DelMar Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of new cancer therapies, today announced the appointment of Mr. Saiid Zarrabian as interim Chief Executive Officer.
“DelMar is pleased to welcome Mr. Zarrabian as interim CEO at an important time for our company,” said Dr. Erich Mohr, DelMar’s Chairman of the Board. “Saiid’s experience in overseeing the growth of multiple companies will augment DelMar’s management as we continue to transition to a late-stage development company and seek additional opportunities to maximize shareholder value.”
Jeffrey Bacha, cofounder of DelMar, will continue in his senior management role as President and in the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer (COO). Both Mr. Zarrabian and Mr. Bacha will continue to serve on the Company’s Board of Directors.
“I am delighted to accept the position of interim CEO and to work with Jeffrey and the DelMar team as well as with Erich and the Board with the goal of creating value for our shareholders, said Mr. Zarrabian. “DelMar has successfully advanced VAL-083 into a pivotal clinical trial and has established several additional opportunities that we believe can create significant value in the treatment of multiple cancer indications. I look forward to leading the company at this critical time and to contributing to the success of DelMar.”
Saiid Zarrabian joined the DelMar Board of Directors in July, 2017. Mr. Zarrabian is a highly successful industry veteran. He is currently serving as an advisor to Redline Capital Partners, S.A., a Luxemburg-based investment firm. Mr. Zarrabian has previously served as Chairman and member of the board of directors of La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company during the company’s transition from an OTC listed company to a NASDAQ listed company. He also served as President of the Protein Production Division of Intrexon Corporation, a synthetic biology company. Prior to that, he served as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of Cyntellect, Inc., a stem cell processing and visualization Instrumentation company until it’s sale in 2012. He has previously served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Senomyx, Inc., a company focused on discovery and commercialization of new flavor ingredients, and as Chief Operating Officer of Pharmacopeia, Inc., a former publicly-traded provider of combinatorial chemistry discovery services and compounds, where he also served as President and Chief Operating Officer of its MSI Division. In addition, Mr. Zarrabian has served on numerous private and public company boards, including at Immune Therapeutics, Inc.; Exemplar Pharma, LLC; Ambit Biosciences Corporation; eMolecules, Inc.; and Penwest Pharmaceuticals CO.
