Newly appointed acting CEO outlines immediate plans for Novogen

US-Australian drug discovery company Novogen has confirmed it is committed to progressing its groundbreaking technology platforms to Phase I clinical trials as soon as practicable and to ensure the company delivers the best value for shareholders. Acting CEO, Iain Ross, said the company currently had an extensive programme of activities underway, including preclinical and discovery programmes, and academic partnerships and initiatives, and he was working with the newly evolved board and incumbent scientific management team to review the company's immediate priorities.

‘We remain committed to exploiting and creating value from all our technology platforms to build a sustainable, international, biotech company. While we do not rule out securing third party collaborations and partnerships to further validate and fund our programmes, I can confirm there are no M&A plans,’ Ross said.

‘Notwithstanding, it is clear that we cannot realistically undertake and fully resource all our research and development programmes in parallel all the way through to market approval and launch. These are new groundbreaking and first-in-class technologies and it is critical that we understand which indications, stage of disease and combinations with other oncology agents will deliver the best outcome for patients and value for shareholders,’ he added.

‘Accordingly, I have initiated a company wide review and I am working closely with the board, management and company's scientific advisers to review the preclinical programmes in detail, including the targeted indications, route of patient administration, product formulations, manufacturing scale-up and regulatory requirements,’ he continued.

‘One outcome from this process will be to focus our valuable resources, set clear, realistic, scientific and commercial priorities so that we can execute and manage the business effectively. We know we are under-resourced in some areas and, therefore, I have commenced the search for a world class CEO and authorised the immediate recruitment of additional staff including a full time CMO, project, and manufacturing management support.

‘In summary, Novogen is in an excellent situation. The company is in a solid financial position with a suite of promising drug candidates. Novogen has world-class science, a scientific team of the highest quality and some strong academic partnerships. I am delighted to be able to lead the company through this period of transition and intend to keep shareholders updated,’ Ross concluded.