Mereo BioPharma Group plc Appointment of Richard Francis
July 16 2019 - 7:00AM
RNS Non-Regulatory
TIDMMPH
Mereo BioPharma Group plc
16 July 2019
Mereo BioPharma Group plc
("Mereo" or the "Company" or the "Group")
Mereo BioPharma Appoints Richard Francis as Head of
Pharmaceutical Development
London and Redwood City, Calif., July 16, 2019 - Mereo BioPharma
Group plc (NASDAQ: MREO, AIM: MPH), a clinical stage
biopharmaceutical company focused on rare diseases, today announces
the appointment of Richard Francis as Head of Pharmaceutical
Development, effective August 1, 2019. Mr. Francis brings to Mereo
more than 35 years of experience in biopharmaceutical process
development and manufacturing operations across a diverse set of
product types including antibodies, recombinant DNA proteins, gene
therapy constructs and at all stages of their life cycle
development.
Dr. Denise Scots-Knight, Chief Executive Officer of Mereo
BioPharma commented, "Richard's extensive process development and
chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) experience - including
leading the CMC efforts for Ablynx's first nanobody product from
early-stage clinical development through approval and commercial
launch - will be instrumental to us as we continue to advance our
late-stage product portfolio including setrusumab for osteogenesis
imperfecta (OI), a rare bone disease with no approved therapies.
With a Phase 3 registration study design agreed to by the European
Medicines Agency for a pediatric OI population, Richard is a key
addition to our existing leadership team as we work to set the
stage for our potential commercial operations."
Prior to joining Mereo BioPharma, Mr. Francis was the owner and
senior director of Francis Biopharma Ltd., where he served as an
expert CMC consultant to over 30 biopharmaceutical clients,
including Mereo. Before founding Francis Biopharma in 2010, Mr.
Francis held a variety of senior management roles in process
development, technical support, manufacturing operations and
product lifecycle programs at companies such as Celltech, Centocor,
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Protherics and BTG. Mr. Francis was involved
in the development, regulatory approval and commercialization of
many biopharmaceutical products including Cablivi(R), Orthoclone
OKT3(R), Remicade(R), and ReoPro(R). Mr. Francis serves as a
visiting honorary lecturer at University College London (UCL)
covering subjects of quality by design (QbD) and process validation
at the master's degree level or above and co-leads the UCL MBI(R)
training program for QbD and process qualification. He has authored
or co-authored more than 50 publications in various biotechnology
focused journals related to process design, process qualification,
analytical methods and biopharmaceutical product manufacturing.
"After serving as an industry consultant for the last decade, I
am thrilled to join Mereo to lead its pharmaceutical development
efforts," commented Mr. Francis. "Based on the clinical data
generated to date, I believe Mereo's pipeline holds great potential
and I look forward to applying my experience and expertise to help
the company make a positive impact on the lives of patients in need
of new innovative therapies."
About Mereo
Mereo is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development
and commercialization of innovative therapeutics that aim to
improve outcomes for patients with rare diseases. Mereo's strategy
is to selectively acquire product candidates for rare diseases that
have already received significant investment from pharmaceutical
and large biotechnology companies and that have substantial
preclinical, clinical and manufacturing data packages. Mereo's
existing portfolio consists of six clinical stage product
candidates.
-- Setrusumab for osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). In October 2018,
the Company announced completion of enrollment of 112 adult
patients in a Phase 2b dose ranging study with initial positive
6-month open label data announced in May 2019 and top-line 12-month
blinded dose ranging data expected in Q4 2019. A pediatric Phase 3
study design has also been approved by the EMA. Setrusumab has
orphan designation in the U.S. and the EU and has been accepted
into the PRIME and Adaptive Pathways in EU;
-- Alvelestat for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). The Company has initiated a Phase 2 proof-of-concept clinical trial in patients with severe AATD in the United States and the EU and expects to report top-line data from this trial around the end of 2019;
-- Acumapimod for severe exacerbations of COPD. The Company
announced positive Phase 2 data in May 2018 and recently announced
the outline of the pivotal Phase 3 study including the primary and
key secondary endpoints following the successful end of Phase 2
Type B meeting with the FDA;
-- Leflutrozole for hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH). The
Company announced positive top-line Phase 2b data in March 2018 and
positive results from the Phase 2b safety extension study in
December 2018;
-- Navicixizumab has completed a Phase 1a single-agent clinical
trial in patients with advanced solid tumors and is currently in a
Phase 1b trial in combination with a standard paclitaxel regimen in
patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. This study
recently completed enrollment; and
-- Etigilimab has completed a single-agent Phase 1a trial in
patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors and the Phase 1b
combination study with nivolumab has fully enrolled and is
currently in the safety monitoring phase.
Further Enquiries
Mereo +44 (0)333 023 7300
Denise Scots-Knight, Chief Executive Officer
Richard Jones, Chief Financial Officer
Cantor Fitzgerald Europe (Nominated Adviser
and Joint Broker to Mereo) +44 (0)20 7894 7000
Phil Davies
Will Goode
RBC Capital Markets (Joint Broker to Mereo) +44 (0)20 7653 4000
Rupert Walford
Jamil Miah
FTI Consulting (Public Relations Adviser to
Mereo)
Simon Conway +44 (0)20 3727 1000
Brett Pollard
Ciara Martin
Burns McClellan (US Public Relations Adviser +01 (0) 212 213
to Mereo) 0006
Lisa Burns
Steve Klass
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
NRAEAEXKFFENEFF
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 16, 2019 08:00 ET (12:00 GMT)
Mereo Biopharma (LSE:MPH)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Mereo Biopharma (LSE:MPH)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024