Avexa names new chairman, bolsters board of directors

Mr Cooper, who was serving as interim chairman, will be stepping down from the board to focus on his activities as a director at Grant Samuel.

Mr Drona is an investment banker in the life sciences industry and has advised numerous companies in the US, Europe and Australia in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). He has held a variety of senior management positions in the US, most recently as managing director of Challiss, based in New York.

Mr Bottomley joins the board of Avexa as a nonexecutive director of the company. He is currently a principal and founder of Ryder Capital, an independent Australian corporate advisory firm. Mr Bottomley has significant experience in originating and executing M&A advisory and capital markets transactions in Australia, the US, the UK and Europe.

Mr Boyd has had over 24 years of finance experience and currently serves as Avexa’s CFO. He began his career as a chartered accountant in the UK and Australia prior to transitioning to the role of CFO and company secretary. In 2002, he joined Amrad, where he provided financial and administrative services to Avexa under a service agreement for two years prior to joining the company as CFO in April 2007.

Julian Chick, CEO of Avexa, said: “We are transitioning to a key period as apricitabine’s (ATC’s) Phase III trial advances and the balance of the pipeline begins to mature. To this end, it is imperative to strengthen our leadership team with expertise in business development and M&A as we look to maximize the potential of ATC.”