Patrick Aebischer, one of the scientific founders of CytoTherapeutics, has resigned from the board of directors over what a spokeswoman for the Lincoln-based biotechnology company described as a difference of vision stemming from Aebischer’s role in a subsidiary company.
However, a local analyst said some recent additions to the board will more than compensate for Aebischer’s absence, keeping CytoThera-peutics (Nasdaq: CTII) on track toward developing treatments for diseases of the central nervous system.
CytoTherapeutics spokeswoman Elizabeth Razee described Aebischer as a “strong proponent” of the encapsulated cell technology he helped invent. However, as chairman of Modex Therapeutics SA, a Swiss subsidiary partially owned by CytoThera-peutics, Aebischer has found it “very difficult to both be a representative of the shareholders in CytoTherapeutics while also being chairman of Modex.”
Modex, which has licensed several of CytoTherapeutics’ technologies for a number of medical applications, plans on doing some things with the technology “that are not in the best interest of CytoTherapeutics,” Razee said.
Aebischer could not be reached for comment.
CytoTherapeutics’ technology encapsulates animal cells in polymer implants designed to deliver therapies directly to the site in the body where they are needed.
Chad White, a stock broker at Providence’s Barrett & Company, called Aebischer’s resignation a “non-event,” saying the company “is still able to develop their stem cell products regardless of who’s on the board.”
”Our sense is that it’s not a significant event at all,” he said. “It doesn’t change the direction of the company or where it wants to go.”
White also stressed the arrival at the beginning of the year of board members Drs. John J. Schwartz and Moses Goddard, saying “I think CytoTherapeutics needs to advertise that and not just the negatives.”
Schwartz, CytoTherapeutics’ chairman, is a principal at Quantum Strategies Management, an investment adviser in Atherton, California. His past credentials include general counsel to Stanford University and chief executive officer of Systemics – a company based on the research of Dr. Irving L. Weissman, a Stanford professor and member of CytoTherapeutics’ board of directors.
Schwartz “clearly is a businessman. He has a legal background plus a Ph.D. and expertise across a number of areas,” Razee said, adding “he is an important presence.”
Goddard, who is co-inventor of CytoTherapeutics’ encapsulated cell technology, is the company’s vice president and chief technical officer.
