Vectura's COO of US operations to step down

Medical device group Vectura has announced that Trevor Phillips, its chief operations officer and president of US Operations, will step down from the board at the annual general meeting on 25 May and leave the company at the end of May.

Vectura said that since joining the group, Phillips has played an integral leadership role in its successful development, including the acquisition of Activaero in 2014 and the merger with Skyepharma in 2016.

Following the merger, he also led the development of the Manufacturing, Device Industrialisation and Supply Chain teams of the enlarged Vectura group.

A recruitment process is now underway for someone to lead the group's Supply Chain and Manufacturing operations, but this will not be a board position.

Chief executive officer James Ward-Lilley said: "I would like to extend my personal thanks to Trevor for the support he has given me and for the highly professional way in which he has carried out his role in the business. Trevor has been with Vectura since 2010 and in that time he has been a significant driver of the transition of the group into the business it is today.

“Having managed the initial integration of Skyepharma and Vectura, Trevor and I agreed that the AGM would be an appropriate time for him to transition out of the company. The board and I would like to thank Trevor for his contribution throughout his tenure, and we wish him well in his future endeavours."

At 1355 GMT, the shares were up 1% to 148.70p.