Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Announces Appointment of New Chief Executive Officer

Simcere Pharmaceutical Group ("Simcere" or the "Company")

, a leading pharmaceutical company specializing in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of branded and proprietary pharmaceuticals in China, today announced the appointment of Mr. Hongquan Liu, as its Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Board, effective October  8, 2012. Mr. Jinsheng Ren will continue to serve as Chairman of Simcere. The Company also announced that Dr. Yehong Zhang, who currently serves as President of Simcere, will serve as Chief Executive Officer of Simcere MSD (Shanghai) Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, the newly established joint venture between Simcere and Merck & Co., Inc.

, effective from October 8, 2012. Dr. Zhang will no longer hold the position of President of Simcere.   Between 2000 and 2012, Mr. Hongquan Liu held the positions of Director and General Manager of Sino-Swed Pharmaceutical Corp. Ltd, the first pharmaceutical joint venture between China and Sweden. Prior to this, Mr. Liu held the positions of Chief Financial Officer and Chief Marketing and Business Officer of Pharmacia & Upjohn (China) Ltd., and General Manager of Pharmacia Corporation. Mr. Liu received an EMBA degree from China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) and a