SAN FRANCISCO, CA and JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA--(Marketwired - June 11, 2015) - Serenus Biotherapeutics, Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company bridging the divide between the world's leading pharmaceutical markets and the growing demand for access to innovative therapies in the emerging nations of Africa, announced G. Kelly Martin, director of Malin Corporation plc and former CEO of Elan Corporation, began serving as Chairman of Serenus Biotherapeutics today.
In addition to Martin, Serenus new board members include John Given, chairman of Malin Corporation plc.; John Herlihy, former Vice President of Google and Head of Google Ireland; and Michael Boyd, a leader of private consulting firms working on aid-funded contracts and on emerging markets for publicly-quoted investors. Full bios of the members of the Serenus board can be found in the attached Appendix.
Dr. Menghis Bairu, founder and CEO of the company said: "Our new Chairman and Board provide global pharmaceutical industry experience, a rich network of relationships to enhance our access to novel products, and a shared vision of the opportunities for Serenus to serve as a bridge for global life sciences companies to meet the health needs of Africa."
The appointments follow the recent completion of funding of the first tranche of investment from Malin Corporation plc, an Ireland-based global life sciences company.
Serenus Chairman Mr. Martin said: "Serenus is uniquely positioned to be a partner of choice for biopharmaceutical companies interested in expanding access to their products in Africa. With the new board members and funding in place, we are now prepared to build on the company's already rapid progress and make an impact on healthcare in Africa."
About Serenus Biotherapeutics
Serenus Biotherapeutics is a privately held specialty biopharmaceutical company that specializes in late-stage drug development, in-licensing, registering, and commercializing therapies approved in the United States, Europe, and Japan to address unmet medical needs with high regional prevalence in the Sub-Saharan African market. For more information, please visit www.serenusbio.com
About Malin
Malin Corporation plc is an Ireland-based global life sciences company. Its purpose is to create shareholder value through the selective long-term application of capital and strategic and operational expertise to private, pre-IPO, pre-trade sale operating businesses in dynamic and fast growing segments of the life sciences industry.
Appendix
Bios of Serenus Biotherapeutics Board of Directors
Kelly Martin
Chairman
G. Kelly Martin served as CEO of Elan, Ireland's largest indigenous biotech company, from February 2003 until its successful sale to Perrigo Company in December 2013. Before joining Elan, Mr. Martin spent more than 20 years at Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., where he held a broad array of operating and executive responsibilities. Mr. Martin also serves as a non-executive director on a number of public and private company boards. Mr. Martin is a co-founder, director, and shareholder of Brandon Point Industries, and a director of Malin Corporation plc.
Menghis Bairu, MD
Dr. Bairu is the former Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, and Head of Global Development of Elan Corporation. He also served as Elan's General Manager, was the head of Elan International, and has broad international experience in the United States, Europe, Latin America, South East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Prior to that, he worked for several leading biopharmaceutical companies including Genentech, Johnson & Johnson, and served on the board of OneWorld Health, a not-for-profit pharmaceutical company funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Bairu is also an author and lectures widely on global health and biopharmaceutical issues, particularly in emerging markets.
John Given
John Given is Chairman of Malin Corporation plc. Mr. Given previously served as General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Elan Corporation, plc and, prior to that, he was a senior Partner and Head of M&A with leading Irish law firm, A&L Goodbody. Mr. Given has served on various boards in the private and public sectors. He is co-founder, director and shareholder of Brandon Point Industries Limited.
Dr. Nigel Fleming
Dr. Fleming is founder and Chairman of G2B Pharma Inc., which is reformulating off-patent drugs to significantly improve their safety or efficacy. He founded and served as Chairman of Athena Diagnostics, a leading provider of advanced neurodiagnostic tests, used for neuromuscular and metabolic diseases. Dr. Fleming has served on various boards, including Exemplar, Impax Labs, Genmedica Therapeutics, A-Cube, Minoryx Therapeutics (as Chairman), and the Institute for OneWorld Health. He has also served as a Lecturer at Harvard Medical School. He earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Biochemistry from Cambridge University, and completed a post doctoral fellowship at Boston University Medical School.
Sbu Luthuli
Mr. Luthuli is the CEO and Principal Officer of the Eskom Pension and Provident Fund, one of the largest self-administered pension funds in South Africa with assets under management in excess of $10.4 billion (R110 billion). Prior to this, he served as CEO of Ithala Bank Limited, where he transformed and grew the bank through the launch of new products and the introduction of electronic banking. He is a director at Telkom SA Limited and also serves as the Vice Chairman of Batseta, an industry organization representing pension fund trustees and principal officers. He was involved with Cipla Medpro (formerly Enaleni Pharmaceuticals Limited) for ten years and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors until its sale to Cipla India in 2013.
John Herlihy
John Herlihy was formerly VP at Google, where he held a number of international roles and scaled its EMEA online sales and operations teams from 50 to approximately 2,500 direct employees. Prior to joining Google, John held senior management positions at global technology companies including First Data, PeopleSoft, Adobe Systems and Oracle Corporation. John is an advisory partner to Brandon Point Industries and Malin Corporation plc and an experienced non-executive board member. A Chartered Accountant, John holds a Bachelor of Commerce from University College Dublin and was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Economic Science by University of Limerick.
Michael Boyd
Michael Boyd was born in Dublin. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University College Dublin and is a Barrister at Law. His early work was with the Irish investment promotion agency, IDA. Since 1975, he has worked as a consultant and project manager in emerging markets, first with an association of Irish State agencies, DEVCO, then with the Irish Export Board and subsequently as leader of private consulting firms working on aid-funded contracts or for publicly-quoted investors. Some 120 countries have been clients or beneficiaries of these services in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. In the past six years, his main work has been in market research and risk analysis for prospective investors, primarily in African countries. Corporate clients have included BP, Lansdowne Partners, Rio Tinto and Vodafone, among others. He has also served as an adviser or director of companies in the fields of animal nutrition, environmental consulting, fund management and shipping. Mr. Boyd speaks French and Papiamento (the language of the Dutch Caribbean), and has studied Arabic, Swahili, and Swedish. He is a director of the Irish, UK and international boards of the international eyesight charity, Orbis, and is an international level sailor, currently serving as Commodore of the Royal Ocean Racing Club.
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