Adam Kelliher announced as Avita Medical CEO

Avita Medical (ASX:AVH) has announced entrepreneur Adam Kelliher as its new chief executive officer. The company develops and distributes regenerative products for the treatment of a broad range of wounds, scars and skin defects.

Kelliher replaces interim CEO Tim Rooney, who will now resume his role as the company’s chief financial officer and chief operating officer. Rooney said his replacement brings “exceptional sales and marketing expertise to the company, having founded and built multiple commercial franchises in the life science sector”.

Kelliher founded omega-3 and omega-6 supplement company Equazen in 2000, which was sold to Galencia of Switzerland in 2007. In 2006 he went on to found Equateq, a cGMP-certified manufacturer providing super-pure fatty acids for the nutritional, pharmaceutical and research sectors, which was sold to BASF in 2012.

“I’m excited by the opportunity to play an integral role in helping Avita realise its full potential,” Kelliher said. “All indications are that the field of regenerative medicine is starting to emerge as a major sector within health care, and we have a crucial first-mover advantage in this space.”

Avita’s tissue-culture, collection and application technology provides innovative treatment solutions derived from a patient’s own skin. Chairman Lou Panaccio said the company is currently experiencing “a truly transformative period” with its “pivotal burns trial underway and a suite of marketed products poised for commercial growth”.

“I’m extremely pleased that with Adam Kelliher’s appointment we now have the leadership team in place to guide the company through this crucial phase of growth,” he said.

Avita Medical (ASX:AVH) shares were trading 7.14% higher at $0.075 as of around 1 pm on Tuesday