Stahel, who quit Shire three years ago after a row over strategy with his fellow directors, says he is joining PowderMed because he likes the young company’s prospects.
‘In its first year of operation, PowderMed has introduced three DNA-based immuno-therapeutics, targeting areas of huge unmet clinical need’, he comments, ‘such as genital herpes, HIV and cancer’. Stahel also chairs private Italian biotech concern Newron Pharmaceuticals and sits on the board of AIM-quoted Australian biotech company Norwood. He says he is keen to ‘drive PowderMed forward’.
Followers of Stahel, who took Shire into the FTSE 100 index, will watch his progress at PowderMed with interest. Shares in Shire were trading at £13 in the year before Stahel’s departure, though now they change hands at 583p.
