CEO Designate Appointment

RNS Number : 4009U

SkinBioTherapeutics PLC

29 March 2019

 

SkinBioTherapeutics plc

("SkinBioTherapeutics" or the "Company")

CEO Designate Appointment

Manchester, UK - 29 March 2019 - SkinBioTherapeutics plc (AIM: SBTX or the "Company"), a life sciences company focused on skin health, announces the appointment of Stuart Ashman as an Executive Director of the Company, subject to the completion of regulatory due diligence checks.

The intention is for Mr Ashman to succeed Dr Cath O'Neill as Chief Executive Officer following a period of transition, which will enable him to gain an understanding of the business and allow for an orderly handover. This will also enable Dr O'Neill to focus on the scientific development of the Company and the ongoing commercial discussions she has initiated.

Stuart brings over two decades of commercial experience, primarily in the medical devices industry, having held senior-level positions in a range of large public and smaller private companies.

Since 2014, Stuart has served as CEO of Onbone Oy ("Onbone"), a Finnish private equity-backed medical device company. In this role, he successfully established a global sales force and distribution network and led the growth of a multi-million pound business.

Prior to Onbone, Stuart was President/CEO of Andover Healthcare Inc., a US-based wound management manufacturer, and before then, was President/CEO of TI Group, a UK-based medical/engineering company. Stuart also served as Senior VP, Global Sales & Strategic Marketing, BSN Medical (Biersdorf, Smith and Nephew) and was Director of Sales & Marketing at Smith & Nephew Plc, in its Woundcare, Casting & Bandaging division. In these roles, Stuart gained extensive experience of both direct sales management across multiple geographies, and of business to business selling. He has also been involved in M&A transactions and has achieved considerable commercial success in both small and large companies.

Prior to his career in industry, Stuart served in the armed forces. He has an MBA and a BSc in Business & Management.

Martin Hunt, Non-Executive Chairman of SkinBioTherapeutics, commented:

"On behalf of the Board of SkinBioTherapeutics, I look forward to welcoming Stuart to the team and for his transition into the CEO role. His proven track record with both SMEs and larger public companies in Europe and the US will be essential in driving the Company forward as we progress our first product towards commercialisation. He has a considerable network within the medtech and life science industries and he has the experience and drive to take us forward on the next stage of the Company's development.

"We intend for Stuart to take on this exciting opportunity from Cath, who has played a pivotal role as CEO, from discovering the technology, to founding the Company and leading it through the IPO and its early life as a listed company. Her ongoing involvement ensures the Company will continue to benefit from her substantial knowledge and expertise."

Stuart Ashman, said:

"SkinBioTherapeutics has developed from a solid scientific foundation founded by Cath. The Company's technology, SkinBiotix^Ò, is well placed in an increasingly active market segment and it will be a tremendous opportunity to work with Cath and the team to grow the business further. Upon appointment, my immediate focus for the Company will be to continue to support the clinical development of the technology whilst building on the ongoing commercial discussions."

The information communicated within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 and has been arranged for release by Doug Quinn, CFO of the Company. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

For more information please contact:

SkinBioTherapeutics plc Martin Hunt, Chairman	Tel: [phone]
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nominated Advisor) Tony Rawlinson / Sandy Jamieson / Richard Nash	Tel: [phone]
Turner Pope Investments (Joint Broker) Ben Turner / James Pope SP Angel Corporate Finance (Joint Broker) Vadim Alexandre / Abigail Wayne	Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone]
Instinctif Partners Melanie Toyne-Sewell / Deborah Bell	Tel: [phone] [e-mail]

About SkinBioTherapeutics plc

SkinBioTherapeutics is a life science company focused on skin health. The Company's proprietary platform technology, SkinBiotix®, is based upon discoveries made by Dr. Catherine O'Neill and Professor Andrew McBain.

SkinBioTherapeutics' platform applies research discoveries made on the activities of lysates derived from probiotic bacteria when applied to the skin. The Company has shown that the SkinBiotix® platform can improve the barrier effect of skin models, protect skin models from infection and repair skin models. Proof of principle studies have shown that the SkinBiotix® platform has beneficial attributes applicable to each of these areas. 

SkinBioTherapeutics received seed funding from the Tech Transfer office of the University of Manchester for the discovery of SkinBiotix®. The platform was subsequently spun out of the University of Manchester in March 2016 and was funded by OptiBiotix (AIM: OPTI).

The Company joined AIM in April 2017, concurrent with raising £4.5 million from a placing of new ordinary shares.

The Company is based in Manchester, UK. For more information, visit www.skinbiotherapeutics.com.

 

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