BRISBANE, Australia, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Xenome Limited today announced the appointment of Ian Nisbet, PhD as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Nisbet will also join Xenome’s Board as Managing Director.
Dr. Nisbet has previously worked in senior management and executive roles in a number of biotechnology companies, including ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Meditech Research Ltd, Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc, and CSL Ltd. He is a founder and partner in the biotechnology consultancy company Afandin Pty Ltd. He also serves on the board of the biotechnology companies Verva Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Ambri Ltd and Velacor Pty Ltd.
Xenome Chairman Ian Sandford stated, “We are delighted to have recruited Ian Nisbet to join Xenome. The Company has just executed a major discovery partnership with Amylin Pharmaceuticals and we will soon initiate a Xen2174 phase II study in post-operative pain. With the leadership of such an experienced biotechnology executive as Ian we look forward to the coming year with tremendous excitement and confidence.”
“Ian’s skills and experience make him the ideal person to lead Xenome in its next stage of development. Ian has worked in a variety of project management, business development, product development and executive management roles. During his time at Millennium he was project leader for the US approval and launch of VELCADE® and was part of the team that managed the merger of Millennium and COR Therapeutics in 2001. During his period as CEO of Meditech, Ian led the negotiations with Alchemia that resulted in the first merger of two publicly-traded Australian biotechnology companies.”
Dr. Nisbet will assume the CEO position immediately and transition from his existing consultancy commitments over the next several months.
Further information: Ian Nisbet, Chief Executive Officer Xenome Ltd. Tel: +61 431 709 121 E-mail: ian.nisbet@xenome.com Website: www.xenome.com
About Xenome - Biopharmaceutical Discovery
Xenome is a biotechnology company that is focused on the discovery and development of peptide-based therapeutics. The Company’s lead product, Xen2174, is a novel conopeptide analogue for the treatment of pain. An international phase I/II clinical trial in patients with cancer pain is in its final stages of completion and a phase II study in post-operative pain is due to commence in 2008. Xen2174 is the first product to emerge from the Company’s discovery platform, which is based on a proprietary library of venom peptides. Late in 2007 Xenome and Amylin Pharmaceuticals entered into a partnership to screen Xenome’s library for new drug candidates against metabolic disease targets. Both Xen2174 and the Amylin partnership leverage off Xenome’s unique expertise in peptide chemistry and its ability to translate the evolutionary advantages inherent in venom peptides into libraries of highly bioactive molecules.
Xenome Ltd. ABN 60 081 612 384 120 Meirs Rd. Indooroopilly, Brisbane, QLD 4068, Australia PO Box 6295, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4067, Australia
ph: +61 7 3720 8055 fax: +61 7 3720 8388 web: www.xenome.com email: discovery@xenome.com
Source: Xenome Ltd.
