REG - Destiny Pharma PLC - Board changes including appointment of new CEO

Destiny PharmaAnnouncement

19/07/2023 13:00

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RNS Number : 5453G  Destiny Pharma PLC  19 July 2023

Destiny Pharma plc

("Destiny Pharma" or "the Company")

Board changes including appointment of new CEO

 

Brighton, United Kingdom - 19 July 2023: Destiny Pharma plc (AIM: DEST), a
clinical stage innovative biotechnology company focused on the development of
novel medicines that can prevent life-threatening infections, announces that
Chris Tovey will join the Company as Chief Executive Officer on 1 September
2023, taking over from Dr Debra Barker - interim CEO - who will return to her
position as a Non-Executive Director.

 

The Company also announces the departure of Chairman, Nick Rodgers, who has
resigned to pursue other interests. Discussions with a new outside chairman
are very advanced with a further announcement expected shortly.

 

Chris is a highly experienced, senior pharmaceutical executive. He was most
recently COO, Executive Vice President, and Managing Director of Europe and
International at Jazz Pharmaceuticals following the acquisition of GW
Pharmaceuticals (GW), where he served as COO, EVP, and a board director. Thus,
Chris was a key part of the GW team that oversaw the significant growth and
success of the organisation prior to Jazz's $7.2bn acquisition of the company.
Prior to GW, Chris held multiple senior commercial roles in the industry
including VP and Head of Global Sales and Marketing at UCB Pharma and 18 years
in senior commercial roles at GlaxoSmithKline in a wide range of therapeutic
areas.

 

Incoming CEO, Chris Tovey, said: "I am delighted to be joining Destiny, where
there is an incredibly exciting opportunity to progress a highly innovative
product pipeline, targeting prevention of infections and representing powerful
new offerings to the healthcare community that is seeking new approaches to
treat and prevent infectious diseases. Central will be XF-73 which following
on from excellent Phase 2b clinical data, and a positive endorsement from our
Scientific Advisory Board, is Phase 3 ready for both US and European
development. I am really looking forward to September, when I can take over
the reins from Debra, who has made a significant impact in a short space of
time."

 

Departing Chairman, Nick Rodgers, said: "I am delighted with the progress
Destiny Pharma has made since I joined as Chairman five years ago. In recent
years, we have significantly advanced the clinical pipeline, with the
acquisition and subsequent partnering of NTCD-M3 with Sebela, and the
establishment of a robust $2bn plus market opportunity in the US with XF-73.
Bringing Chris on as the new CEO is a critical appointment as the Company
moves towards commercialising its advanced clinical stage assets, which have
the potential to provide transformative treatments for patients. With Chris's
appointment agreed, it is the correct time for me to step back from the
Company, and I wish Chris and the team every success as Destiny continues on
its growth journey."

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Destiny Pharma plc
Dr Debra Barker, Interim CEO

Shaun Claydon, CFO

+44 (0)1273 704 440
pressoffice@destinypharma.com (about%3Ablank)

 

Powerscourt
Sarah Macleod / Adam Michael / Ibrahim Khalil / Christopher Ward

+44 (0) 20 7250 1446
destiny@powerscourt-group.com (mailto:destiny@powerscourt-group.com)

 

finnCap Ltd (Nominated Advisor and Joint Broker)
Geoff Nash / George Dollemore, Corporate Finance

Alice Lane / Nigel Birks / Harriet Ward, ECM

+44 (0) 20 7220 0500

 

Shore Capital (Joint Broker)

Daniel Bush / James Thomas / Lucy Bowden

+44 (0) 207 408 4090

 

Chris Tovey biography

Before joining Destiny Pharma Chris was at Jazz Pharmaceuticals and prior to
that at GW Pharmaceuticals where at both companies he was the Chief Operating
Officer with responsibilities which included amongst other things,
manufacturing all commercial activities outside the US and manufacturing. In
over a decade at GW, Chris played a key role in developing the company from a
small UK biotech into a global leader with commercialised products that
established a new class of medicines and that changed the lives of thousands
of patients and families. He led the successful scale up of the organisation
and specifically manufacturing and the commercial strategy and played a key
role in the executive team that raised in excess of $1.3 billion following a
successful NASDAQ IPO.

 

Prior to his time at GW Chris worked at UCB Pharmaceuticals where he occupied
a number of roles including leading the Global Xyrem (GHB) Business Unit and
then before that he spent 18 years at GlaxoSmithKline plc in senior commercial
roles in both the European and U.K. organizations. He has worked across a wide
range of therapeutic areas including infectious diseases, neurology, oncology,
diabetes, respiratory, and immunology.

 

About Destiny Pharma

Destiny Pharma is a clinical stage, innovative biotechnology company focused
on the development of novel medicines that can prevent life-threatening
infections. Its pipeline has novel microbiome-based biotherapeutics and XF
drug clinical assets including NTCD-M3, a Phase 3 ready treatment for the
prevention of C. difficile infection (CDI) recurrence which is the leading
cause of hospital acquired infection in the US and also XF-73 nasal gel, which
has recently completed a positive Phase 2b clinical trial targeting the
prevention of post-surgical staphylococcal hospital infections including MRSA.
It is also co-developing SPOR-COV, a novel, biotherapeutic product for the
prevention of COVID-19 and other viral respiratory infections and has earlier
grant funded XF research projects.

For further information on the company, please visit www.destinypharma.com
(http://www.destinypharma.com/)

 Regulatory disclosures

The following information is disclosed pursuant to Rule 17 and Schedule Two
paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies in relation to Christopher John
Tovey, aged 58:

 Current directorships/partnerships  Past directorships/partnerships
 Ohana First Properties Limited      CanImGuide AB

                                     Growpura Limited

                                     GW Global Services (international) Limited

                                     GW Pharma Limited

                                     GW Research Limited

                                     GW Vaccines Limited

                                     Jazz Pharmaceuticals UK Holdings Limited

 

Chris has no beneficial interest in the ordinary shares of the Company.

 

The Company confirms that there are no other disclosures to be made pursuant
to Rule 17 and Schedule Two paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies with
respect to Chris Tovey.

 

 

 

 

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