Medherant Expands Management Team With Appointment of COO, CFO

Medherant Ltd, a University of Warwick spin-out company developing a next-generation transdermal drug delivery patch technology, has appointed two new senior executives, Sally Waterman and Angus Hone. These appointments mark a significant expansion of the company’s management team to support the business as it moves into clinical development and commercialization of its ibuprofen TEPI Patch.
 
Waterman joins the team as chief operating officer (COO). She brings more than 30 years of experience in executive management in large pharma, small biotech/biopharma and contract service companies. Waterman has held a wide variety of strategic and operational roles, including leading R&D, and involvement in two initial public offerings, numerous financing rounds and M&A. Prior to joining Medherant she was senior vice president of corporate development at Abzena plc. Waterman is currently the chairman of OBN Ltd.  
 
Hone joins Medherant as chief financial officer (CFO). He has more than 20 years of experience in financial management in the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector with extensive CFO/COO experience in venture capital/private equity-backed healthcare, medical diagnostics, life science, and software technology companies. He comes to Medherant from Cascade BI, where he acted as Mentor to the CEO. Prior to this Hone spent three years at Enigma Diagnostics, initially as acting CFO and then as CEO.
 
“I’m delighted to welcome Sally and Angus to the team as we start manufacturing our ibuprofen TEPI Patches and move into clinical trials. Both are highly regarded industry professionals and will add expertise and capability to our management team,” said Nigel Davis, CEO of Medherant.
 
“It’s fantastic to see the senior team at Medherant expanding with new talent. This is a key time for the company as it moves into clinical trials and with the added expertise and valuable experience of Sally and Angus, the business is in an ideal position for its next phase of growth,” added Nicola Broughton, Head of Universities at Mercia Technologies PLC, which invested in Medherant last year.
 
Medherant Ltd develops next-generation transdermal drug delivery patches. The company was founded by Professor David Haddleton and the University of Warwick in 2015. Medherant has built upon its founders’ expertise in bio-adhesives and polymer chemistry to create adhesive drug delivery patches that overcome many of the limitations of patches currently on the market:
 

• Its TEPI Patch technology can be used with a wider range of drugs, including those that are not suitable for oral administration. 
• The amount of drug that can be loaded into the patch is greater, enabling the development of more effective transdermal therapies. 
• The TEPI Patch contains a novel adhesive which will provide a better patient experience as the patch sticks to the skin for longer, is less painful to remove, and does not leave a mark on the skin. 

 
Medherant is developing products containing proven drugs that it intends to license prior to commercialization. The company’s first product is an ibuprofen patch. Manufacture for clinical trials will take place at AdhexPharma in France in the second half of 2017. Medherant also runs feasibility studies that give companies the opportunity to see the benefits of delivering their drugs with TEPI Patch technology.
 
Medherant is backed by Mercia Technologies PLC, a national investment group focused on the creation, funding and scaling of businesses with high growth potential from the United Kingdom regions.