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Immuron Appoints Stewart Washer as a Non-Exec Director
9 February 2012
Australian biopharmaceutical company Immuron Limited (ASX: IMC) has appointed Dr Stewart Washer as a non-executive director. This appointment continues Immuron’s transformation to a commercially focused company.
Dr Washer is currently the investment manager with IB Managers, a highly successful biotechnology fund investing in clinical stage Australasian biotech companies. He is also a non-executive director of Healthlinx Ltd (ASX: HTX), and venture partner with Nestlé’s Inventages Fund.
Dr Washer has considerable experience in negotiating successful commercial partnerships and license agreements in Australia and the rest of the world. He has 15 years’ senior executive and board experience in commercial technology companies, medical, food, agricultural and industrial sectors.
He has raised over $50 million in private shareholder and government funds to invest in his companies and was a founder of a $120 million life science fund.
He was previously Chairman of Resonance Health Limited and promising head lice treatment company Hatchtech Pty Ltd. Dr Washer was also on the AusBiotech Board and the Senate at Murdoch University.
The appointment of Dr Washer coincides with the expansion of commercialisation activities by the company. In particular the company has aggressive commercial expansion plans for its highly effective Travelan travellers’ diarrhoea product.
“As there is increasing interest by a number of overseas companies in Immuron’s NASH/Fatty Liver product IMM124E following IND clearance by the US FDA, Stewart’s guidance in negotiating partnering and licence transactions will be extremely valuable,” said Immuron’s Chairman Professor Colin Chapman.
“Immuron expects to devote considerable resources during the 2012 year in discussions and negotiations with multi-national pharmaceutical and biotech companies to cement licensing agreements.”
“Stewart has worked in both pharmaceuticals and functional foods. He is impressed by Immuron’s platform technology and is very enthusiastic about the commercial potential of the products in development, particularly for NASH/Fatty Liver. “
“Today’s changes are part of the transformation of the company to a much stronger product commercialisation focus led by Chief Executive Officer Joe Baini.”
The Board expresses its appreciation for their contributions to the company to both Professor Roy Robins-Browne and Mr Simon Sallka who today resigned as non-executive directors.
