Appointment of CEO

RNS Number : 0192R

ReNeuron Group plc

08 September 2014

 



8 September 2014

AIM: RENE

ReNeuron Group plc

("ReNeuron" or "the Company")

Appointment of Chief Executive Officer

Guildford, UK, 8 September 2014:ReNeuron Group plc (AIM: RENE), a leading UK-based stem cell therapy company, announces the appointment of Olav Hellebø, a highly experienced pharmaceutical executive, as the Company's new Chief Executive Officer, with immediate effect.

Olav joins ReNeuron with broad commercial experience gained at both major pharmaceutical and small biotechnology companies. He has particular experience of the clinical development, out-licensing, commercialisation and marketing of new therapeutics.

Most recently, Olav held the role of CEO at Clavis Pharma ASA, a Norwegian, oncology focused, listed biotechnology company.  At Clavis, Olav built a multi-national leadership team, taking the company's lead programme through Phase III clinical development as well as completing substantial fundraising and out-licensing transactions for the business.  Prior to Clavis, Olav headed up the global biologics franchise at UCB Pharma and was head of the UK commercial operations of Novartis. Olav started his pharmaceutical career in 1992 at Schering-Plough, where he held a number of senior commercial roles in Europe and the US, including leading its US commercial operations in the areas of oncology, cardiovascular and hepatitis-C, representing annual sales in excess of $2 billion.  Olav has an MBA from the IESE Business School in Spain and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Hofstra University, USA.

As announced in April 2014, Michael Hunt, who has held the position of Chief Executive Officer since July 2005, will remain on ReNeuron's Board as Chief Financial Officer, also with immediate effect, with responsibilities covering finance, public and investor relations and overall commercial and financial strategy.

Bryan Morton, Chairman of ReNeuron, commented: "I am delighted to welcome Olav Hellebø to the role of Chief Executive Officer. His breadth of experience in healthcare and in the commercialisation of pharmaceuticals will be invaluable as ReNeuron moves to the next stage in the clinical and commercial development of its novel therapeutic candidates. I am also delighted that, as previously announced, Michael Hunt will continue as a key member of ReNeuron's executive team in the new role of Chief Financial Officer. I and my fellow Directors look forward to working with both Olav and Michael towards ReNeuron's future success."

Olav Hellebø commented: "ReNeuron has impressed me by their advanced technology, competent team and strong backing by successful biotech investors. Regenerative medicine is very promising for advancing patient care in a multitude of diseases and I believe that the development of off-the-shelf stem cell therapies, such as ReNeuron's stem cell therapy candidates, will be the best way to ensure as many patients as possible have an opportunity to benefit from these advances in the future."

 Enquiries:

ReNeuron	[phone]
Michael Hunt, Chief Executive Officer
Buchanan	[phone]
Mark Court, Fiona Henson, Sophie Cowles
Cenkos Securities	[phone]
Stephen Keys, Dr Christopher Golden (NOMAD and Broker)
Andy Roberts (Sales)

Additional information:

Mr Olav Hellebø, aged 49, is currently a director, or has held directorships at the following companies during the previous five years:

Current Directorships

Palma Biotech S.L

Pharmalink AB

Mr Hellebø currently holds no shares in the Company.

There is no further information to be disclosed under Schedule 2(g) and Rule 17 of the AIM rules in respect of Mr Hellebø's appointment as Chief Executive Officer.

About ReNeuron

ReNeuron is a leading, clinical-stage cell therapy development business.  Based in the UK, its primary objective is the development of novel cell-based therapies targeting areas of significant unmet or poorly met medical need.  

ReNeuron has used its unique stem cell technologies to develop cell-based therapies for significant disease conditions where the cells can be readily administered "off-the-shelf" to any eligible patient without the need for additional immunosuppressive drug treatments.  The Company's therapeutic candidates for stroke disability and critical limb ischaemia are in clinical development and its cell-based treatment for blindness-causing diseases of the retina is currently in pre-clinical development. 

ReNeuron is also advancing a proprietary platform technology to exploit nanoparticles (exosomes) secreted by stem cells as potential new drug candidates targeting indications in tissue repair, fibrosis and cancer.

ReNeuron's shares are traded on the London AIM market under the symbol RENE.L.  Further information on ReNeuron and its products can be found at www.reneuron.com.

 

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