SLN.L Regulatory News (SLN)

Silence Therapeutics Appoints David Horn Solomon as Chief Executive Officer

17 July 2018

Silence Therapeutics plc, AIM:SLN ("Silence" or "the Company") a leader in the discovery and development of novel RNA therapeutics announces today the appointment of Dr David Horn Solomon as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective immediately. David will head the Leadership Team and joins the Board of Directors.

David is an experienced public company biotech CEO, board member and biotech investor. He was the CEO of Zealand Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ZEAL) from 2008 to 2015. Under David's leadership the company went public on NASDAQ OMX and its lead product, Adlixin®, a GLP-1 receptor agonist for the treatment of type II diabetes, was approved in the US and globally and is now marketed by Sanofi as a monotherapy and in combination with Lantus as Soliqua®. David was also the CEO of Bionor Pharma ASA (OSL:BIONOR) and Akari Therapeutics, Plc (NASDAQ:AKTX), and was the Managing Partner of Sund Capital, ApS, a Nordic healthcare investment fund.

He has earlier served as a faculty member at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. From 2003 to 2006, David headed healthcare investment at Carrot Capital Healthcare Ventures in New York. David is currently a member of the Board of Directors of TxCell SA (NYSE EURONEXT:TXCL), and was earlier a member of the Boards at Onxeo SA (NYSE EURONEXT:ONXEO) and Promosome, LLC. Dr Solomon studied at Weil Cornell Medicine of Cornell University and its Graduate School of Medical Science where he received his Ph.D. David expects to receive full authorisation to work in the UK shortly.

Commenting on the appointment, Annalisa Jenkins, Executive Chair of Silence Therapeutics, said:

"I am thrilled to be welcoming David to lead the Company through its next phase of growth. Having held senior management roles in both the US and Europe, David brings extensive international leadership experience in the biotech industry with a track record of successful pipeline delivery, financing and deal making. Silence is now a leading RNAi company building the next generation of programmes based upon our proprietary technology platform in GalNAc-conjugated siRNA. With David at the helm as CEO, supported by a very experienced team and Board, Silence is in a strong position to maximise the potential of our IP and technology through strong collaborations and the advancement of our internal programmes toward the clinic, with our lead candidate SLN124 becoming a clinical stage asset in the coming year."

David Horn Solomon, newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of Silence Therapeutics, added:

"In this age of RNAi, Silence's world class RNAi platform offers an exciting opportunity to build a competitive drug development company with global relevance. I am particularly impressed with the near-term opportunities including the lead programme in iron overload disorders which is progressing toward clinical trials. I am very pleased to join Silence at this critical juncture for both the sector and patients. I look forward to working with the highly accomplished Leadership Team and Board of Directors as we translate the excellent science into meaningful value for both patients and investors."

The following information is disclosed pursuant to Schedule Two, paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies:

Full name and age: David Horn Solomon, aged 57. He holds no ordinary shares in the Company.

Current Directorships or Partnerships:

TxCell SA

Tyler Hill Holdings ApS

Solomon-Solvberg Sons and Daughters

Previous Directorships or Partnerships:

¹Akari Therapeutics, Plc

Onxeo SA

Promosome, LLC

Sund Capital, ApS

No further information in connection with his appointment is required to be disclosed under Schedule Two, paragraph (g) of the Aim Rules for Companies. 

Enquiries:

About Silence Therapeutics plc

Silence Therapeutics is developing a new modality of genetic medicines by harnessing the body's natural mechanism of RNA interference, or RNAi, within its cells. Its proprietary technology can selectively inhibit any gene in the genome and be engineered to specifically silence the production of disease-associated proteins. Using enabling delivery systems, Silence has achieved an additional level of specificity by delivering therapeutic RNA molecules exclusively to target cells. Silence's proprietary technology platform provides an effective, safe and highly potent modular approach well suited to tackling life-threatening diseases. Silence aims on being a clinical stage company in 2019, while progressing a pipeline of earlier stage candidates against important gene targets directed at areas of high unmet medical need. In parallel, Silence continues to evolve its patent portfolio as new discoveries emerge from its innovative efforts to develop the next generation of RNAi medicines.

Silence has out-licensed technology to Quark Pharmaceuticals for use in Delayed Graft Function and Acute Kidney Injury. Both programmes are now in phase III. For more information, please visit: http://www.silence-therapeutics.com/

¹On 8 May 2018 Dr. David Solomon resigned as Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Akari Therapeutics, Plc ("Akari"). Akari, a NASDAQ quoted company, issued a Form 6-K on 11 May 2018 related to his resignation.