Avacta Group plc has announced the appointment of Dr. Christina Coughlin as a consultant and the potential appointment of a full-time Chief Medical Officer (CMO). The company is seeking to leverage Dr. Coughlin's expertise in clinical oncology and drug development to drive the company's clinical strategy. Dr. Coughlin has a proven track record in building drug development teams and has previously served as CEO of Cytolmmune Therapeutics and Chief Medical Officer of Rubius Therapeutics and Tmunity Therapeutics. She will retain her position as a Non-Executive Director on the Avacta Board.
Avacta also announced that Neil Bell, Chief Development Officer, will be leaving the company. Under Bell's guidance, the company has established a clinical development infrastructure to support its clinical programs.
Under the terms of the consultancy agreement, Avacta will pay Dr. Coughlin a monthly fee of $15,000 for an initial period of six months, with the option to extend for a further six months. The total fee is capped at $180,000. The consultancy agreement is considered a related party transaction and has been deemed fair and reasonable by the independent directors of the company.
Dr. Alastair Smith, CEO of Avacta Group, expressed gratitude to Neil Bell for his work and stated that the company is transitioning its senior leadership team to incorporate medical oncology experience. Dr. Coughlin commented on the potential of Avacta's pre|CISIONTM platform to improve cancer patient outcomes and expressed excitement about working with the team to complete ongoing studies and explore opportunities to build the company's pipeline and partnerships.