Auspherix Appoints Dr. Neil Miller As Chief Scientific Officer

STEVENAGE, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Auspherix Limited (UK), an early stage anti-infectives company, has announced the appointment of Dr. Neil Miller as its Chief Scientific Officer, effective 1 December.

As CSO, Dr Miller will take full responsibility for driving forward the Company’s antibiotic R&D programmes, both in house and through partners, into clinical Proof-of-Concept studies. The Company’s discovery platform has led to the invention of novel compound series with activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.

Prior to joining Auspherix, Dr Miller has spent two decades in the pharmaceutical industry at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), most recently as Senior Director and Head of Chemistry, DMPK & External Discovery in Singapore. In this role he led a research collaboration with the National University of Singapore, to evaluate monoclonal antibodies for the potential treatment of Dengue Fever. Dr Miller has held a variety of managerial and scientific roles at GSK, including that of Site Head at GSK’s R&D Centre in Singapore. He has a degree in Chemistry with Pharmacology and a PhD in Organic Synthesis from the University of Liverpool, UK.

Dr Miller replaces Professor Ian Charles, co-founder and previously consultant Chief Scientific Officer, who will continue to actively contribute to the Company’s scientific direction as both a member of the Board and as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board.

Commenting on Neil’s appointment, Auspherix Chairman Dr Roberto Solari said: “At this stage, Auspherix needs a CSO with hands on scientific leadership and proven expertise in driving drug discovery. With a strong track record of progressing compounds into clinical development coupled with his extensive drug discovery experience and global perspective, Neil has the ideal mix of skills, and we are delighted that he has joined the Company.”

Dr Neil Miller, CSO added “Auspherix has achieved a huge amount to date and its pipeline of novel antibacterial compounds are showing very strong early potential against a broad range of multidrug resistant (MDR) important Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial infections. It is an exciting time to be joining the Company and I look forward to working with the R&D team, our partners, the Board and our investors to deliver on our potential.”

Having raised £6million earlier in 2015, Auspherix is well placed to make rapid progress in its quest to develop a new class of antibiotics that will strengthen the existing arsenal of antibacterial treatments. The Company is expanding its UK-based microbiology and management teams at the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst and is intensifying its discovery research, and intends to explore further the potential in its antibiotic platform.

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Notes for editors

About Auspherix Ltd

Auspherix Ltd has discovered a brand new class of antibacterials with a unique profile and novel mechanism of action that could overcome rising problems of resistance to current antibiotics. Its compound series show activity against a broad range of multidrug resistant (MDR) important Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial infections, with profiles consistent with their use as antibacterial drugs for a number of indications with high unmet need and large market potential.

Based in Stevenage UK (in the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst facility), the Company was founded in late 2013 based on discoveries made at the ithree institute at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). The Company has raised AUS $2million in Seed and Series A1 investments (2013-2014) from Australia’s Medical Research Commercialisation Fund (MRCF) and £6 million in Series A2 round (2015) from the MRCF and the UK’s Imperial Innovations plc (AIM IVO).

For further information please visit www.auspherix.com