Cambridge Antibody Technology founder quits
By David Firn
Published: November 26 2001 11:06 | Last Updated: November 26 2001 16:37
Cambridge Antibody Technology, the UK biotechnology company, is looking for a new chief executive after David Chiswell, its founder, said he planned to leave.
The company, which reported an increase in losses on Monday, said it was looking for an executive with global experience from the pharmaceuticals industry to replace Mr Chiswell, a molecular biologist who set CAT up 11 years ago.
Mr Chiswell said he was making way for someone with the skills to manage the transition from loss-making research and development outfit to profitable biopharmaceutical company. "I didn't really want to run a profitable company," he said. "In the next year we will be making the decisions about how to make that transition. So it is better to get a new team in now."
He ruled out a move to chairman, adding that he was not looking for full-time work when he left.
Mr Chiswell's decision to leave CAT was unexpected. He is only 48 and the company, which is well funded, is still about five years from profitability, leading to speculation that he might be leaving to make way for a merger. However, the company ruled this out.
Erica Whittaker, analyst at Merrill Lynch, said Mr Chiswell's decision to move on was a surprise, but made good sense. "It seems a very early exit given the time to profit, but it's a grown-up move. Not many CEOs realise when it is time to move on," she said.
Investors have often criticised the founders of UK biotech companies - who are often scientists - for failing to recognise the right time to hand control to managers with more commercial experience.
Although CAT is some years away from profit, it is seen as one of the most successful European biotechnology companies, with a growing pipeline of drugs in development and a number of potentially profitable collaborations. However, it is also fighting a long-running patent dispute over its core technology with Morphosys, a German biotechnology company that also develops antibodies. CAT also announced a five-year manufacturing agreement with Lonza, the Swiss speciality pharmaceutical company, to secure a five-year supply of antibodies for clinical trials. Antibody-based drugs are one of the fastest-growing segments in pharmaceuticals, with sales of $2bn last year expected to reach $5bn in 2004. However, they are so new that growth has been restricted by limited production capacity. That has led some companies to ration their drugs until new facilities can be built.
The company's pre-tax losses were £11.8m for the year to September 30, compared with £8.3m a year ago. Turnover was flat at £7.1m. R&D spending increased from £15.7m to £21.4m, as more products moved into development. CAT had cash and marketable securities worth £156.8m ($221m).
Shares initially rose as much as 21p before losing ground to trade down 30p at 1,849p on Monday afternoon, valuing Mr Chiswell's 2 per cent stake in the company at pounds 13.1m.
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