Ochre Bio, an innovator in chronic liver disease medicine development, today announced the appointment of Eliot Forster, Ph.D. as Chairperson of the Board of Directors. With decades of experience in pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, cofounding and leading several companies Dr. Forster has successfully raised more than $550M in equity financing, having previously served as CEO at F-Star Therapeutics CEO and Immunocore Ltd and Chairperson of Avacta PLC.

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Ochre Bio Appoints Eliot Forster, Ph.D. as Chairperson of its Board of Directors (Photo: Business Wire)

The news follows the recent appointment of Chinwe Ukomadu, MD, PhD as an Observer on its Board of Directors, and David Coughlan, PhD as VP of Translational Development, as Ochre Bio continues to strengthen its leadership.

"Eliot’s broad experience is highly relevant for Ochre’s next phase and we couldn’t be more pleased to announce his appointment as Chairman of our Board of Directors,” said Jack O’Meara, CEO of Ochre Bio. “Eliot joins us at a pivotal point in Ochre's journey, as we begin the transition from a discovery-stage to a clinical-stage company, and we look forward to leveraging his extensive leadership experience towards the development of impactful medicines for liver disease patients.”

“Progressing an advanced therapy from idea to clinic is one of the most challenging things to achieve,” said Quin Wills, CSO of Ochre Bio. “Eliot is one of those rare individuals who has done this multiple times. We are humbled to have him as part of the Ochre team.”

Eliot Forster said, "I am honoured to join Ochre Bio as Chairperson. The company is founded on a fully differentiated scientific strategy to uncover and validate fundamental disease pathways in the liver. Using ex vivo human-liver models, Ochre has a unique approach to bring hope to patients where therapeutic options are sorely lacking. I look forward to working with the management team to build a great company and a pipeline of innovative medicines for those suffering from liver and liver-mediated diseases."

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Dr. Eliot Forster has over 30 years experience in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Previously CEO at F-star Therapeutics, Immunocore Ltd, Creabilis Therapeutics and Solace Pharmaceuticals Inc, he is also currently non-executive Chairperson of Avacta plc and on the Board of Immatics NV. He is an honorary visiting Professor of Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine at the University of Liverpool and honorary international visiting Professor at the University of Pavia. He is also a Board member of OSCHR (Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research), and the National Genomics Board. Eliot holds a B.Sc. in physiology from the University of Liverpool, an MBA from Henley Business School and a Ph.D. in neurophysiology from the University of Liverpool.

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About Ochre Bio

Ochre Bio is a biotechnology company developing RNA medicines for chronic liver diseases. Using a combination of deep phenotyping, precision RNA medicine, and testing in live human donor livers, Ochre is developing therapies for important liver health challenges, from increasing donor liver supply to reducing cirrhosis complications. Visit: www.ochre-bio.com.

Jessica Smith | jessica@somx.co.uk