ObsEva Announces Appointment of Annette Clancy as Chair of the Board of Directors
ObsEva SA has announced the appointment of Annette Clancy as Chair of the Board of Directors, effective May 18, 2022. Clancy, who has been on the Board since 2013 and previously served as Chair from 2013 to 2016, succeeds Dr. Frank Verwiel, who is retiring. CEO Brian O’Callaghan expressed confidence in Clancy's leadership as the company prepares for its first product approvals and commercial launch. Clancy has over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, significantly in business development.
- Annette Clancy's return as Chair brings extensive experience that can aid in upcoming product approvals.
- Clancy's background in business development at major firms positions her well to lead the company through its transition to a commercial entity.
- Departure of Dr. Frank Verwiel may raise concerns regarding continuity and experience in leadership during a critical growth phase.
GENEVA, Switzerland May 19, 2022 – ObsEva SA (NASDAQ: OBSV; SIX: OBSN), a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing novel therapies for women’s health, today announced the appointment of Annette Clancy as Chair of the Board of Directors at the Company’s Annual General Meeting on May 18, 2022. Ms. Clancy has served as a member of ObsEva’s Board of Directors since 2013 and was previously Chair from November 2013 to December 2016. Ms. Clancy succeeds Dr. Frank Verwiel, who had decided to step down from the role of Chair and retire from the Board of Directors, effective following the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting.
“We could not be more pleased, or fortunate, to have Annette return to the Chair position as we prepare for our first approvals and transition to a commercial stage company,” said Brian O’Callaghan, CEO of ObsEva. “Annette’s contributions to ObsEva are undisputed and her distinguished career spanning research and development, commercialization, and business development constitute the ideal skill set to position ObsEva for success in this next stage of growth. I would also like to sincerely thank Frank for his years of Board contribution. The tremendous progress across the pipeline, which positions ObsEva for upcoming milestones, is a testament to Frank’s Board leadership. We wish him success in his future pursuits.”
Ms. Clancy has over 30 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including fifteen years in business development at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) where she was most recently Head of Transactions and Alliance Management, responsible for innovative deals ranging from early drug discovery partnerships to global commercial alliances, and mergers and acquisitions. Since her retirement from GSK in 2008, Ms. Clancy has advised venture capital health groups in the United States and Europe, namely as an Operational Investor for Jeito Capital and previously a Senior Advisor to Frazier Healthcare Ventures. Ms. Clancy has extensive Board experience and in addition to her role with ObsEva, she is Chair of the privately held French company, Enyo SA, and a non-Executive Director of the Swedish public company, Sobi. Prior to Ms. Clancy’s time in business development, she held a number of positions in clinical research, research and development project management, and commercialization. Ms. Clancy holds a BSc (Hons) Pharmacology from Bath University (UK) and a series of American Management Association diplomas (finance/marketing).
Ms. Clancy commented, “I’m honored to be reprising the role of Chair at ObsEva at this pivotal time and building on the momentum created by Frank and the executive team as ObsEva prepares for commercial launch. My dedication to ObsEva and conviction in its prospects is long-standing, and I am excited to be presiding over this potentially transformational period as we pursue our first approvals and seek to change the treatment paradigm for women with uterine fibroids and other underserved conditions.”
Dr. Verwiel commented, “It is a privilege to have been part of the exceptional team at ObsEva over the past six years, and I take great pride in all that we have accomplished together. I look forward to following ObsEva’s continued achievement as the company nears prospective approval of linzagolix and pursues its vision of delivering life-changing therapies to address the most challenging unmet needs facing women.”
About ObsEva
ObsEva is a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing novel therapies to improve women’s health. Through strategic in-licensing and disciplined drug development, ObsEva has established a late-stage clinical pipeline with development programs focused on new therapies for the treatment of uterine fibroids, endometriosis, and preterm labor. ObsEva is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and is traded under the ticker symbol “OBSV” and on the SIX Swiss Exchange where it is traded under the ticker symbol “OBSN”. For more information, please visit www.ObsEva.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “may”, “might”, “ongoing”, “objective”, “plan”, “potential”, “predict”, “should”, “will”, “would”, or the negative of these and similar expressions, and are based on ObsEva’s current beliefs and expectations. These forward-looking statements include expectations regarding the potential approval of linzagolix by regulatory authorities, including the European Commission and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the timing of such approval and subsequent transition of ObsEva to a commercial-stage company, the timing or results of interactions with regulatory authorities, clinical development of ObsEva’s product candidates, including the timing, advancement of, and potential therapeutic benefits of such product candidates, including linzagolix, the potential for linzagolix and other product candidates to be commercially competitive, the success of the Company’s partnerships with third parties, expectations regarding regulatory and development milestones and ObsEva’s ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for its product candidates. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in such statements. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially include uncertainties inherent in the conduct of clinical trials and clinical development, including the risk that the results of earlier clinical trials may not be predictive of the results of later stage clinical trials, related interactions with regulators, including interactions with the European Medicines Agency during the marketing authorization application process and with the FDA during the New Drug Application process for linzagolix, ObsEva’s reliance on third parties over which it may not always have full control, and the capabilities of such third parties, the impact of the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak and other geopolitical events, and other risks and uncertainties that are described in the Risk Factors section of ObsEva’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 10, 2022, in the Report on Form 6-K filed with the SEC on May 17, 2022 and other filings ObsEva makes with the SEC. These documents are available on the Investors page of ObsEva’s website at www.ObsEva.com. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are based on information available to ObsEva as of the date of this release, and, except as required by law, ObsEva assumes no obligation to, and does not intend to, update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
For further information, please contact:
CEO Office contact
Shauna Dillon
shauna.dillon@obseva.ch
+41 22 552 1550
Investor Contact
Katja Bührer
Katja.buhrer@obseva.com
+1 (917) 969-3438
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