THE Belfast-based publicly traded research firm Fusion Antibodies has a new chief executive.
The AIM-listed company, which specializes in pre-clinical antibody discovery, engineering and supply for both therapeutic drug and diagnostic applications, has announced Dr Richard Jones as its new boss.
He replaces the outgoing Dr Paul Kerr, who departs the company after ten years.
In a statement on Tuesday, Fusion Antibodies said Dr Kerr had stood down from the board with immediate effect “in order to pursue other opportunities”.
The company said the outgoing chief executive would act as a consultant in future.
Richard Jones has a 25-year background in the pharmaceutical industry, working in big pharma, biotech and running a contract development and manufacturing organisation.
He joins Fusion from BrYet Limited, which he helped transition from research group to a biotech start-up.
Dr Jones holds a PhD in molecular oncology and signal transduction and is the former head of European operations for NASDAQ listed Akcea Therapeutics, a US biotech company focused on rare diseases.
His CV also includes stints as the chief executive of Holostem Advanced Therapies and Akinion Pharmaceuticals.
Chair of Fusion Antibodies, Simon Douglas extended his thanks to Paul Kerr’s ten year contribution to the company.
“Richard joins us at an exciting time as we focus on the commercial roll out of OptiMAL, our Mammalian Antibody library and, in particular, on opportunities to develop COVID-19 targets as well as our oncology targets.”
Dr Jones said he intend to lead Fusion into the next phase of its evolution, with a focus on expanding its commercial success.
“Fusion Antibodies has a world class and cutting edge antibody discovery, development and supply technology platform built over the last decade and validated through high profile collaborations.
“Fusion Antibodies has the potential to generate significant shareholder value from its exciting technology platforms and services in rapidly growing therapeutic areas and in particular OptiMal, which represents a key future growth driver for the business.
“I believe that Fusion will play a significant global role in the discovery and development of novel, effective antibody therapeutics.”
