LONDON– Ixaka Ltd, an integrated cell and gene therapy company focused on the natural power of the body to cure disease, today announces the appointment of Nick Robbins-Cherry as Chief Financial Officer and board Director, and George O’Rourke as Vice President and General Manager of Ixaka France.
Nick Robbins-Cherry joins Ixaka with 30 years of experience in fund-raising, public markets and PE gained through finance and commercial roles in international pharmaceuticals, technology services, software, and telecoms businesses. Most recently, Nick was CFO of a private equity backed telecoms infrastructure business, Vorboss Limited. Prior to Vorboss, he was CFO at Midatech Pharma PLC, a listed pharmaceutical business with R&D facilities in the UK and a manufacturing operation in Spain. He successfully steered Midatech through its IPO on AIM, a dual listing on NASDAQ and subsequent fundraises. Nick is a Chartered Accountant and holds an MBA and a BSc in Pharmacology from Bath University.
George O’Rourke, who joins as Vice President and General Manager of Ixaka France, is a seasoned pharmaceutical and biotech executive. Most recently, holding the position of Vice President and General Manager of France for Novartis Gene Therapy (formerly Avexis), a gene therapy company focused on transforming rare genetic diseases. During his time at Novartis Gene Therapy, George led the launch of Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec), a gene therapy, for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy. George has accumulated a wealth of experience working in America as well as several locations in Europe including the UK, France, Poland, and the Baltic states, creating productive environments where teamwork and ambition are harnessed to accelerate the delivery of ground-breaking therapies.
Nick and George join Ixaka’s leadership team following positive interim Phase 3 clinical trial data for its lead REX-001 cell therapy candidate, and in the run-up to entering the clinic with its lead targeted nanoparticle program, CELTIC, for hematological malignancies.
