Asterias Biotherapeutics

Asterias Biotherapeutics, a company which develops therapies based on pluripotent stem cells (capable of becoming any of the cell types in the human body), has appointed two independent directors and completed a Series A round of funding.

The arrival of Andrew Arno and Natale Ricciardi brings the number of Board Directors to eight, of which three are independent.

Arno, 55, has 30 years of experience working with emerging growth companies. He is currently MD of investment bank Emerging Growth Equities, and Vice President of Sabr, Inc., a family investment group.

Ricciardi, 65, spent his entire 39-year pharmaceutical career at Pfizer, rising to of President of Pfizer Global Manufacturing and Senior Vice President of Pfizer Inc. He was responsible for all of the company’s internal and external supply organisation, involving more than 100 manufacturing facilities supplying small and large molecule pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and other health products.

Asterias Chairman Alfred Kingsley said he also welcomed the company’s new shareholders receiving Series A common stock from Geron Corporation, whose cell therapy assets Asterias acquired last year.

“We look forward to building on the strong foundation that was developed at Geron and to leveraging the capabilities of the BioTime family of companies to further the clinical development of our potential therapeutic products,​” he said.