BiomeBank Appoints Ex-Ellerston Capital CIO and BlackRock North Asia Director as Chair to Accelerate Commercialisation Strategy

• BiomeBank appoints Mr Chris Hall as Chair, effective 17 January 2022.
• Mr Hall brings over 30 years’ experience and impressive track record of investment management across both public and private markets within APAC.
• BiomeBank’s Series A funding round anticipated to close in early 2022.
• Formal Therapeutic Goods Association (“TGA”) approval of Company’s first-generation microbial therapy anticipated in 2022.

ADELAIDE, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BiomeBank today announces Mr Chris Hall as the new Chair for the clinical stage biotechnology company, having recently served as Chief Investment Officer of Ellerston Capital. Prior to this, Mr Hall served as Managing Director of Blackrock Asset Management (North-Asia Ltd). The appointment is effective as of 17 January 2022.

Mr Hall succeeds Dr Stephen Rodda, who recently retired having served as the BiomeBank Chair since 2019.

BiomeBank Chief Executive Officer, Mr Thomas Mitchell said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Mr Hall as the new Chair of BiomeBank. He brings with him over 30 years’ experience and an impressive track record of investment management across both public and private markets within the APAC region.

“As we move towards closing our Series A funding round in early 2022 and formal TGA approval of our first-generation product, Mr Hall’s experience in global markets will support our growth ambition into the Asia Pacific and European region. He also brings strong expertise in governance, holding a number of previous and current Board positions including Chair of the ESG Committee at Ellerston Capital, Chair of Perks Private Wealth and Non-Executive Director of Funds SA.”

BiomeBank Chief Medical Officer and co-founder, Dr Sam Costello added: “I’d like to acknowledge and thank Dr Rodda for his dedication and support of the Company during its early stages of development and his role in the CEO recruitment. His expertise in commercialisation and building start-up and scale-up companies was an important driver of the business during this time.”

The newly elected BiomeBank Chair, Mr Chris Hall said: “I’m excited to join BiomeBank as we move into the next stage of expansion and progress our promising pipeline of second-generation products.

“Having observed the Company’s expertise in developing microbial therapies to treat unmet need, I believe we’re in a strong position to improve the quality of life for people and continue to build our business into a global biotechnology leader.

“I’d like to acknowledge Dr Rodda for laying the foundations for the Company’s early growth. I’m delighted to be working alongside such an experienced Board and Executive team at BiomeBank, as we deliver on our development pipeline, commercialise new therapies and increase shareholder value.”

About BiomeBank

BiomeBank is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing a pipeline of microbiome therapies to treat unmet medical need. BiomeBank's mission is to treat and prevent disease by restoring gut microbial ecology.

Backed by a world-leading team of translational microbiome experts, BiomeBank’s platform uses a unique combination of machine learning and microbiology to identify bacterial strains which influence disease, leading to the discovery and development of new therapies.