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Venebio to compile scientific evidence regarding medication adherence for MeadWestvaco Corp.

RICHMOND, Virginia – February 10, 2010 ‑ Venebio Group, LLC (Venebio) today announced that it has entered into a consulting agreement with MeadWestvaco Corp. (MWV). MWV has engaged Venebio in the compilation of scientific evidence regarding issues associated with “medication adherence”.

The degree of a patient’s medication adherence is clearly a key factor in making medications safe and effective for them. According to a recent World Health Organization report, “Poor adherence to treatment of chronic diseases is a worldwide problem of striking magnitude. The consequences of poor adherence to long-term therapies are poor health outcomes and increased health care costs.” The cost burden of drug-related morbidity in the U.S., including that due to poor medication adherence, is estimated at almost $300 billion per year.

MWV is a packaging company that delivers high-value packaging solutions and products to the world’s most recognized companies in the food and beverage, media and entertainment, personal care, cosmetic and healthcare industries.

“By promoting patient adherence through effective, easy-to-use and efficiently manufactured packaging, we are supporting health care that is accessible and affordable,” commented Dr. Ted Lithgow, President, MWV Healthcare. In addition, pre-filled and ready-to-dispense packaging eliminates the need for pharmacists to repackage medication into pharmacy vials, reducing errors and operating costs, and allowing pharmacists to spend less time counting pills and more time consulting patients.

Barbara Zedler, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Venebio adds, “There is substantial potential public health benefit from improved medication adherence by using adherence packaging.” And the World Health Organization has declared that, “Improving adherence might be the best investment for tackling chronic conditions effectively… In many cases investments in improving adherence are fully repaid with savings in health care utilization.”

About Venebio: Venebio (www.venebio.com ) is a research consultancy small business that provides cost-effective, custom solutions for complex life sciences problems. By integrating the expertise of a global network of scientists in a broad range of biomedical fields, Venebio delivers comprehensive project management and start-to-finish problem solving in pharmacogenomics, pharmacoepidemiology, genetic and molecular epidemiology, personalized medicine, bioinformatics, systems biology, and biomarker discovery. As part of its comprehensive services, Venebio also offers epidemiologic literature reviews and analysis to pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology and medical device companies, healthcare organizations, academic research centers, law firms, and government entities. Venebio is based in the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park in Richmond, and has been selected as a 2010 Greater Richmond Area Company to Watch.

About MeadWestvaco: MeadWestvaco (www.meadwestvaco.com) is a global packaging company that delivers high-value packaging solutions and products to the world’s most recognized companies in the food and beverage, media and entertainment, personal care, cosmetic and healthcare industries. The company also has market-leading positions in its Consumer & Office Products, Specialty Chemicals and Specialty Papers businesses.