Prima appoints head of investor relations

Prima BioMed (ASX:PRR) has appointed storied investment professional Stuart Roberts as its global head of investor relations.

Roberts joins Prima BioMed from Baillieu Holst and Bell Potter, and has been involved in Australian equity research for 16 years.

Prima CEO Marc Voigt said the appointment was motivated by the company’s recent acquisition of French immuno-oncology company Immutep.

Voigt said the acquisition has made Prima a “much more compelling investment story”. He added that Roberts is expected to “play an important role in assisting us to build and strengthen our relationships with shareholders, new investors and stakeholders”.

Prima announced plans to acquire Immutep in October and completed the acquisition in December.

The deal is worth a total of US$25 million ($30.5 million), including a US$10.8 million upfront payment, a US$7.2 million milestone payment and the issue of shares and warrants for the remainder. Prima had originally planned to pay US$28 million for the company.

The company separately announced that it has received approximately $777,000 in cash rebate from the Australian Government’s R&D tax incentive program.

The rebate was provided essentially in respect of expenditure incurred on eligible Australian R&D activities conducted as part of clinical trials for Prima’s cancer treatment technology, CVac.

Prima BioMed (ASX:PRR) shares were trading 6.67% higher at $0.032 as of around 1.30 pm on Tuesday.