Word of the Day

Commodity

Even if you don't think you do, you already know plenty about commodities. Want us to prove it? No problem.

What makes oil produced in Saudi Arabia different from oil exported from Nigeria? It's the same thing that makes the corn you ate at last summer¿s barbecue different from the corn used to produce ethanol. Stumped? Well, don't feel bad, it's a trick question. The answer? Absolutely nothing. Corn is corn no matter where it comes from -- just as wheat is wheat and natural gas is -- right! -- natural gas. (Though the quality may differ, the make-up is uniform.)

So, in less elaborate terms, corn and oil (and all other commodities) are homogenous goods that can be processed, resold and more often than not, used as an input to the production of other goods or services. These goods are traded on a commodity exchange, thus setting the price-per-barrel (or other metric unit) used to value them.

Now pay attention, here's a question that indeed does have an answer: What is the difference between a commodity and a stock? While a stock can tank and become worthless, a commodity cannot have its value be wiped to zero. One other difference: Most commodities are traded in futures, meaning traders buy and sell where they think the price of a product will be at a certain point in the future. Stocks trade based on the value of the underlying company at that point in time.

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Friday, August 01, 2008

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Appoints Jan Smilek Acting Chief Financial Officer

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BETHESDA, Md., Aug 01, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) ----Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCMP) announced the appointment of the company's Chief Accounting Officer, Jan Smilek, to the position of Acting Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Smilek replaces former Chief Financial Officer Mariam E. Morris, who resigned effective August 1 and will serve as a part-time consultant to the company to assist in the management transition.

Smilek joined Sucampo Pharmaceuticals in February 2008 as Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller. Prior to joining Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, he was the Senior Director of Finance at Vanda Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VNDA) beginning in January 2006. Before that, he was Senior Director of Financial Reporting, Analysis and General Accounting at McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) from January 2005 to January 2006. He also worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP for 13 years beginning in 1991 in Prague, Miami and Washington, D.C. Smilek is a Certified Public Accountant in the United States.

"Jan's knowledge of our company and his strong financial acumen make him the ideal executive to lead our finance department during this period," said Ryuji Ueno, M.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Sucampo Pharmaceuticals' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "I also want to acknowledge Mariam's valuable contributions and dedication to Sucampo. During her tenure, she helped to move the company from an early stage clinical development organization to commercialization. We all wish her the best as she begins a new chapter in her life."

About Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company based in Bethesda, Md., focuses on the development and commercialization of medicines based on prostones. The therapeutic potential of prostones, which are bio-lipids that occur naturally in the human body, was first identified by Ryuji Ueno, M.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Sucampo Pharmaceuticals' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Ueno founded Sucampo Pharmaceuticals in 1996 with Sachiko Kuno, Ph.D., founding Chief Executive Officer and advisor, international business development.

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals is marketing AMITIZA(R) (lubiprostone) 24 mcg in the U.S. for chronic idiopathic constipation in adults and AMITIZA(R) (lubiprostone) 8 mcg in the U.S. to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation in adult women and is developing the drug for additional gastrointestinal disorders with large potential markets. In addition, Sucampo Pharmaceuticals has a robust pipeline of compounds with the potential to target unmet medical conditions affecting millions of patients worldwide. Sucampo Pharmaceuticals has two wholly owned subsidiaries: Sucampo Pharma Europe, Ltd., headquartered in Oxford, UK with a branch office in Basel, Switzerland, and Sucampo Pharma, Ltd., located in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan. To learn more about Sucampo Pharmaceuticals and its products, visit www.sucampo.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Sucampo Pharmaceuticals are forward-looking statements made under the provisions of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the words "project," "believe," "anticipate," "plan," "expect," "estimate," "intend," "should," "would," "could," "will," "may" or other similar expressions. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors described in Sucampo Pharmaceuticals' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 and other periodic reports filed with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements in this press release represent Sucampo Pharmaceuticals' views only as of the date of this release and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. Sucampo Pharmaceuticals anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its views to change. However, while Sucampo Pharmaceuticals may elect to update these forward-looking statements publicly at some point in the future, Sucampo Pharmaceuticals specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

AMITIZA(R) is a registered trademark of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

SOURCE: Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Westwicke Partners
   John R. Woolford, 410-321-9653 Principal john.woolford@westwickepartners.com

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