Best Startup Scotland
Pneumagen, a clinical stage biotech company developing Neumifil, a broad-spectrum antiviral, intranasal drug for the prophylaxis and treatment of viral respiratory tract infections (RTIs), announces the appointment of James Noble as non-executive Chairman of its Board of Directors.
James brings over 30 years of industry experience to the Board from both public and private biotech and healthcare companies. He is currently Chairman at Orexo AB, Sutura Therapeutics and Celleron Therapeutics and non-executive director of Nasdaq listed company Lava Therapeutics N.V. He has previously held non-executive roles at several prominent biotech companies including MediGene AG, PowderJect, Oxford GlycoSciences, CuraGen, Advanced Medical Solutions and GW Pharmaceuticals.
In 2008, James founded Adaptimmune, a Nasdaq listed T-cell therapy company, where he worked as Chief Executive Officer until 2019 and is currently on the Board. Prior to that, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Immunocore, which he also co-founded. James holds an M.A. degree from the University of Oxford.
Douglas Thomson, CEO of Pneumagen, commented, “We are very pleased to welcome James to the Board who brings a wealth of strategic, corporate and financial expertise to Pneumagen. James’ considerable experience will be invaluable as we progress our Phase 2 clinical trial with our lead asset, Neumifil. We look forward to leveraging James’ global network and deep knowledge of the biotech sector as we continue our commitment to deliver an important new therapy to vulnerable patients at risk from viral RTIs.”
James Noble added “I am honoured to take on the role as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Pneumagen, a company that has already delivered highly encouraging early clinical data. I look forward to working closely with the company’s impressive team and driving forward the strategy to deliver such a potentially important new product for patients at high-risk of viral-induced exacerbations caused by respiratory viruses.”
About Pneumagen
Pneumagen is a clinical- stage biotech company developing Neumifil, its lead product, as an intranasal drug for the prophylaxis and treatment of a broad range of viral respiratory tract infections (RTIs).
Neumifil is a novel, engineered multivalent Carbohydrate Binding Molecule (mCBM), which is being developed for the broad-spectrum prevention and treatment of Influenza Virus (IFV), Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and Coronavirus infections including COVID-19. Neumifil acts by directly binding and preventing the entry of the viral pathogens into the host. Neumifil was generated using Pneumagen’s proprietary GlycoTarge™ technology that identifies novel mCBMs for further development.
In addition to Neumifil, Pneumagen is harnessing its GlycoTarge™ platform to enable the development of a pipeline of therapies targeting other infectious diseases.
Pneumagen was established in 2016 as a spin-out from the University of St Andrews in Scotland giving Pneumagen access to world-class scientific expertise and capabilities in viral RTI’s specifically related to glycobiology.
