Avid Bioservices Names Richard B. Hancock as Interim President and Chief Executive Officer
May 08 2019 - 4:05PM
Avid Bioservices, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDMO) (NASDAQ:CDMOP), a dedicated
biologics contract development and manufacturing organization
(CDMO) working to improve patient lives by providing high quality
development and manufacturing services to biotechnology and
pharmaceutical companies, today announced that Richard (Rick) B.
Hancock has been named interim president and chief executive
officer, effective immediately. Mr. Hancock will also
continue to serve on Avid’s board of directors. He succeeds
Roger J. Lias, Ph.D., who has resigned from the company and its
board of directors. In the meantime, the company is
commencing a search for a permanent chief executive officer.
Mr. Hancock has worked in the biotechnology
industry for more than 30 years in various operational and
executive roles and possesses significant experience in cGMP
manufacturing, regulatory affairs, scale up, operational protocols
and team management. Throughout his career, he is credited
with building teams and companies dedicated to bringing innovative
biologics including therapeutics and vaccines to patient
populations through innovative process development, production and
manufacturing services. Mr. Hancock has established a proven
track record of delivering exceptional results for customers,
patients and related stakeholders through a focus on innovation and
quality.
Joseph Carleone, Ph.D., chairman of the Avid
board of directors, said, “We would like to thank Roger for his key
contributions to the continued successful evolution of Avid.
Under his leadership, Avid completed its transition to dedicated
CDMO and began the process of growing revenue while building a more
diversified client portfolio. Roger is a talented and highly
regarded CDMO executive and we wish him the best in all of his
future endeavors.”
“I am proud of my tenure leading the Avid team
and the key accomplishments that the company achieved during that
time,” said Dr. Lias. “It is gratifying to see the progress
we made in turning Avid into a dedicated biologic CDMO capable of
capturing the attention of global leaders in biologics development.
I look forward to watching the continuation of the momentum that we
established at Avid.”
Mr. Carleone added, “Avid’s board is happy to
welcome Rick as interim president and CEO. He is a highly
respected industry executive whose career has been marked by
operational and executive leadership of various successful life
science companies spanning contract manufacturing and drug
development. In particular, his track record of successfully
driving significant business growth at Althea Technologies, a
widely regarded CDMO, positions him as an excellent addition to the
Avid management team at this critical time in the company’s
evolution. As a current member of the Avid board, Rick is
finely in tune with Avid operations and well positioned to
seamlessly transition into his role as interim president and
CEO. The board and I look forward to collaborating with Rick
in his new role as we all work to optimize business performance and
maximize shareholder value.”
“Based on its cutting-edge process development
and cGMP manufacturing capabilities, as well as its more than 25
years of biologics manufacturing experience, Avid is uniquely
positioned to serve the needs of customers of all type and size
within the biologics CDMO space,” said Mr. Hancock. “I am
excited to join the management team and work closely with the board
to recognize the significant operational potential of the Avid
business through sustained revenue growth and strategic customer
base diversification.”
Mr. Hancock most recently served as president
and CEO of Althea Technologies, Inc., a large molecule CDMO
producing a wide range of biologics, vaccines and parenteral
products, until the company’s acquisition by Ajinomoto Co.,
Inc. During his time with Althea, which spanned more than 15
years and included additional senior level positions, he was
responsible for establishing the company’s contract manufacturing
services and growing the business to a profitable, global CDMO with
greater than $50M in annual revenue. In addition to Althea,
Mr. Hancock has held senior positions at therapeutics development
companies The Immune Response Corporation, Genetics Institute
(currently a division of Pfizer) and Hybritech Inc. (currently part
of Eli Lilly & Company). In these roles, he was involved
in process development, purification and production activities
supporting the development of novel therapeutics in a range of
indications including autoimmune diseases and bleeding and
metabolic disorders. Mr. Hancock currently serves as the
chairman of the board and executive director of Argonaut
Manufacturing Services, Inc., a CDMO focused on the biotechnology
and life sciences industries. He received a bachelor’s degree
in microbiology from Miami University.
About Avid Bioservices,
Inc.Avid Bioservices is a dedicated contract
development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) focused on
development and cGMP manufacturing of biopharmaceutical products
derived from mammalian cell culture. The company provides a
comprehensive range of process development, high quality cGMP
clinical and commercial manufacturing services for the
biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries. With 25 years of
experience producing monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins
in batch, fed-batch and perfusion modes, Avid's services include
cGMP clinical and commercial product manufacturing, purification,
bulk packaging, stability testing and regulatory strategy,
submission and support. The company also provides a variety of
process development activities, including cell line development and
optimization, cell culture and feed optimization, analytical
methods development and product
characterization. www.avidbio.com
Contacts:
Stephanie Diaz (Investors)
Vida Strategic Partners
415-675-7401
sdiaz@vidasp.com
Tim Brons (Media)
Vida Strategic Partners
415-675-7402
tbrons@vidasp.com
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