Prima BioMed new COO to drive CVac to market

Anti-cancer therapeutic company, Prima BioMed, has appointed Mr Matthew Lehman as the chief operating officer to help drive the company's flagship product, CVac, to market.

Lehman, who will be based in Zurich, Switzerland, comes from SPRI Clinical Trials, an international contract clinical trials company, headquartered in the Ukraine. Lehman has experience running clinical trials in Europe particularly concerning cancer and CNS therapeutics.

One of Lehman's main roles will be to continue the drive to commercialise CVac, Prima's anti-ovarian cancer drug, which currently has clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin phase IIb trials, which will start in the first quarter of this year. Prima also has late-phase clinical trials planned for Europe later in 2010.