Alchemia CEO leaves as Calzada gets a new one

It’s been a busy week for executive reshuffles at ASX-listed biotechs, with Alchemia’s (ASX:ACL) CEO stepping down suddenly and Calzada (ASX:CZD) appointing a new chief.

Alchemia CEO Thomas Liquard has left the company effective immediately. Former CEO and current non-executive director Dr Tracie Ramsdale will fill in as executive director while a replacement is found.

No reason was given for Liquard’s departure, but the news come weeks after the company revealed that its phase III trial of HA-Irinotecan in metastatic colorectal cancer failed to meet its primary endpoint of a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival over Iriontecan.

Liquard was appointed to the CEO role in February, after joining Alchemia as COO in December.

Calzada has meanwhile named Paul Brennan as its new CEO. Brennan joins the company from Smith and Nephew, where he was marketing director for A/NZ and sales director for New Zealand.

Brennan has previously held roles including marketing director of Asia-Pacific for Ansell Healthcare and marketing manager South Pacific for ConvaTec.

Commenting on his appointment, Brennan said he is “familiar with [Calzada subsidiary] PolyNovo’s portfolio of products and believe that these products can address a number of unmet medical needs. I look forward to working with the board and management to develop the potential of this technology.”

Finally, Patrys (ASX:PAB) has announced the appointment of biotech veteran Dr James Campbell as non-executive director, to help the company progress clinical development and partnering efforts for its pipeline of antibody-based treatments for cancer and other diseases.

Campbell has had a 20-year career in biotechnology research and has been involved in the creation of several Australian and international biotechs.

He served as CFO and COO of ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals until its sale to Cephalon for $230 million and helped guide the creation through acquisition of Invion.