As a medical research company, successful trial outcomes are a must but business acumen in understanding the market is no less important either. For clinical stage biotech company Pharmaxis (ASX: PXS), their latest addition to the Board of Directors line-up will offer them the best of both worlds with the appointment of healthcare investment researcher Hashan De Silva.
With academic qualifications in Medicine and Finance, Hashan is an experienced life sciences investment professional who previously held research and analyst roles at Macquarie Group and CLSA Australia before joining Karst Peak Capital in February 2021 as Head of Healthcare Research. Prior to that, he worked at Eli Lilly in various roles focused on the commercialisation of new and existing pharmaceuticals.
Pharmaxis Chairman Malcolm McComas said, “We welcome Hashan to the Pharmaxis Board. He has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Company throughout his healthcare banking career including more recently as head of healthcare research at Karst Peak Capital where he conducted extensive diligence on our science which underpinned three separate investments in Pharmaxis.”
“Hashan’s knowledge of the Australian and international healthcare capital markets brings relevant insight and experience to the Pharmaxis board.”
Until December 2022, Hashan was Head of Healthcare Research at Karst Peak Capital, a Hong Kong and Australian based specialist healthcare fund. He is also a non‐executive director of Melbourne and Philadelphia based CurveBeam AI.
Specialising in consumer, healthcare, and technology sectors across Asia and Australasia, Karst Peak holds a 12.28% equity position in Pharmaxis. Karst Peak first backed Pharmaxis in April 2021 Interestingly, Pharmaxis is indirectly networked to one of Karst’s very successful investments – Avita Medical. The flagship product at Avita Medical, Spray on Skin, was responsible for the commercial success and invented by Professor Fiona Wood AM, who currently is leading Pharmaxis’ skin scarring treatment trial.
Karst Peak has achieved impressive returns from their investment in Neuren Pharmaceuticals (ASX: NEU) which like Pharmaxis, has been developing their drug candidate towards commercialisation. In Neuren’s case, the company is targeting a rare genetic neurological and developmental condition known as Rett syndrome, which harms the brain causing a progressive loss of motor skills and speech from as young as six months old.
Karst Peak bought a 14% stake in Neuren when it was valued at $1 a share in March 2020, making them one of the stock’s largest shareholders. By January 2023, NEU shares were trading around $9. The head of healthcare research at Karst Peak at that time, none other than Hashan De Silva.
Pharmaxis currently has four ongoing clinical trials targeting myelofibrosis, skin scarring, Parkinson’s disease, and liver cancer whose trial results are due between 2023 and 2024.
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