Life sciences firm OptiBiotix Health plc (LON:OPTI) has made a big step in its plans to spin out its skin biotherapeutics business by appointing a new chairman for the subsidiary.
Martin Hunt has been brought in to head up the SkinBiotix management team as it looks to demerge from the core business and seek its own initial public offering (IPO).
Back in July, OptiBiotix said that it felt its SkinBiotix platform, along with OptiScreen, OptiBiotix and SlimBiome, were all at a stage where it would be “advantageous to form separate divisions.”
“OptiBiotix believes the scale of the opportunities offered by SkinBiotix's intellectual property in the skin biotherapeutic space means that this can best be achieved by a separate leadership and listing,” said chief executive Stephen O’Hara.
“This will provide the domain specific expertise and resources to ensure the opportunities provided by this exciting technology can be fully realised."
Hunt – who will also become a director of SkinBiotix – has been in the sector for many years and “brings a proven record across life sciences as a CEO and chairman” added O’Hara.
He counts the National Institute for Health Research and Oxford medical Diagnostics Limited among his former employers.
The business he’ll be joining, SkinBiotix, aims to develop treatments for skin conditions by using the skin’s natural components.