– UK, London – Arix Bioscience plc (LON: ARIX) today announced the appointments to its Board of Dr. Debra Barker as Senior Independent Director, and of Dr. Benny Soffer (MD), and Andrew Smith as Non-Executive Directors with immediate effect, bringing the Board into compliance with the UK Corporate Governance Code.
“We are delighted to welcome Debra, Benny, and Andrew to the Board. Their range of skills and experience serve to further reinforce and focus our investment strategy, particularly following the creation of the Public Opportunities Portfolio earlier this year, and we look forward to benefitting from their international industry, financial and operational expertise,” said Board Chairman, Peregrine Moncreiffe.
Debra Barker will also join the Remuneration Committee as Chair while Andrew Smith will Chair the Audit Committee.
The company also announced that Sir Michael Bunbury is resigning from the Board with immediate effect.
About Debra Barker
Debra Barker is a seasoned international life sciences executive with more than 25 years of senior and board experience from start-up biotech to big pharma companies, having held several senior drug development, strategic and operational roles in Novartis, Roche, SmithKline Beecham and Knoll. Debra is currently the Non-Executive Director of three publicly listed biotechnology companies: Destiny Pharma plc, BergenBio in Norway, and most recently, CureVac AG in Germany.
Debra has a Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine and received a MSc in Immunology from the King’s College in London and a Medical Degree from the Queens’ College, Cambridge, UK.
About Dr. Benny Soffer
Benny Soffer, MD is Co-Founder and CIO of Consonance Capital Management, a healthcare-focused public equity investment management firm. He previously completed a residency in internal medicine at Yale and served in a variety of managerial roles at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Dr Soffer is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, receiving his MD at Emory University and his MBA at Yale University.
About Andrew Smith
Andrew Smith is an internationally experienced CFO with strong financial and operational experience in US, Swiss, and UK-based biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Andrew is currently CFO of Santhera Pharmaceuticals, the Swiss-based specialty pharmaceutical company, having previously held a number of senior operational and financial roles in companies including Allecra Therapeutics, Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Retroscreen Virology (Now HVIVO Ltd).
He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and a Chartered Global Management Accountant. He studied business and accounting at Liverpool John Moores University and Durham University Business School.
About Arix Bioscience plc
Arix Bioscience plc is a global venture capital company focused on investing in breakthrough biotechnology companies around cutting-edge advances in life sciences.
We collaborate with exceptional entrepreneurs and provide the capital, expertise, and global networks to help accelerate their ideas into important new treatments for patients. As a listed company, we can bring this exciting growth phase of our industry to a broader range of investors.
For more information: https://arixbioscience.com
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