Vaccine technology company Sementis has announced the appointment Dr Anne Collins as its new chief executive officer.
Dr Collins is currently the company's chief operating officer.
Sementis owns an advanced vaccine platform technology and a portfolio of candidates in development. It has government grant funding and key institutional partnerships in place, including with the University of South Australia, Australian National University, Monash University and federal government agency Health Security Systems Australia.
Dr Collins has 30 years of international leadership experience in the medical technology and pharmaceutical industries.
“With Sementis poised to take a leap forward on our journey to improve global public health, Anne was the standout candidate amongst a high-quality field,” said chair Martyn Evans.
“She will work closely with the board, executive and scientific team to lead us through clinical trials and international commercialisation. This includes forging new and existing strategic partnerships and alliances and continuing to build on our funding sources.”
The appointment of Dr Collins follows a decision by current CEO Leanne Hobbs to step down to pursue other opportunities.
“The Board acknowledges the outstanding contribution Leanne has made to Sementis during her time as CEO,” Martyn said.
“Under Leanne’s leadership, Sementis has made significant scientific progress while securing close to $7.5 million in grants and external funding in conjunction with academic partners. We wish her every success in the next stage of her career.”
Dr Anne Collins said, “As CEO my focus will be continued development of the Sementis Copenhagen Vector (SCV) platform while building partnerships and investments to commercialise our leading technology.
“There is a global focus on vaccine platforms that can be rapidly deployed and scaled within 100 days. Our SCV technology has been designed to address this need.
“Immunotherapies and gene therapy are experiencing significant growth. We look forward to exploring how the unique attributes of our SCV technology to deliver multiple antigens can play a role in this sector.
“I am pleased to take leadership responsibility for Sementis, building on its strong foundations as a clinical development company.”
Ms Hobbs added, “It has been a privilege to lead Sementis during this critical time in history for vaccine development, building capability within Australia to rapidly scale and respond to global medical needs.”