoNail(R) and pexiganan. EcoNail is a topically applied SEPA- based econazole lacquer for the treatment of onychomycosis, a condition commonly known as nail fungus. We recently acquired exclusive worldwide license rights to pexiganan, a novel topical anti-infective for the treatment of diabetic foot infection, which has already completed two Phase 3 trials. Our other clinical stage product candidate, Opterone(R), is a topically applied SEPA-based testosterone cream designed to treat male hypogonadism. Our pipeline of clinical-stage and early-stage product candidates includes products based on our SEPA, MacroDerm(TM) and DermaPass(TM) drug delivery technologies. For more information visit our website, http://www.macrochem.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

With the exception of historical information contained in this press release, the matters described herein are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. MacroChem's actual results may differ significantly from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, those discussed or referred to in the section entitled 'Risk Factors' in MacroChem's Annual Report on Form 10-K, as well as those discussed elsewhere therein, and include, without limitation, risks regarding product development, the timing and results of clinical trials, the regulatory approval process, capital requirements, financial condition, patent protection and dependence on third parties for development and licensing arrangements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. MacroChem undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For more information visit our website, http://www.macrochem.com.

    Contact:
    Dave Luci, CFO and VP Corporate Development
    (781) 489-7310
    dluci@macrochem.com

SOURCE MacroChem Corporation