PharmAust appoints Hopkins

ASX listed PharmAust has appointed biotech expert and pharmaceutical executive Dr Richard Hopkins as the Perth-based company’s new chief executive.

In an update to the market on Wednesday, PharmAust said Hopkins, who was most recently CEO of Perth biotechnology company Phylogica Limited, would commence the role from March 7.

In the update, PharmAust said Hopkins brought more than 10 years’ experience in corporate leadership positions and had an established track record in the development of novel cancer therapies, with a focus on corporate strategy, business development and intellectual property.

Hopkins has also previously held senior positions at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research and the department of medicine at both the University of Western Australia and Murdoch University, company management said.

PharmAust believes Hopkins’ appointment will be key in the continued development of the company’s potential breakthrough anti-cancer drug Monepantel and will assist the business to grow its wholly owned subsidiary Epichem.

Epichem’s team of medicinal chemists are currently supporting PharmAust’s oncology programmes and have made a number of novel analogues of Monepantel.

PharmAust Chairman Dr Roger Aston said: “Richard is a biotech executive with strong business operations and commercial experience in the field of early stage cancer drug development … Richard is ideally suited to PharmAust’s next stages of development.”

Hopkins leaves Phylogica having overseen a doubling of that company’s share price this year and he was instrumental in locking down alliances with some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies.

During his time at Phylogica Hopkins stitched together partnerships with Roche, Pfizer, MedImmune, Janssenand and Genentech just to name a few.