Clarity, Viralytics get new board members

Sydney-based biotechs Clarity Pharmaceuticals and Viralytics (ASX:VLA) have both announced new board appointments.

Clarity revealed it has appointed Dr Alan Taylor to the role of executive chairman. Dr Taylor has 10 years of investment banking experience, most recently as executive director of Australian investment bank Inteq Limited.

Commenting on his appointment, Dr Taylor said he was “very excited to be joining Clarity at this very important stage of its development. My motivation in leaving direct investment banking was to focus on opportunities to commercialise Australian science, and with a goal of building the next Australian success story in life sciences. Clarity has the potential to be this success story.”

Clarity Pharmaceuticals provides preclinical and clinical companion diagnostics services using PET to the pharmaceutical industry and also develops new drug assets.

Viralytics separately announced the appointment of US oncologist Dr Keith Flaherty to its scientific advisory board.

Dr Flaherty is a director of the Henri and Belinda Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

His research and clinical focus is on melanoma - one of the targets for Viralytics’ cancer-fighting virus Cavatak.

During a recent phase II trial in Melanoma, Cavatak met the study’s primary endpoint while patients were still being recruited.

“We are delighted to welcome Dr Flaherty to our SAB. He is a recognised authority on the clinical development of new agents for melanoma,” Viralytics CEO Dr Malcolm McColl said. “His specialist skills will be very valuable as we move forward in the clinic with Cavatak.”

Viralytics (ASX:VLA) shares were trading unchanged at $0.355 as of around 12 pm on Thursday.