Pharming Nominates Mr Robin Wright as Chief Financial Officer
LEIDEN, The Netherlands, September 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
EXTRAORDINARY MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS 28 OCTOBER 2015
Pharming Group NV (EURONEXT: PHARM) today announces the proposed election of Mr Robin Wright as the Company's new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and member of the Management Board at an Extraordinary General Meeting ("EGM") of shareholders, to be held on Wednesday 28 October 2015 at 14:00 hrs CET.
Mr Wright will be responsible for the financial management, accounting and investor relations activities of the Company within the CFO role, which has previously been undertaken by CEO, Dr De Vries, and will serve as a member of the Board of Management. Following the election of Mr Wright to the Board, the Board of Management will consist of Mr Robin Wright (CFO), Prof Bruno Giannetti (COO) and Dr Sijmen de Vries (CEO and Chairman).
Mr Wright is a British citizen. He has extensive senior level experience as a CFO of public companies in both the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. He is a qualified accountant and joins Pharming from Sweden-based Karolinska Development AB (KDEV:SS), where he was CFO and Head of Business Development. Mr Wright was also CFO and Head of Business Development at Orexo AB (ORX:SS) in Sweden. Prior to this, he worked in private equity and corporate finance advisory roles, including long periods at Citibank Salomon Smith Barney and Barclays de Zoete Wedd. He has completed over 165 global license and M&A transactions as well as many financing transactions within the pharma/biotech sector. Mr Wright holds a BA degree in chemistry from Oxford University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales in the UK.
Mr Jaap Blaak, Pharming's Chairman of the Board of Supervisory Directors, commented: "We are very pleased that Robin can join Pharming at this exciting time as we complete our transformation from an R&D oriented biotech company to a self-sustainable specialty pharmaceutical company. Robin's experience, both as an operational CFO for public companies and as a former investment banker brings important additional strengths, experience and perspectives to the Board of Management and we look forward to confirming his appointment."
As a courtesy to our shareholders attending the EGM, the financial results for 9M 2015 will now be announced ahead of the EGM; on Wednesday 28 October at 07:00 hrs CET, instead of Thursday 29 October. The Notice to Convene, Explanatory Notes and Proxy forms for the EGM can be found on the Company's website (http://www.pharming.com ).
About Pharming Group NV
Pharming Group NV is developing innovative products for the treatment of unmet medical needs. RUCONEST® (conestat alfa) is a recombinant human C1 esterase inhibitor approved for the treatment of angioedema attacks in patients with HAE in the USA, Israel, all 28 EU countries plus Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.
RUCONEST is commercialized by Pharming in Austria, Germany and The Netherlands. RUCONEST is distributed by Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (publ) SOBI:SS) in the other EU countries, and in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Norway, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine.
RUCONEST is partnered with Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. ("Salix") in North America. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX/TSX: VRX) completed its acquisition of Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. on April 1, 2015.
RUCONEST is also being investigated in a randomized Phase II clinical trial for prophylaxis of HAE, in a phase II clinical trial for the treatment of HAE in young children (2-13 years of age) and evaluated for various additional follow-on indications.
Pharming has a unique GMP compliant, validated platform for the production of recombinant human proteins that has proven capable of producing industrial volumes of high quality recombinant human protein in a more economical way compared to current cell-based technologies. Leads for Enzyme Replacement Therapy (ERT) in Pompe, Fabry's and Gaucher's diseases are under early evaluation. The platform is partnered with the Shanghai Institute of Pharmaceutical Industry (SIPI), a Sinopharm Company, for joint global development of new products. Pre-clinical development and manufacturing will take place at SIPI and are funded by SIPI. Pharming and SIPI initially plan to utilise this platform for the development of recombinant human Factor VIII for the treatment of Haemophilia A.
For more information, please visit http://www.pharming.com
Pharming Disclosure Notice
This press release contains forward looking statements that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward looking statements.
Contacts:
Pharming Group NV
Sijmen de Vries
Chief Executive Officer
+31-71-5247400
Julia Phillips/ Victoria Foster Mitchell
FTI Consulting
+44-203-727-1136
PRN NLD
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