ReNeuron unveils board shake-up as chairman moves on

RENEURON, the life-sciences firm that used Glasgow's Southern General Hospital to carry out the world's first stem cell clinical trials, yesterday beefed up its board by drafting in directors with wider business experience.

Professor Trevor Jones is stepping down as chairman to lead a new "scientific and strategic advisory group". He will be replaced by existing non-executive director Bryan Morton, who has sat on the board since 2008.

Surrey-based ReNeuron - which injected stem cells into the brains of stroke sufferers in its clinical trials - has also hired a pair of non-executive directors.

John Berriman is chairman of Heptares Therapeutics and Belgium-based Pronota and deputy chairman of Oslo-listed Algeta. He is also a non-executive director of Nasdaq-listed MicroMet and was previously a director of Abingworth Management, a healthcare venture capital firm.

Simon Cartmell was chief executive of ApaTech, which was sold to Baxter International last year for $330 million (205m). He had previously worked at drugs giant Glaxo in product development and sales and marketing roles.

Jones said: "I am delighted to welcome two further highly-experienced and commercially-focused directors to the board at this important stage in ReNeuron's development."

Morton added: "The appointments of John Berriman and Simon Cartmell to the board reflect the transition of ReNeuron from a research-focused business into a company with a clear strategic objective to take its novel and highly-promising cell-based therapies through clinical development via commercial partnering deals."

Earlier this month, London-listed ReNeuron signed a further deal with Edinburgh-based Angel Biotechnology, which supplies the stem cells used in the clinical trials.

The longer contract continues through to the middle of next year, although the value of the deal was not disclosed.