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Scancell Holdings PLC has said John Chiplin intends to resign as its executive chairman and a non-executive director of the company for personal reasons, although he is staying on for an interim period until a new chair is appointed.
The developer of novel immunotherapies said it has started a formal search for a new chair and will announce further details in due course.
"The board wishes to express its sincere thanks to John for his excellent stewardship, support and enthusiasm throughout his tenure as executive chairman. We are pleased that he will be with us for a while longer,” said Professor Lindy Durrant, Scancell’s chief executive officer in a statement.
Chiplin added: "As I plan to hand over the reins to a successor, I will be leaving the company well financed, with an exciting product pipeline, a strong management team and a high-quality shareholder base. I certainly will continue to remain a supportive shareholder.''
The company also said Susan Clement Davies, an independent non-executive director and chair of its audit committee, has been appointed as deputy chair.
In addition, the company announced that its co-founder and former CEO Richard Goodfellow intends to retire as a non-executive director and will not seek re-election at the upcoming AGM.
"The board also wishes to express its gratitude to Richard. As Scancell's co-founder and, until 2017, its CEO, Richard has been instrumental in Scancell's evolution. His unfailing support and vision has been an inspiration to everyone involved at Scancell. We wish Richard a long and happy retirement," said Durrant.
Goodfellow commented: "Scancell was founded over 20 years ago from Lindy's innovative and visionary research and it has been a privilege to have been involved in the evolution of the company from a few highly original ideas to an established biotechnology company with three products in clinical trials and its first commercially significant deal. I remain hugely optimistic about the future of the company and I am sure that the best is yet to come."