Novacyt appoints David Allmond as new chief executive

Clinical diagnostics specialist Novacyt announced the appointment of David Allmond as its new chief executive officer and a member of its board on Thursday, effective from 18 October.

The AIM-traded firm said that at that time Graham Mullis, having informed the board that he wished to retire after 13 years with the expanded group, would stand down as CEO and a board member.

It said 51-year-old Allmond would bring relevant leadership experience in life science companies experiencing significant development and growth, and developing businesses into new global markets.

Currently, he is chief business officer at Amryt Pharma, where he had played a “key role” in developing the company into a global rare and orphan disease drug company.

Earlier in his career, Allmond held sales and marketing roles of increasing seniority at Amgen, Celgene, and Aegerion Pharmaceuticals.

He received a BSc in microbiology from Imperial College, and would be supported by Novacyt's recently-strengthened executive management team.

The board said Mullis would be retiring after 13 years with the wider business, both as chief executive of Novacyt, and formerly CEO of Lab21, which was acquired by the group in 2014.

It said he was committed to ensuring a smooth transition with Allmond, and would continue to lead the group as CEO until the latter joined the company.

“The Board is highly confident that, after an extensive search, we have found the right leader for Novacyt's next chapter of growth, following Graham's decision to retire,” said chairman James Wakefield.

“We look forward to working with David and the recently strengthened senior management team to deliver on the company's strategy of organic, research and development and acquisitive growth that we recently reiterated at our full year results.”

At 1511 BST, shares in Novacyt were down 0.41% at 329.44p.