Prima appoints new CEO to reflect European focus

Prima BioMed (ASX:PRR) has promoted Marc Voigt to the post of CEO as part of the company’s shift in operational focus towards Europe.

Voigt has been serving as Prima’s general manager for European operations since 2011 and as its chief business officer and CFO since 2012.

He is based in Germany, the site of Prima’s European manufacturing facility. As part of his appointment, Voigt will also join the Prima board.

Voigt replaces US-based Matthew Lehman in the CEO role. Lehman has been serving as CEO since 2012. Prior to this, he had been appointed chief operating officer (COO) in 2010.

Lehman plans to step down from the board but remain an advisor to the company during the transition period, the company announced.

Prima BioMed has recently centralised its clinical trials and manufacturing of cancer treatment candidate CVac in Europe to cut costs and improve operational efficiencies.

Prima chairwoman Lucy Turnbull said considering the European centralisation, “the board considers that it is prudent and sensible for its CEO to be located” in the region.

“Marc has done a tremendous job over the past three years as the head of our European operations, which he knows extremely well, and has forged strong relationships within the European medical industry,” she said.

Prima BioMed (ASX:PRR) shares were trading 2.38% lower at $0.041 as of around 12.30 pm on Friday.