Company Announcements

Evgen Pharma plc

("Evgen" or "the Company" or "the Group")

Directorate Changes

·    Appointment of Toni Hänninen as Permanent CFO and Board Director

·    Retirement of Susan Clement-Davies as Board Member

Alderley Park, UK - 22 December 2023: Evgen Pharma plc (AIM: EVG), a clinical stage drug development company developing sulforaphane-based medicines, announces that Toni Hänninen has been appointed as permanent Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and he will join the Board of Directors as a Director. The Company also announces that Non-Executive Director, Susan Clement-Davies, will be retiring from the Board.

Toni Hänninen

Toni Hänninen was appointed interim CFO in September 2023. He is now taking on the CFO role on a permanent basis  and moving onto the Board as a Director. His appointment is effective from 1 January 2024.

Toni was previously CFO at Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd, an AIM and Nasdaq First North listed clinical stage biopharmaceutical company based in the Finland and the US, developing novel treatments for medical conditions with significant unmet needs. He holds over 20 years of experience in business development and senior finance roles in both public and private companies, working in mature and emerging markets particularly in Europe and the USA where he has accomplished successful fundraises, transactions and fiscal management in the sector. Toni has an MBA from the Helsinki School of Economics (now Aalto University).

Retiring board member

Evgen Pharma also confirms that Susan Clement-Davies is retiring from her position as Non-Executive Director on the 31 December 2023 in order to focus on her other board positions. Susan has been on the Evgen Pharma board since 2018 and has provided valuable insight and expertise in that time.

Dr Susan Foden, Non-Executive Chair of Evgen Pharma said:

"I am very pleased to welcome Toni in as permanent CFO and I look forward to working with him on the board. Toni's broad company experience is already making a difference to Evgen and he is providing considerable support to the rest of the executive team in driving projects forward.

"On behalf of the Board, I also want to thank Susan for her significant contributions to the Board and the company for the past five years and wish her well for the future."

Toni Hänninen, CFO of Evgen said:

"I'm delighted to join the Evgen executive team and Board as permanent CFO and Executive Director. I've thoroughly enjoyed working with Huw, Helen and the rest of the team so far, and look forward to helping build value for shareholders."

Huw Jones, CEO of Evgen said:

"Toni's considerable skill set is highly complementary to the rest of our talented team and it's great to be working with him. Welcome to the team on a permanent basis Toni.

As we reported in the half year results in October, we have made substantial progress against strategic goals, despite the toughness of the market environment. We continue to be well positioned to commercialise the potential of SFX-01 both through our own studies and through a range of collaborations. We are looking forward to a busy 2024."

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About Evgen Pharma plc 

Evgen Pharma is a clinical stage drug development company developing sulforaphane based medicines for the treatment of multiple diseases. The Company's core technology is Sulforadex®, a method for synthesising and stabilising the highly biologically active compound sulforaphane and novel proprietary analogues based on sulforaphane. 

The Company's lead asset, SFX-01, is a patented composition of synthetic sulforaphane and alpha-cyclodextrin and has undergone clinical trials for oestrogen-positive (ER+) metastatic breast cancer and recently a Phase 1b study of the Company's new enteric coated tablet formulation. The FDA has granted Orphan Drug status to SFX-01 in malignant glioma. SFX-01 will be investigated initially in this indication as an investigator sponsored study in the Netherlands supported by a substantial non-dilutive grant.

The Company also has a wide number of collaborations with leading academic centres in the UK, Europe and the US as part of the continuing strategy to build the scientific data for the compound. Recently, Evgen completed an out-licensing transaction with Stalicla SA, a Swiss specialist company in neurodevelopmental disorders, commencing with autism spectrum disorder. The deal, if successful, will generate milestone payments of $160.5m and a double-digit royalty on sales.

The Company has its headquarters and registered office at Alderley Park, Cheshire. It is listed on AIM in London and trades under the ticker symbol EVG. 

For further information, please visit: www.evgen.com.

INFORMATION REQUIRED UNDER RULE 17 AND SCHEDULE 2, PARAGRAPH (G) OF THE AIM RULES FOR COMPANIES ("AIM RULES")

There is no further information to be disclosed in relation to the appointment pursuant to Rule 17 and Schedule 2, paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules.