Lobe Sciences Ltd (CSE:LOBE, OTCQB:LOBED) said it has appointed Baxter Phillips III to the newly created position of chief operating officer (COO) effective immediately.
Phillips will also serve as president of Altemia and Company LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary focusing on treatments and support for patients with sickle cell anemia. Phillips will report directly to Lobe chairman and chief executive officer, Philip J. Young. He will also continue to be on the company’s board of which he has been a member since October 2022.
The COO role was created to provide additional executive leadership as Lobe Sciences continues its strategic transition to a diversified, fully integrated biopharmaceutical company preparing to launch its first commercial product, Altemia, a medical food designed for patients with sickle cell anemia.
“We are thrilled to bring Baxter into the company as we take these major steps forward to continue to grow and strengthen our business, broaden our product portfolio with new and exciting clinical and commercial assets, and ultimately bring these therapies and products to patients with rare diseases. We have welcomed Baxter’s strategic support since he joined as a board member, and we will continue to leverage Baxter’s 25 years of expertise in business development, licensing, operational strategic management, and commercialization. We know with his demonstrated leadership experience in the pharmaceutical industry he will be a valuable asset to the company as we continue to move forward building our rare disease portfolios,” Philip Young, CEO of Lobe, said in a statement.
“Phil’s leadership and drive to transform the company is inspiring. I look forward to serving Lobe, and most importantly, the patients throughout the world suffering from rare, and often overlooked diseases such as sickle cell disease. Altemia has the potential to offer significant reductions in the frequency of sickle cell crises (SCC) and hospitalizations associated with SCC related pain, and based on clinical trial data, we do not expect to see the poor side effect profile associated with many of the currently available prescription drugs being marketed to treat these events associated with sickle cell. Altemia truly has the potential to significantly improve the quality of life for our friends and neighbors who suffer from sickle cell disease,” said Phillips.
For the past 10 years of his 25-year career, Phillips has served as an executive officer, including CEO of several multi-national biopharmaceutical companies, including Cambridge Allergy (UK), Neurogastrx (US) and Armata Pharma (AmpliPhi, multi-national). He has an MBA from the College of William and Mary and his Bachelor of Science in Biology from Hampden-Sydney College.
Lobe Sciences is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing transformative medicines to treat rare diseases.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com