Co-founder Hayes departs in EiRx shake-up

DR IAN HAYES, the chief executive and co-founder of EiRx Therapeutics, has left the Cork-based pharmaceutical company.

EiRx, which is developing a treatment for colorectal cancer, also announced a shake-up of its other top management team yesterday.

The company said the departure of Dr Hayes was part its plan for a new company structure to focus on growing revenues.

Dr Colin Telfer, who had been business development director of Auvation (a company acquired by EiRx earlier this year), will take on the newly-created role of chief operating officer.

Professor Mike Fowler, who joined the board in May as science commercialisation director, steps up to become executive deputy chairman.

“The new chief operating officer and executive deputy chairman appointments put a unified senior management team firmly in control of the two current subsidiary companies and any future acquisitions by the group, and as a consequence I am confident of our ability to deliver significant growth in shareholder value,” said the company chairman John Pool yesterday.

In addition to the changes of the board of the listed company, EiRx has also made senior appointments at its subsidiaries.

Dr Marie Labus has taken over as head of the company’s Auvation business in Aberdeen in Scotland with Finbarr Murphy promoted to managing director of the group’s Cork-based subsidiary.

Shares in the company were unchanged at 3.25 pence yesterday, valuing the company at almost £6 million (€8.8 million). The company has lost more than 40% of its value over the past year.

However, EiRx, based at the Cork Airport Business Park, this week filed applications for patents for drug candidates with potential value as treatments for a range of cancers including colorectal and breast tumours.