pSivida appointment expected to inject US experience

Australian company pSivida announced today that it has appointed Hal Kruth to the board of pSivida's UK subsidiary pSiMedica.

Kruth will be based in the US to facilitate pSiMedica's expanding presence there.

Kruth comes to the company with extensive experience in commercialisation of technology in the US market, pSivida said.

pSiMedica is developing nano-structured porous silicon products for the medical and healthcare sectors, known as BioSilicon.

Kruth formerly held senior roles at the Stanford Research Institute. He is also the president of QinetiQ Ltd, the US subsidiary of the UK science and technology company QinetiQ Group, one of Europe's largest research organisations. QinetiQ is a shareholder of pSiMedica.

"Hal is highly regarded in the US," said Gavin Rezos, managing director of pSivida, adding that Kruth brought experience in licensing and technology development to pSiMedica.

"He has links to two key areas, the financial community and the scientific community," explained Rezos.

Rezos explained that Kruth would provide valuable assistance to pSiMedica as it sought to expand its collaborations in the US. pSiMedica has several US collaborations including one with Purdue University's chemistry department.

Purdue University has an internationally recognised research program in nanotechnology research.