Medherant has appointed John Burt as CEO, effective 24 June 2019. Nigel Davis, the current CEO of the pain and CNS focused pharmaceutical company, will stay on as Chief Business Officer.
Burt was most recently the CEO of Abzena, an international contract research, development and manufacturing organisation, where he led the company through multiple financing rounds, including its admission to AIM in 2014. In this role he also concluded acquisitions in the UK and US to create an integrated service business for biopharmaceutical drug development.
At the end of 2018, John left Abzena following its sale to the US private equity firm Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe. Previously, John was co-founder and CEO of Thiakis, for which he raised £10m of venture capital finance and sold to Wyeth in 2008 in a deal worth up to $150m.
Burt’s earlier career included finance and business development roles with Coopers & Lybrand, Vanguard Medica, GSK and Imperial Innovations.
Ken Cunningham, Chairman of Medherant, said: “Having previously worked with John at Abzena, I look forward to working with him again. He is an experienced CEO with a wealth of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and a track record in growing businesses, financing and deal-making.”
Mark Payton, CEO of Mercia Technologies PLC, added: “I would like to personally thank Nigel for his professional drive which has got Medherant to where it is today, and which has been a significant achievement. As the Medherant team embarks on this new chapter I am delighted to welcome John to the Board as CEO and wish him well in his new role.”
