Meditech announces new CEO, chairman

Meditech Research (ASX: MTR) has appointed former CSL and Millennium Pharmaceuticals executive Dr Ian Nisbet as CEO to replace Chris Carter who stepped down on Friday, after a shareholder stoush in April forced his resignation.

Nisbet has held various senior research and management roles at CSL, and more recently spent seven years with Millennium as a senior director of licensing and M&A, as the site manager responsible for integrating COR Therapeutics into the company after the two companies merged, and as product leader for the approval and launch of Millennium's novel cancer therapy Velcade.

"He's very capable, very bright," said interim CEO Bob Moses.

Moses, who worked with Nisbet at CSL, said he would bring the appropriate mix of skills to lead Meditech through the process of development and licensing.

Moses, former chairman and current non-executive director of Meditech, will act as CEO until Nisbet joins the company in mid-September, while non-executive director Prof Richard Fox will take over as chairman -- his second time in the position.

Fox, the director of the department of haematology and medical oncology at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, has been guiding the clinical trials of Meditech's HyCAMP cancer therapeutic, which are about to enter Phase IIb.

"Dick Fox will be terrific -- he's very committed to the company and to spending more time with it," Moses said.

Moses paid tribute to outgoing CEO Carter, saying he put an enormous effort into the company right up to his last day.

At the time of writing, Meditech's share price had risen 6.7 per cent to AUD$0.24.