- After about four years in the position
- Sushil Patel taking over
- Astley-Sparke will remain as Executive Chairman at Replimune
- Astley-Sparke said 80 words
(exechange) — Woburn, Massachusetts, March 26, 2024 — Philip Astley-Sparke, chief executive of Replimune, leaves his position. As announced by Replimune Group Inc. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, Philip Astley-Sparke leaves his post as chief executive officer at the clinical stage biotechnology company, after about four years in the role, effective April 1, 2024.
Generally speaking, it raises questions when a CEO leaves his post at short notice.
Philip Astley-Sparke’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Sushil Patel, currently Chief Strategy Officer at Replimune Group Inc.
Philip Astley-Sparke’s move coincides with a management shake-up also involving the positions of President and Chief Research & Development Officer; Chief Manufacturing Officer; Chief Operations Officer; Chief Business Officer; and Chief Development Operations Officer.
“The time is right”
The management change is explained as follows. Robert Coffin, Ph.D., Founder, President and Chief Research & Development Officer of Replimune, stated: “As we now look towards submitting our first BLA and to future commercialization, the time is right to transition from the team that founded the company to the one that will take us through a potential launch and beyond.”
Replimune stated that it announced changes to its executive leadership team “designed to support the Company’s preparations for the commercial launch of RP1, pending regulatory submission and approval in anti-PD1 failed melanoma.”
Astley-Sparke will remain as Executive Chairman at Replimune
Replimune stated: “Mr. Astley-Sparke will transition from his current role as CEO to Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors.”
Replimune said: “Sushil Patel, Ph.D., will succeed Philip Astley-Sparke as CEO effective April 1, 2024.”
Share price decline since March 2023
The announcement follows a decline in Replimune Group Inc.’s share price of 64% since March 2023.
In the position of CEO since 2020
Philip Astley-Sparke became CEO of the Company in 2020.
Philip Astley-Sparke is one of the Company’s co-founders and has served as a member of the Company’s Board since the Company’s formation in 2015 and as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer since January 2020.
Previously, Astley-Sparke served as the Company’s Executive Chairman from the Company’s formation in 2015 to January 2020.
Astley-Sparke currently serves on the board of Forbion European Acquisition Corp.
From 2016 until June 2021, Astley-Sparke served as Chairman of uniQure N.V., a Nasdaq-listed gene therapy company.
From 2013 to 2015, Astley-Sparke served as uniQure N.V.’s President of U.S. operations, where he established its U.S. infrastructure.
Astley-Sparke served as Vice President and General Manager at Amgen, Inc. until December 2011, following Amgen Inc.’s acquisition of BioVex Group, Inc. in March 2011.
Astley-Sparke was previously President and Chief Executive Officer of BioVex Group, Inc. Prior to BioVex Group, Inc., Astley-Sparke was a healthcare investment banker at Chase H&Q and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen LLP.
Astley-Sparke has been a Venture Partner at Forbion Capital Partners, a venture capital fund, since May 2012 and previously served as Chairman of the board of directors of Oxyrane Limited, a biotechnology company, from 2012 to 2020.
Astley-Sparke received a B.Sc. in Cellular and Molecular Pathology from Bristol University.
80 words by Philip Astley-Sparke
In announcing his departure, Philip Astley-Sparke said 80 words.
“Rob and I are very grateful”
Philip Astley-Sparke stated: “Rob and I are very grateful for the invaluable contributions made by Colin Love, who established our state-of-the-art manufacturing capability, Pamela Esposito for driving our financing efforts and establishing our industry collaborations and to Tanya Lewis for scaling our operations. We all remain committed to supporting the company going forward and are confident that under Sushil’s leadership, Replimune will be well positioned to realize the promise of oncolytic immunotherapy across a broad range of indications in skin cancer and beyond.”
The above text is an excerpt from the exechange report 14.2024 ($), publication date April 1, 2024.