David Ricketts Named CEO at PharmaDiagnostics

PharmaDiagnostics NV, a company developing and marketing label-free screening technology has appointed Dr David Ricketts as Chief Executive Officer and also announces that it has raised EUR 2.5 million in a second round of funding.

Ricketts, 47, DPhil, began his career in Glaxo Group Research, and has held scientific and product sales and marketing positions at British Bio-Technology, Oxford Molecular, and Biosym technologies, becoming VP US Sales and Marketing for Oxford Molecular in 1994. In 1995 he established Oxford Molecular’s Collaborative Discovery division, and was directly involved in the establishment and growth of spin-out companies Cambridge
Combinatorial, Prolysis and Cambridge Drug Discovery. In 2000 he was appointed VP Business Development at Inpharmatica, and 2003 moved to Maybridge as Director, Business Development. Since 2004, he has
acted as aconsultant to companies active in drug discovery and life sciences research and development.

"PharmaDiagnostics’ technology platform is elegant and broadly enabling, and addresses an important market need in the field of label free screening," said Ricketts. "I am looking forward to driving growth of our business and developing new assay products with our excellent existing team, as well as boosting our capabilities with additional senior business and senior scientific staff. The company has great potential and I am committed to
ensuring we realise this potential."

"The addition of David Ricketts as PharmaDiagnostics’ new CEO represents a further step in the growth and professionalism of the company," said Marc Wachsmuth, partner at Capital-E, lead investor in the company’s funding round. "His experience with a wide variety of life science companies means he will provide valuable guidance and management in many aspects of PharmaDiagnostics’ development."