Microbiotica announces transition of leadership
- Co-founder and CEO Mike Romanos steps down after six years to take up role of Associate Dean of Enterprise in the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College
- Tim Sharpington, Microbiotica COO and experienced industry executive, appointed new CEO
Cambridge, UK, 29 November 2022 – Microbiotica, a leading player in discovering and developing microbiome-based therapeutics and biomarkers, announces a change of leadership as Mike Romanos hands over the Microbiotica CEO role to current COO, Tim Sharpington.
Microbiotica is a leading player in microbiome-based therapeutics and biomarkers. The Company’s platform enables unrivalled strain-level microbiome analysis linked to patient phenotypes. In March 2022, the Company raised a £50 million ($67 million) series B to fund Phase 1b clinical trials in immuno-oncology and ulcerative colitis and the expansion of its pipeline to other indications. The fundraise was the largest microbiome-related financing in Europe to date.
Tim Sharpington, currently Chief Operating Officer, will become CEO from 1 January 2023.
Mike will be leaving Microbiotica at the end of the year in order to start a new position as Associate Dean of Enterprise in the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College, London. As the founding CEO, Mike has led Microbiotica over six years to become one of the leaders in the microbiome sector.
Tim Sharpington has established a track record of leading, developing and executing company strategy, with experience in product development, fundraising, M&A and licensing. He has over 30 years’ experience in senior executive and non-executive roles in pharma, biotech and CROs across Europe and the US, and has developed multiple approved products. Prior companies include Vectura, Arakis, ICON, Sequus and Open Orphan/hVIVO.
Mike Romanos, outgoing CEO of Microbiotica, concluded:
“It has been hugely rewarding to have spun out Microbiotica from the Wellcome Sanger Institute in 2016 with my co-founders Trevor Lawley and Gordon Dougan, and to see it become a leader in microbiome-based therapeutics. I’m now excited to be moving to a new role where I can use the breadth of my experience to promote enterprise and translation across biomedicine at Imperial.”
“I am delighted to be handing on the CEO role of Microbiotica to Tim, who has been an exceptional colleague and who has the leadership, experience and expertise to lead the Company to success in its critical next phase as it develops transformational products. I wish Tim and the team at Microbiotica every success.”
Hans Schikan, Chairman of Microbiotica, said:
“Since Tim joined the Company almost two years ago, he and Mike have worked very closely together and Tim is the obvious candidate to be the next CEO as the Company moves to clinical-stage.”
“On behalf of the Board, we thank Mike for his major contribution to the business. Through his strategic vision, scientific expertise and leadership, he has built Microbiotica into one of the leading microbiome companies. His close working relationship with Tim will ensure a smooth handover and is much appreciated. We wish him all the best in his new role.”
Tim Sharpington, new designate CEO of Microbiotica, added:
“Mike has been a major part of Microbiotica and he leaves the Company well positioned and financed and with a leading platform for microbiome therapeutics.”
“It has been a pleasure to work alongside Mike and the Microbiotica team for the last two years and I am excited to take the company forward as CEO as we prepare to take our lead programs in immuno-oncology and ulcerative colitis into their first clinical trials, a major step in bringing these novel therapeutics to patients.”
-ENDS-
Contact:
Microbiotica
Ro Gardner
T: +44 1223 869302 / M: +44 7801 480569
E: rgardner@microbiotica.com
Microbiotica (Media relations)
Melanie Toyne-Sewell / Agnes Stephens / Giulia Lasagni / Batoul Ali
T: +44 20 7457 2020
E: microbiotica@instinctif.com
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Microbiotica
Microbiotica is a leading player in the field of microbiome-based therapeutics, biomarkers and targets. The Company is building a growing pipeline of differentiated products based on high quality clinical datasets and unique bacterial signatures that drive biology, identified by its proprietary platform.
Consisting of the leading microbiome Reference Genome Database, Culture Collection, mass culturing technology (Personalised Bacterial Bank) and proprietary AI tools, Microbiotica’s platform enables unrivalled strain-level microbiome analysis linked to patient phenotypes. The Company’s current therapeutic areas of focus are immuno-oncology and IBD and it has established major clinical and academic partnerships in these areas.
Spun out of the Sanger Institute in 2016, the Company is based at Chesterford Research Park near Cambridge, UK. Microbiotica’s investor syndicate includes British Patient Capital, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Flerie Invest, IP Group plc, Seventure Partners, and Tencent.
For more information, please visit www.microbiotica.com, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
