Vectura Group appoints New Chief Executive Officer

Vectura Group appoints New Chief Executive Officer

Will Downie joins from Catalent Inc., one of the world's largest Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisations

Chippenham, UK - 29 October 2019: Vectura Group plc (LSE: VEC) ("Vectura", the "Group", or the "Company"), is pleased to announce the appointment of Will Downie as CEO and Executive Director of the Company with effect from 7th November 2019.

Prior to joining Vectura, Will spent ten years as the Senior Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing at Catalent Inc., one of the world's largest Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisations (CDMO).

In his role at Catalent, Will led the commercial effort and had responsibility for global sales, marketing and commercial operations activities. During his tenure, he developed an outstanding track record in helping drive the long-term growth of the company as well as positioning Catalent as one of the leading brands in the pharmaceutical services space. He has a deep understanding of the development and advanced drug delivery market and has amassed significant experience in driving sustained long-term results, as well as building performance-focused organisations and meeting customer needs on a global scale. 

Prior to Catalent, Will held positions as Vice President & General Manager, Global Molecular Imaging at GE Healthcare, Vice President Sales EMEA at Amersham Health and Director of Business Development and Commercial Operations at Quintiles Innovex UK Limited. In his early career, he worked in a range of sales and marketing management positions at both Sanofi and Merck & Co.

Bruno Angelici, Chairman, commented: "I am very pleased to welcome Will Downie as Vectura's new CEO. He brings a wealth of relevant experience which will help Vectura to grow and deliver on its new strategic focus as a leading inhaled CDMO business.

"I would like to thank Paul Fry for the significant work he has done since stepping into the Interim Chief Executive role and driving the change necessary for Vectura to become a leading player in the inhaled CDMO space. Paul will resume his responsibilities as Chief Financial Officer from 7th November."

Will Downie commented: "I am delighted to have accepted the role of CEO of Vectura and to have the opportunity to expand and build on its reputation as an inhalation device and formulation specialist. I am looking forward to driving the new business strategy and ensuring the Company achieves its long-term goal of becoming a world class CDMO organisation in the inhalation space."

There are no additional details to disclose under Listing Rule 9.6.13 (1) to (6) in respect of the appointment of Will Downie.

-Ends-

For more information, please contact:

Vectura Group plc

David Ginivan - VP Corporate Communications +44 (0)7471 352 720

Elizabeth Knowles - VP Investor Relations +44 (0)7767 160 565

Consilium Strategic Communications

Mary-Jane Elliott / Sue Stuart / David Daley +44 (0)20 3709 5700

About Vectura

Vectura is a provider of innovative inhaled drug delivery solutions that enable partners to bring their medicines to patients. With differentiated proprietary technology and pharmaceutical development expertise, Vectura is one of the few companies globally with the device, formulation and development capabilities to deliver a broad range of complex inhaled therapies. 

Vectura has ten key inhaled and eleven non-inhaled products marketed by partners with global royalty streams, and a diverse partnered portfolio of drugs in clinical development. Our partners include Hikma, Novartis, Sandoz (a division of Novartis AG), Mundipharma, Kyorin, GSK, Bayer, Chiesi, Almirall, and Tianjin KingYork.

For further information, please visit Vectura's website at www.vectura.com