Alderley Park - Evgen Pharma plc (AIM: EVG), a clinical stage drug development company developing sulforaphane-based medicines, announces that Non-Executive Chair, Barry Clare, will be retiring as Chairman of the Board and a director of the Company at the next board meeting on 21 September 2023.
The role of Chair will be passed to Dr Susan Foden, currently Senior Non-executive Director, on an interim basis.
The Company also announces the appointment of Toni Hanninen as interim Chief Financial Officer.
Barry was appointed Non-Executive Chair at the foundation of Evgen in 2007 and has overseen the evolution of the Company and board, including the IPO on AIM in October 2015 and more recently the partnership with Stalicla SA exploring the potential therapeutic benefit of sulforaphane in autism.
Susan Foden, the incoming interim Chair, has considerable experience as a non-executive director working with public and private companies. Susan has held NED roles at Vectura plc, BerGenBio AS, BTG plc and, recently served as Chair of Neurocentrx Ltd. She is currently Non-executive Deputy Chair of Australian biotech QBiotics, an Investment Committee member of CD3, the drug discovery initiative between the European Investment Fund and the University of Leuven in Belgium and a Trustee of the Roslin Foundation in Edinburgh, UK.
New CFO
Evgen Pharma also confirms that Toni Hanninen will take over as interim CFO following Richard Moulson's retirement in July. Toni was previously CFO at Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd., an AIM and Nasdaq First North listed clinical stage Biopharmaceutical Company based in the Finland and the US developing novel treatments for medical conditions with significant unmet needs. He holds over 20 years of experience in business development and senior finance roles in both public and private companies, working in mature and emerging markets particularly in Europe and the USA where he has accomplished successful fundraises, transactions and fiscal management in the sector. Toni has an MBA from the Helsinki School of Economics (currently Aalto University).
Dr Huw Jones, CEO of Evgen Pharma said: 'On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Barry for his considerable work with Evgen since inception. His support and guidance have been invaluable to the Board, and we wish him well for the future.
'Our Senior NED, Susan Foden has agreed to take over as Chair of the Board whilst the search for a permanent successor is underway. Sue is already an integral member of the Board sharing her broad experience from across the biotech sector.
'I'm also pleased to welcome Toni Hanninen to the Company as interim CFO. His proven experience in the AIM market and beyond will be invaluable to us as we enter the next phase of our development.'
Toni Hanninen commented: 'I am very excited to join the Evgen team and to support the Company development going forward. I am impressed by the highly experienced team and the board of directors, and the Company strategy of demonstrating proof of concept and concluding partnerships with larger organisations to accelerate the development of SFX-01 to the market.'
Barry Clare, retiring Chairman of Evgen said: 'It has been a privilege to serve as Chair of Evgen and see some great achievements made by the Company. I remain confident that Evgen will soon be able to demonstrate the anti-cancer benefits of sulforaphane with its unique pharmaceutical formulations, and I am encouraged by the recent results in glioblastoma and the collaboration with Erasmus in Rotterdam. I want to thank the team for their hard work and commitment and add my thanks to our many external academic partners, especially the Christie Hospital in Manchester. I look forward to watching Evgen's development in the future.'
Susan Foden added: 'I have very much enjoyed working alongside Barry on the board of Evgen and his leadership has been much valued. I am looking forward to the challenges of this new role as the Company continues along its development pathway.'
Contact:
Dr Huw Jones
Tel: +44 1625 466591
About Evgen Pharma plc
Evgen Pharma is a clinical stage drug development company developing sulforaphane based medicines for the treatment of multiple diseases. The Company's core technology is Sulforadex, a method for synthesising and stabilising the highly biologically active compound sulforaphane and novel proprietary analogues based on sulforaphane.
The Company's lead asset, SFX-01, is a patented composition of synthetic sulforaphane and alpha-cyclodextrin and has undergone clinical trials for oestrogen-positive (ER+) metastatic breast cancer and recently a Phase 1b study of the Company's new enteric coated tablet formulation. The FDA has granted Orphan Drug status to SFX-01 in malignant glioma. SFX-01 will be investigated initially in this indication as an investigator sponsored study in the Netherlands.
The Company also has a wide number of collaborations with leading academic centres in the UK, Europe and the US as part of the continuing strategy to build the scientific data for the compound. Recently, Evgen completed an out-licensing transaction with Stalicla SA, a Swiss specialist company in neurodevelopmental disorders, commencing with autism spectrum disorder. The deal, if successful, will generate milestone payments of $160.5m and a double-digit royalty on sales.
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