N4 Pharma plc (AIM: N4P), the biotech developing Nuvec®, its proprietary gene delivery system to enable advanced therapies for cancer and other diseases, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Alastair Smith as an independent Non-Executive Director of the Company with immediate effect. In addition, David Templeton has retired as a Director of the Company with immediate effect due to personal reasons.
Alastair was the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Avacta Group plc (“Avacta”), an AIM-listed biotech company established as a spin-out from Leeds University in 2005 and listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM market in 2006.
Over his tenure, Avacta grew into one of the leading AIM biotech companies comprising two divisions: a clinical stage oncology drug company advancing its proprietary pre|CISIONTM tumour targeting platform[1] and a diagnostics business executing an M&A-led growth strategy in Europe focused on healthcare professionals.
Alastair joins the Company’s remuneration and audit committees.
As part of his remuneration package, Alastair has been granted options over 5 million ordinary shares in the Company at an exercise price of 0.75p per share. The options vest in three equal tranches on the first, second and third anniversaries from the date of grant. The options have a term of ten years from the date of grant.
Nigel Theobald, Chief Executive Officer, N4 Pharma, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Alastair to the Board of N4 Pharma. His experience in having founded and grown a start-up to become one of the UK’s leading life science businesses will be invaluable in supporting the commercialisation of Nuvec® and advancing our pipeline of innovative therapies.
“On behalf of my fellow Directors and everyone involved with N4 Pharma, I would like to thank David for all he has contributed over his years with the Company. Whilst he will be sorely missed, his work on dual loading of Nuvec® and its potential for oral delivery has left us with a true point of difference and a clear path towards Phase 1 clinical trials. We wish him all the best for the future.”
Alastair Smith commented: “I am delighted to be joining the Board of N4 Pharma. I see strong parallels between N4 Pharma and Avacta; both building a pipeline of therapies that are strongly differentiated by a proprietary platform technology and offer additional opportunities for early commercialisation through licensing.
“N4 Pharma’s Nuvec® platform has the potential to solve a critical issue in the gene therapy market, a delivery system that can target multiple nucleic acids to specific tissues, and with the potential for oral delivery. This is hugely valuable and has the potential to make Nuvec® the delivery platform of choice for the gene therapy industry.
“I believe that Nuvec® will allow the Company to build a differentiated drug pipeline to drive long-term value and generate commercial progress through platform licensing deals and partnerships in the near term.”
The following information is disclosed pursuant to Rule 17 and Schedule Two paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies in relation to Dr David Alastair Maclaughlin Smith, aged 58:
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Current Directorships/Partnerships |
Past Directorships/Partnerships (within 5 years) |
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Sparta BioDiscovery Limited |
Avacta Group plc Avacta Animal Health Ltd Avacta Animal Health Inc. Avacta Analytical Limited Affimer Limited Avacta Ltd Avacta Life Sciences Limited Avacta Life Sciences Inc. Avacta Group Trustee Limited Avacta Finance (Jersey) Limited AffyXell Therapeutics Crossco (1127) Limited Launch Diagnostics Holdings Limited Launch Diagnostics Ltd Coris BioConcept SrL Coris Holdings SrL |
[1]Avacta’s lead clinical programme, AVA6000, based on the Company’s proprietary tumour targeting platform pre|CISION™, is a modified form of the established chemotherapy doxorubicin. pre|CISION™ is designed to release the active chemotherapy only in the tumour tissue, thereby sparing healthy tissue and improving the safety and tolerability of this effective anti-cancer therapy. AVA6000 is in the late stage of Phase I clinical trials in patients with locally advanced or metastatic selected solid tumours and has been shown to dramatically reduce the severity and frequency of doxorubicin toxicities.
For more information please contact:
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N4 Pharma plc Nigel Theobald, Chief Executive Officer Luke Cairns, Executive Director
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