Pherecydes Pharma, a French biotechnology company specialising in the development of anti-infective therapies based on therapeutic lytic bacteriophages, has appointed Guy-Charles Fanneau de La Horie as Chief Executive.
Phage therapy is an innovative therapeutic method for treating bacterial infections, in particular hospital-acquired infections and/or antibiotic-resistant infections. By leveraging Fanneau de La Horie’s expertise, the firm will be able to move forward with its three R&D programmes: Phagoburn in burns, Pneumophage to treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa respiratory infections, and Phosa for the treatment of serious Staphylococcus aureus infections.
The company expects to conclude its first clinical trial and the preclinical phases for two new products before the end of the year.
Fanneau de La Horie has more than 20 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Before joining Pherecydes Pharma, he held a number of international management roles, including positions within Schering-Plough, Biogen and IDM, in Europe and the US.
More recently, he was CEO of PathoQuest, a company developing NGS-based infectious disease diagnostic technology. Between 2006 and 2013 he was CEO of Neovacs and coordinated the 2010 IPO.
Prior to that, he spent eight years with Biogen, where he set up and ran the subsidiaries in France and Benelux.
