Antisense Therapeutics transitions to new Board Chair
28 July 2021 - The Board of Directors of Antisense Therapeutics Limited [ASX:ANP | US OTC:ATHJY | FSE:AWY], (the Company) today announced the transition of Non-Executive Director Charmaine Gittleson M.D to become the Chair of the ANP Board. As part of the transition, Bob Moses, ANP Chairman since 2001, has announced that he intends to retire from the Board at the conclusion of the Company’s 2021 Annual General Meeting after which he will continue to support the Company in a consultant capacity.
The transitioning of the Chair role is in recognition of the ANP’s maturation from a drug discovery to late-stage clinical development group with near term commercialisation aspirations. The Board believes that Dr Gittleson’s extensive international experience in global pharmaceutical drug development and registration across multiple therapeutic and rare disease areas, is precisely the leadership and experience required to steward the Company through this next phase of the Company’s growth.
Antisense Therapeutics CEO Mark Diamond said, “Charmaine’s clinical development, regulatory and commercialization experience along with her internationally recognized leadership abilities are ideal attributes for directing the Company into late-stage clinical development and the path to drug commercialisation. At the same time as congratulating Charmaine on her appointment, I would like to take the opportunity to personally thank Bob for his enormous contribution as Chair. Words cannot express the appreciation I have for Bob’s unwavering support of and commitment to the success of the ANP business and always, without exception, with the best interest of shareholders at heart. Simply put, the Company would not be where it is today without him and his efforts and for this, he deserves a deep gratitude of thanks. I am delighted that Bob will continue to support the business in a Non-Executive Director role and then on a consultant basis, where the Board and me can continue to draw upon what I believe to be his unrivalled business acumen and depth of real-world company experience.”
Bob Moses said, “It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Mark and his exceptionally skilled and dedicated team. For me, the experience has been that much better because they are all very nice people. The journey has been long and the setbacks many, but Mark and his team have overcome them all and brought ANP to the threshold of exciting clinical outcomes that I believe will justly reward everyone involved and most particularly, ANP’s loyal shareholders.
I believe this is the optimal time to transition the chairman role as the Company moves into late-stage clinical trials. Charmaine’s global executive experience, strategic approach and success in drug development make her an excellent candidate for the Chair position and she will be highly complementary to the existing Board.
I have every confidence that Charmaine and Mark will lead the Company from strength to strength.”
Dr Gittleson added, “I am honoured to be entrusted with the role of ANP Therapeutics Chair and thrilled by the prospect of working with Mark, the team and the Board in this capacity.
As incoming Chair, I look forward to engaging with the Duchenne’s community, shareholders, and other stakeholders to understand their expectations to ensure the continued delivery of quality, innovation and long-term value for our patients and shareholders.
In the time I’ve been privileged to work with Bob, I have come to appreciate his deep insights and mentorship and am pleased he will continue to provide guidance as a consultant to the Board following his retirement. On behalf of the Board, I would like to take this opportunity to offer sincere thanks to Bob for his unwavering support and leadership over the past two decades and for the many contributions he has made to Australian Biotech over the course of his career.”
Further changes to the Board over the next 6 months are being contemplated to strengthen resources in preparation for the forthcoming ATL1102 DMD clinical trial, pipeline development and commercialisation initiatives.
Authorised for release by the Board.
For more information please contact:
Antisense Therapeutics
Mark Diamond
Managing Director & CEO
+61 (0)3 9827 8999
Investment Enquiries
Gennadi Koutchin
XEC Partners
1300 932 037
About Antisense Therapeutics Limited
(ASX:ANP | US OTC:ATHJY) is an Australian publicly listed biotechnology company, developing and commercializing antisense pharmaceuticals for large unmet markets in rare diseases. The products are in-licensed from Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: IONS), an established leader in antisense drug development. The Company is developing ATL1102, an antisense inhibitor of the CD49d receptor, for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients and recently reported highly promising Phase II trial results. ATL1102 has also successfully completed a Phase II efficacy and safety trial, significantly reducing the number of brain lesions in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The Company has a second drug, ATL1103 designed to block GHr production that successfully reduced blood IGF-I levels in Phase II clinical trials in patients with the growth disorder acromegaly.
