Key hires for Edinburgh pharma business

An Edinburgh-based pharmaceutical company focused on repurposing ketamine says it is starting an “exciting” new growth phase with two key board appointments helping take it internationally.

Neurocentrx, which is backed by the likes of Equity Gap and Scottish Enterprise, is developing new clinical indications and forms of administration for oral ketamine with a view to improving pain-management and the treatment of psychiatric conditions such as severe depression. The firm said the new oral capsule formulations it is progressing will help a broader range of patients via, say, easier administration.

It has hired Nigel Brooksby as non-executive chairman and Tim Corn as non-executive director. Brooksby has held senior global executive positions at Pfizer, Sanofi and Wellcome (now GSK), and worked extensively in private equity and venture capital.

He commented: “My focus is to accelerate the business model and drive commercial clinical trials, to raise international awareness of what we are offering, and enter the global market.”

Corn was previously chief medical officer at EUSA Pharma International and Zeneus Pharma, and has played a pivotal role in more than 20 regulatory approvals in the US and Europe.

Neurocentrx chief executive Carmel Reilly spotted the potential of ketamine while at the University of Edinburgh. She said the appointments mark “an important milestone for Neurocentrx and marks the start of an exciting new phase of our growth”. 0 Nigel Brooksby aims to help achieve global growth