– UK, London – Silence Therapeutics plc, (AIM: SLN), a leader in the discovery, development and delivery of novel RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics for the treatment of serious diseases, is pleased to announce the appointment of Stuart Collinson D.Phil MBA, as Non-Executive Director of the Company, with immediate effect. Silence also announces the resignation of Simon Sturge as Non-Executive Director of the Company, with immediate effect. Simon has decided to resign from the Board due to his other business commitments. Stuart will take on the role of Chair the Remuneration Committee.
Dr. Collinson has held executive and senior management positions in public and private life science companies in the US and Europe. He is a partner of Forward Ventures, a biopharmaceutical venture capital fund, Chairman and CEO of Tioga Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Director of Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc. and Essentialis, Inc.
Stuart was Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of previously listed Aurora Biosciences Corp. (acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. NASDAQ:VRTX) and subsequently Director of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (2001-2011). Stuart was also previously a director of several biopharmaceutical companies including Affinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (acquired by Debiopharma Group), Asteres, Inc., Cabrellis Pharmaceuticals Corp. (acquired by Pharmion Corp., now part of Celgene Corp.), Conforma Therapeutics Corp. (acquired by BiogenIdec, Inc.), GeneOhm Sciences, Inc. (acquired by Becton, Dickinson and Company), NovaCardia, Inc. (acquired by Merck & Co, Inc.), Oxagen Limited and Sequel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He held senior management positions at GlaxoWellcome plc (now GlaxoSmithKline plc) and Baxter International, and was a consultant with The Boston Consulting Group.
Stuart was awarded an MBA from Harvard Business School and a D.Phil in Physical Chemistry from the University of Oxford.
Ali Mortazavi, CEO of Silence Therapeutics, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Stuart to our Board, who brings with him extensive experience in the sector with a business development and M&A track record across the US and Europe.”
About Silence Therapeutics plc
Our technology harnesses the body’s natural mechanisms to create therapeutic effects within its own cells. This technology can selectively silence or replace any gene in the genome, modulating gene expression up as well as down in a variety of organs and cell types, in vivo.
We have developed proprietary modifications to improve the robustness of RNA sequences, together with advanced liposomal chemistries to enhance the delivery of therapeutics. This allows the development of therapeutics for diseases with high unmet medical need. In 2015 Silence announced interim results from a Phase 2a pancreatic cancer trial using its compound, Atu027, in combination with gemcitabine.
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