High-level changes at Motif Bio

Motif Bio made some high-level changes on Thursday, appointing Pete Meyers as chief financial officer and Dr Rajesh Shukla as vice president, clinical operations.

Meyers was joining the AIM-traded clinical stage biopharmaceutical company from TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals, where he was CFO and treasurer. Prior to that he spent 18 years in healthcare investment banking, holding positions at Dillon, Read & Co, Credit Suisse First Boston and Deutsche Bank Securities.

Motif’s current CEO, Bob Bertoldi, will transfer his responsibilities to Meyers but will continue as a director.

Shukla was moving from ACORDA Therapeutics, where he was senior medical director clinical development and medical affairs. He previously held posts at Pfizer Global Established Products.

The company also appointed Jonathan Gold, currently a non-executive director, as a strategic financial consultant for an initial period of six months.

"We are delighted to welcome both Pete and Rajesh to the team. Pete's experience in capital markets, M&A, and financial operations combined with Rajesh's depth of knowledge in clinical operations will ensure strong leadership in these critical functions,” said Motif Bio CEO Graham Lumsden.

“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Bob Bertoldi for all his efforts and input to date both operationally and financially through the admission to AIM and since, and I value his continued input particularly with the successful execution of our clinical trials."

At 1630 BST, shares in Motif Bio were down 2.89% at 40.3p.