Acacia Pharma Announces Changes to its Officers and Board of Directors

Cambridge, UK and Indianapolis, US – 2 March 2020: Acacia Pharma Group plc (“Acacia Pharma”, the “Group” or the “Company”) (EURONEXT: ACPH), a hospital pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of new products aimed at improving the care of patients undergoing significant treatments such as surgery, other invasive procedures or cancer chemotherapy, announces the following changes to its Officers and Board of Directors.             

• Christine Soden stepped down as a Director, as Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary on 29 February 2020. Gary Gemignani now serves as the Group’s Chief Financial Officer.
• Anne-Marie Elsley was appointed as Company Secretary for Acacia Pharma on 29 February 2020.

At the time of the Company’s Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) in March 2018, both Pieter van der Meer and Johan Kördel stated their intention to stand down from the Board at the 2019 Annual General Meeting (“AGM”). However, at that AGM the Board believed it to be in the best interests of the Company to retain their experience until such time as BARHEMSYS® (amisulpride) was approved. Having recently reached this important corporate milestone, Pieter and Johan have decided not to stand for re-election at the forthcoming AGM on 7 April 2020.

Patrick Vink, who served as Chairman for the last four years has also decided to stand down at the AGM. Scott Byrd, who has been a Director of the Company for the last three years, will be appointed by the Board as the new Chairman at the AGM.

Commenting, Scott Byrd, Chairman-elect, said: “I am very grateful to our outgoing Board members for their significant contributions to Acacia Pharma, its employees and shareholders. Without the long-term support of Pieter van der Meer (and Gilde Partners) and Johan Kordel (and Lundbeckfonden), the Company would not have gained US approval for BARHEMSYS last week. I look forward to their continuing support as significant shareholders in Acacia Pharma. I would also like to thank Patrick for his leadership through the Company’s IPO and early years as a public company, and Christine for her outstanding service and commitment over the years.”

Patrick Vink, Acacia Pharma’s outgoing Chairman, added: “I would also like to add my gratitude to the outgoing Board members who have all made such significant contributions to the Company. As Acacia Pharma moves now into the next phase of growth, we are delighted that Scott Byrd has agreed to step up as Chairman. Scott is an extremely experienced, commercially focused Director, who will ensure Acacia Pharma is well-governed and continue to provide valuable support and guidance to ensure the successful commercialization in the US of BARHEMSYS and future products.”

About Acacia Pharma

Acacia Pharma is a hospital pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of new products aimed at improving the care of patients undergoing significant treatments such as surgery, other invasive procedures or cancer chemotherapy. The Company has identified important and commercially attractive unmet needs in these areas that its product pipeline aims to address.

Acacia Pharma's lead product, BARHEMSYS® (intravenous amisulpride) for postoperative nausea & vomiting (PONV), has been approved by the US FDA, with US launch planned for H2 2020.

Byfavo™ (intravenous remimazolam), an ultra-short-acting and reversible sedative/anesthetic for use during invasive medical procedures, such as colonoscopy and bronchoscopy, is in-licensed from Cosmo Pharmaceuticals for the US market. The NDA for Byfavo has been filed with the US FDA and the target PDUFA action date is 5 April 2020.

APD403 (intravenous and oral amisulpride), a selective dopamine antagonist for chemotherapy induced nausea & vomiting (CINV) has successfully completed one proof-of-concept and one Phase 2 dose-ranging study in patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy.

Acacia Pharma is based in Cambridge, UK and its US operations are centred in Indianapolis, IN. The Company is listed on the Euronext Brussels exchange under the ISIN code GB00BYWF9Y76 and ticker symbol ACPH.

www.acaciapharma.com