11 August 2023
ImmuPharma PLC
("ImmuPharma" or the "Company")
BOARD STRENGTHENED AHEAD OF NEXT PHASE OF COMPANY PROGRESSION
ImmuPharma PLC (LSE:IMM), the specialist drug discovery and development company, provides notification of changes to its Board of Directors.
It has been a pivotal 2023 for ImmuPharma, specifically within its P140 autoimmune platform.
Most recently in June, the Company announced that, after receiving comprehensive guidance from the Food & Drug Administration ("FDA") on the new Phase 2/3 adaptive clinical trial protocol for the lead programme for the treatment of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus ("SLE/Lupus"), it is moving forward with the study, together with its US partner Avion.
Positive progress on the P140 platform was also announced in May for a second high medical need disease, chronic idiopathic demyelinating polyneuropathy ("CIDP"). The Company received positive feedback from the FDA at a pre-IND meeting for a late-stage Phase 2/3 adaptive clinical program in patients, which is a further debilitating auto-immune condition within the Company's P140 platform.
In parallel with advancements in the late-stage clinical developments, the Company is also actively in discussions with a number of potential licensing partners for programmes across the Company's development portfolio.
In order to align with the new phase of progress, the Company recognised the need to add further skills and experience to the Board to ensure that we have the requisite Board composition for the next stage of evolution of the business.
We are therefore delighted to announce today the appointment of Dr Laurence Reilly as Senior independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee. Dr Reilly brings extensive experience in managing late-stage clinical programs through to approval, in addition to commercial and business development experience.
He is currently Vice President of Research & Investments, working with Royalty Pharma, a New York based life science investment company focussing on acquisition of biopharmaceutical royalties and funding of innovation across the biopharmaceutical industry.
Through his consulting practice (Acumen Life Science Investment Consulting) Dr Reilly has provided strategic consulting and due-diligence services to biotech companies, life science venture capital and private equity clients. He also served as Chief Medical Officer for Cellectar Biosciences, New Jersey, a late-stage oncology biotech company. Prior to founding his consulting practice, Dr Reilly served as Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President at Avillion, a drug development company focused on the co-development and financing of drug candidates, where he was responsible for clinical and strategic oversight of co-development programs and partnering with both large pharma and biotech, including Pfizer, Merck KGaA and AstraZeneca. Dr Reilly previously served as a Clinician - Clinical Development & Medical Oversight at Pfizer and at Lundbeck as Medical & Scientific Advisor.
Dr Reilly earned his medical degree from the University of Liverpool Medical School, U.K., and practiced as Neurosurgery Resident at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Birmingham. Dr Reilly also holds a Masters Degree in Law from De Montfort University, U.K.
We are also extremely pleased to welcome Dr Sébastien Goudreau to the Board.
Dr Goudreau joined ImmuPharma in 2014 as research director and established the research laboratories of Ureka Pharma (now ImmuPharma Biotech, the Company's French subsidiary) in Bordeaux, being promoted in 2021 to Chief Executive Officer of ImmuPharma Biotech. Notably, working directly with Dr Tim Franklin (ImmuPharma COO), Dr Goudreau and his team are credited for the development of, among others, the Company's anti-infective programmes, BioAMB and BioCin.
Dr Goudreau has also been a key contributor to the progression of the P140 autoimmune platform including the PK study, successfully concluded in 2022, and supported the new protocol design of the Phase 2/3 adaptive clinical studies for both Lupus and CIDP.
Dr Goudreau obtained his PhD in Chemistry at the Université of Montréal as a NSERC fellow before moving to Switzerland to conduct postdoctoral studies at the ETH Zürich as an FRQNT fellow.
At this time, Dr Sanjeev Pandya, has informed the Board that he wishes to step down from his Non-Executive Director position, in order to pursue a number of other external opportunities.
All Board changes take place with immediate effect.
Commenting on the Board changes, Tim McCarthy, Chief Executive Officer said:
"I am delighted to welcome Laurence to the Board. His deep centred experience of late-stage drug development, together with his international business development expertise, will perfectly complement with and support the executive management team and together will ensure that we have the essential skills and knowledge required for the next stage of ImmuPharma's evolution.
I am also extremely pleased to welcome Sébastien to the Board. Having now worked closely with Sébastien over the last 2 years and seen first-hand how he has added invaluable insight and clinical direction within our drug portfolio, his appointment will be an extremely positive addition to the Board.
We are now on a pivotal course for ImmuPharma. As a Board, we remain focused on bringing our two key late stage P140 clinical assets in Lupus and CIDP through their final clinical trials and to the market.
We also continue to concentrate on further commercial and partnering opportunities and with these new Board appointments believe this may be accelerated over the next period."
End
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE UK VERSION OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION NO 596/2014 WHICH IS PART OF ENGLISH LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS AMENDED. ON PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INFORMATION IS CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
Additional information:
The following information is disclosed pursuant to Schedule Two paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies:
Dr Sebastien Goudreau, aged 42, holds or has previously held the following directorships:
| Current directorships and/or partnerships | Former directorships and/or partnerships (within the last five years): |
| ImmuPharma France SA* Ureka Pharma SAS* FindMolecule Inc. Pharmanoviq SAS | N/A |
*an ImmuPharma group company
Dr Goudreau holds 150,000 shares & 1,150,000 options in the Company.
Dr Laurence Robert Reilly, aged 41, holds or has previously held the following directorships:
| Current directorships and/or partnerships | Former directorships and/or partnerships (within the last five years): |
| HEX Therapeutics LLP
Acumen Life Science Investment Consulting Limited | N/A |
Dr Reilly holds no shares in the Company.
| For further information please contact:
|
Notes to Editors
About ImmuPharma PLC
ImmuPharma PLC (LSE AIM: IMM) is a specialty biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops peptide-based therapeutics. The Company's portfolio includes novel peptide therapeutics for autoimmune diseases and anti-infectives. The lead program, P140 (Lupuzor™), is a first-in class autophagy immunomodulator for the treatment of Lupus and preclinical analysis suggest therapeutic activity for many other autoimmune diseases that share the same autophagy mechanism of action.
For additional information about ImmuPharma please visit www.immupharma.co.uk
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