Versantis Appoints Seasoned Pharma Executive Christopher Seaton to Board

ZURICH--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Versantis AG, a clinical-stage company developing novel therapies for orphan liver diseases, today announced the appoint of seasoned pharmaceutical executive Christopher Seaton to its Board of Directors. Mr. Seaton has extensive expertise in business development, with more than 25 years experience in closing transactions of all types, including M&A, licensing, collaborations and partnerships. He also has varied hospital and healthcare board position experience.

“Christopher is a very experienced international deal-maker in our industry and comes to Versantis at a pivotal time as we begin to build our clinical experience with VS-01, our lead drug candidate for acute liver and metabolic diseases. He brings a fresh US angle which is well aligned with Versantis’ goal to grow into an international biopharmaceutical company,” said Vincent Forster, Versantis’ Co-founder and CEO. “We welcome Christopher to the team and look forward to working with him on building out our pipeline business development strategy,” added Meriam Kabbaj, Versantis’ Co-founder and COO.

Mr. Seaton spent 23 years working at Bayer AG, primarily in the USA and in multiple strategic licensing and transactional roles, culminating in being appointed as Senior Vice President, Negotiations, Bayer HealthCare. In this role, he was responsible for major transactions worldwide for Bayer Schering Pharmaceuticals, Bayer HealthCare and Bayer Pharmaceuticals. During his time at Bayer, he played a key role many transactions, including the $2.9 billion deal with Genzyme on alemtuzumab and other cancer products; Bayer’s $15 billion consumer care acquisition from Merck & Co; spin-out of ACT Biotech from Bayer Oncology; and the in-licensing of VEGF Trap from Regeneron. Prior to Bayer, Mr. Seaton worked in various roles at ICI in the chemistry industry. He holds an MBA in finance and Bachelor of Commerce both from McMaster University in Canada.

“Versantis has a very unique approach that could have a dramatic impact on the lives of patients with liver disease,” said Mr. Seaton. “I’m looking forward to working with the whole team to help implement a development and growth strategy, with the aim of bringing this approach to patients in the most efficient way possible.”

About Versantis

Versantis is a clinical-stage biotech company focused on the development of orphan drugs in liver and pediatric diseases. Founded by leading scientists from ETH Zurich and industry experts, Versantis is pursuing innovative therapies for the critical care of serious conditions based on its proprietary detoxification platform technology. The company’s mission is to bring therapeutic solutions to patients in need by timely support of acute liver decompensations in adults and hyperammonemic crises in children. Versantis’ most advanced program, VS-01, is currently completing a Phase 1b. Its clinical development pathway may be streamlined owing to orphan drug designations received by the EMA and FDA, as well as a Rare Pediatric Diseases Designation recently granted by the FDA. Versantis is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. For additional information, visit: www.versantis.ch.

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