In addition, Professor Malcolm Stevens is standing down from the board and as chief scientific officer and will take up the honorary position of CSO Emeritus.
In his new role, Hummersone will take responsibility for discovery research operations and strategy. Professor Stevens will continue to provide input and support on all aspects of discovery research.
Peter Worrall, chief executive of Pharminox, said Hummersone’s appointment recognises the ‘exceptional contribution’ he has made to the firm in the last two years, in building the discovery research team and focusing discovery activities on targeted DNA damage and inhibition of DNA repair.
‘I would also like to thank Malcolm Stevens for the huge contribution he has made to the development of Pharminox over the last six years,’ he added. ‘I am very pleased that Malcolm intends to retain close ties with the company in his new role as CSO Emeritus, and that we will continue to benefit from his valuable insights and enormous experience in cancer drug discovery.’
Pharminox was formed as a spin-out from Oxford University in 2002. Its r&d activities are now based at BioCity Nottingham.