Appointment of CEO for Israeli Operations
Jerusalem, Jan 29, 2015 AEST (ABN Newswire) - PhytoTech Medical Limited (
ASX:PYL), the Australian owned Medical Cannabis (MC) company and the first MC company to list on the ASX, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Daphna Heffetz, as CEO for the wholly owned subsidiary company in Israel.
Highlights
- Dr Heffetz brings top quality skills to the company, having held executive positions leading biotech and medical device companies for over 20 years
- Dr Heffetz will lead the development and commercialisation of high potential cannabis based therapeutics products in collaboration with Yissum
- Further strengthens the existing high calibre management team
Dr Heffetz will lead development and commercialisation of cannabis based therapeutics products in collaboration with top scientists at the Hebrew University in Israel through Yissum Research Development Company (Yissum). First products to be developed will be based on proprietary drug delivery technologies, which will deliver only the therapeutic components of Cannabis through the oral and buccal routes.
Dr Heffetz's expertise is first class in the industry, with over 20 years experience in establishing and growing Biotech and Medtech technology based companies. Specifically, Dr Heffetz has highly relevant and valuable experience in developing therapeutic products based on drug delivery technologies.
Dr Heffetz's most recent position was Chief Executive Officer with Alon MedTech Ventures, an Israeli medical device and technology accelerator.
In 2000 she founded TransPharma Medical, a specialty pharmaceutical company, where she remained as CEO and Director of the Board until 2012. TransPharma became one of the most promising active transdermal drug delivery companies in the world. During her time at TransPharma she raised US$34 million in three financing rounds from leading Israeli and International venture capital funds and brought over US$50 million from collaborations with world leading pharmaceutical companies From 1994 - 2000, Dr Heffetz held various positions at Savyon Diagnostics, a subsidiary of Healthcare Ltd, a NASDAQ listed company.
Beginning as an R&D project leader, and progressing through to Head of Operations until becoming the CEO and Director of the Board. Dr. Heffetz led the company to profitability of more than 20% and paved the way for new promising avenues for the company.
Dr Daphna Heffetz holds M.Sc and Ph.D degrees in Biochemisty and a Post-Doctoral Fellow in molecular biology from the Weizmann Institute of Science.
Boaz Wachtel, Managing Director of PhytoTech Medical commented on the appointment:
"I am delighted to welcome Dr Daphna Heffetz to the board of PhytoTech. We've been working consistently to build a highly skilled team to lead the business and drive our growth in the market and we feel with this most recent appointment we are in a strong position with a highly qualified team. Daphna's background is well suited to the position and we're confident her expertise and network in the Medtech industry will bring valuable advice and further quality talent to the business."
Dr Daphna Heffetz will receive a base salary of NIS60,000 (approximately US$15,000 per month) and will be entitled to a company car, pension plan, insurance and education fund (all of which are customary in Israel).
She will also be granted 4,500,000 unlisted options to acquire PYL shares at an exercise price of $0.20 each. The Options shall be subject to a three (3) year vesting period as follows: (i) 33.33% of such options will vest after the first twelve months from the commencement date of her employment and shall remain exercisable until the end of the term of the options; (ii) thereafter the balance of the options shall vest on a monthly basis pro rata for the remaining term of the agreement (i.e. 1/24 x 3,000,000 per month). The term of the Options shall be four years from the date of grant.
About MMJ Group Holdings Ltd
MMJ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX:MMJ) is a global cannabis investment company. MMJ owns a portfolio of minority investments and aims to invest across the full range of emerging cannabis-related sectors including healthcare, technology, infrastructure, logistics, processing, cultivation, equipment and retail. For MMJ's latest investor presentation and news, please visit: https://www.mmjphytotech.com.au/investors/
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