Alchemia, Mesoblast hire new CFOs

Alchemia (ASX:ACL) has announced the appointment of a former Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) CFO, while Mesoblast has named her replacement.

Alchemia’s new CFO, Jenni Pilcher, will join the company at the start of September, the company said.

Pilcher had been with Mesoblast’s executive team for the past seven years. As well as her CFO role, Pilcher had also been serving as Mesoblast’s company secretary since 2012.

Prior to joining Mesoblast, Pilcher held financial roles at companies including Spotless Group, Cadbury Schweppes and Medeva.

“Jenni has an outstanding track record in the biotech industry,” Alchemia CEO Thomas Liquard said.

“Her executive maturity and experience will be of great benefit to Alchemia as we enter what is a critical phase in the company’s development with the impending results of our pivotal trial for HA-Irinotecan in metastatic colorectal cancer.”

Mesoblast has meanwhile named Paul Hodgkinson as its new CFO. Hodgkinson has a strong track record in the pharmaceutical industry, having held roles including CFO of the Novartis ANZ Group and CFO of AstraZeneca Australia.

Alchemia (ASX:ACL) shares were trading unchanged at $0.595 as of around 1.30 pm on Monday, while Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) shares were flat at $4.60.