On May 22, 2018 DelMar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the "Company")(NASDAQ: DMPI) reported that the board of directors (the "Board") has appointed Saiid Zarrabian as the full-time President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, effective immediately (Press release, DelMar Pharmaceuticals, MAY 22, 2018, View Source [SID1234526845]). Mr. Zarrabian had previously served as the Company’s interim President and Chief Executive Officer since November 2017 and prior to that as an independent board member since July 2017.
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"Saiid has made significant contributions to DelMar, initially as an independent board member and, most recently, as DelMar’s interim President and CEO. We are pleased that he has agreed to further commit to the Company by taking on the full-time President and CEO role, effective immediately. His contributions have included a renewed focus on our two Phase 2 open label trials for MGMT-unmethylated glioblastoma multiforme, and enhanced fiscal responsibility while advancing our clinical programs in a timely and cost-effective fashion. The Board and I look forward to working with him to build on this momentum," stated Dr. Erich Mohr, Chairman of the Board.
"I am excited to transition from my interim role at DelMar and to continue the clinical advancement of VAL-083, which has been validated in over 40 prior clinical trials indicating VAL-083’s potential to combat multiple devastating diseases for patients with limited alternatives. Although VAL-083 may have applicability to many other solid tumor indications with potentially significant future commercial opportunities, we intend to use a disciplined and stepped approach to investing our resources in pursuing such opportunities. Over the next year, we expect to achieve a number of clinical milestones for VAL-083, including data from the ongoing Phase 2 second-line recurrent GBM study at MD Anderson, as well as data from the international Phase 2 study in newly diagnosed GBM patients. We plan to use our current capital efficiently and to continue to drive the enrollment of our clinical studies in an effort to maximize value for our shareholders," said Mr. Zarrabian.
Mr. Zarrabian is a successful veteran of the biotechnology industry. He previously served as chairman of the board of directors at La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company during the company’s transition from being an OTC listed company to a Nasdaq traded company. He also served as president of the Protein Production Division of Intrexon Corporation, a synthetic biology company. Prior to that, he served as chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of Cyntellect, Inc., a stem cell processing and visualization instrumentation company until it was acquired in 2012. He served as president and chief operating officer of Senomyx, Inc., a company focused on discovery and commercialization of new flavor ingredients, and as chief operating officer of Pharmacopeia, Inc., a former publicly-traded provider of combinatorial chemistry discovery services and compounds, where he also served as president and chief operating officer of its MSI Division. In addition, Mr. Zarrabian has served on numerous private and public company boards, including at Immune Therapeutics, Inc., Exemplar Pharma, LLC, Ambit Biosciences Corporation, eMolecules, Inc. and Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co. Currently, he is serving as an advisor to Redline Capital Partners, S.A., a Luxemburg-based investment firm.