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Nouscom appoints Göran Ando MD as Chairman and Richard Davis PhD as Chief Business Officer

Written by: Nola Cadman
Published on: 16 Dec 2020

BASEL, Switzerland – 11th December 2020: Nouscom, a clinical stage immuno-oncology company developing off-the-shelf and personalized genetic cancer vaccines, today announces that it has appointed Göran Ando, MD as the new Chairman of its Board of Directors. Nouscom also appointed Richard Davis, PhD as Chief Business Officer (CBO).

Dr. Guido Magni, former Chairman and Director of the Board, said: “I am delighted to welcome Dr. Ando, an experienced biopharmaceutical executive, to the company. It has been a pleasure to chair Nouscom’s Board over the past years and I look forward to continuing working with the company as a Director going forward.

Dr. Göran Ando said: “I am greatly honored to be elected as Chairman by the Board of Nouscom. The company is advancing through an exciting period of clinical development including entering the clinic with its second vaccine candidate in the coming weeks. I am looking forward to working with the talented team as we continue this journey together.”

Marina Udier, Chief Executive Officer of Nouscom, said: “We are delighted to welcome Göran and Rick to Nouscom. Göran has an impressive track record in a variety of senior positions in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry. His knowledge and leadership will be pivotal in guiding Nouscom as we continue to advance our innovative pipeline of genetic cancer vaccines.

“Rick’s extensive investing and business development experience is an important addition to Nouscom’s management team at this exciting time for the company. I look forward to working with Rick to shape the next growth phase for the company.

“I would like to thank Guido, who has played an instrumental role in Nouscom’s exciting progress to date. We look forward to his continued support as a Board Director.”

Dr. Göran Ando

Dr. Ando has more than 35 years of leadership and management experience in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, with Board positions at several global companies, including currently as Chairman of Eyepoint Pharma and Tessa Therapeutics. He began his career at Pfizer where he held several senior clinical positions both in the US and in Europe. Dr. Ando also served as President of the Astra Research Centre and held various senior appointments at GlaxoSmithKline.

In 1995, Dr. Ando joined Pharmacia as Executive Vice President and Deputy CEO to lead Research and Development with additional responsibilities for manufacturing, information technology, business development and M&A. During his nine-year tenure as Head of Research and Development at Pharmacia/Pharmacia & Upjohn, 17 new drugs were approved by the US FDA prior to Pharmacia's acquisition by Pfizer for $60 billion.

Dr. Ando also served as CEO of Celltech Group (acquired by UCB for £1.5 billion) as well as Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Novo Nordisk.

Dr. Ando is a qualified medical doctor and a founding fellow of the American College of Rheumatology in the US.

Dr. Richard Davis

Richard (Rick) Davis is an accomplished executive with more than 20 years’ experience in the life sciences sector with a focus on developing and building strategic partnerships and growth strategies. Prior to joining Nouscom, he was Global Oncology Transactor at Johnson & Johnson Innovation.

Previously, Dr. Davis held executive roles in both private and public European biotech companies and has been responsible for maximizing financial returns on direct healthcare investments in both private and public equities and venture capital funds at the Wellcome Trust. During this time, he was on the Board of Directors of a number of biotech companies and worked closely with management teams on strategy, financing and exits via M&A and public listings.

About Nouscom

Nouscom is a privately held oncology company developing next-generation immunotherapies. Nouscom’s proprietary technology platform harnesses the full power of the immune response by combining viral vectored genetic vaccines based on neoantigens with other immunomodulators.

Nouscom is currently advancing clinical development of its lead program, NOUS-209, an off-the-shelf cancer vaccine based on shared frameshift neoantigens. The Company continues to develop its product candidate, NOUS-PEV, a personalized cancer neoantigen vaccine, which is expected to enter clinical studies in 1Q 2021.

Nouscom is led by an experienced management team with deep roots in the pharma and biotech industry (Merck, Novartis, Lilly, JNJ, Incyte and Okairos (acquired by GSK)), and are veterans in the field of viral vectored genetic vaccines.

Nouscom, which was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland with operations in Rome, Italy, is backed by international life sciences investors: 5AM, Abingworth, LSP (Life Sciences Partners) and Versant Ventures.

For more information on Nouscom, please visit the company’s website at www.nouscom.com