Board changes including appointment of new CEO

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
[phone]
[e-mail]

Powerscourt
Sarah Macleod / Adam Michael / Ibrahim Khalil / Christopher Ward
[phone]
[e-mail]

finnCap Ltd (Nominated Advisor and Joint Broker)
Geoff Nash / George Dollemore, Corporate Finance
Alice Lane / Nigel Birks / Harriet Ward, ECM
[phone]

Shore Capital (Joint Broker)

Daniel Bush / James Thomas / Lucy Bowden

[phone]

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

 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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