the new hire

Looks very good for where Prana are right now. POS after your rant I decided to research the guy and the further I went the better it looked.

http://www.pharmatelevision.com/Video/17-Alchemia-Peter-Smith.aspx

He oversaw the approval fondaparinux, an injectable anticoagulant, in the US, in partnership with, of all companies, Dr Reddy's, the company manufacturing the trials PBT2 supply, who have already done volume production runs on PBT2.

Pete Smith, CEO of Alchemia, said, “This collaboration has succeeded due to the expertise, dedication, and close communication between the teams at both companies. This approval is a major milestone for Alchemia, fondaparinux representing a significant source of potential future income for the Company."
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110712007277/en/Dr.-Reddy%E2%80%99s-Announces-USFDA-Approval-Fondaparinux-Sodium

Seems like if posters want to hold him responsible for pulling the plug on that IPO, then perhaps he should get full credit for fondaparinux approval.
He participated in a recent successful NDA with the FDA and Dr Reddy's. That is exactly the type of experience Prana needs on board at this point.

He is one of the few Australian CEOs to have launched an approved drug onto the US market.

So the IPO didn't fly. Conditions at the time were bad and they will probably take another run at it. 178 IPOs were withdrawn or postponed that year. Get over it.

Lessons learned from the IPO failure, get with a company with a lead candidate in an urgent need unserved blockbuster market and a more exciting pipeline:-)

I would say our board just got A LOT stronger.

Here is an interesting take on the departure from Alchemia
[Peter Smith, chief executive officer of Alchemia, says proudly that the complexity involved in replicating the drug was daunting. “Even though we were just copying this drug it has taken us 10 to 11 years to get to this point,” he says.
“Chemists pale at the difficulty of replicating a drug when it has eight steps. This had 60 steps. It was a phenomenal achievement for such a small company.”]

Dr. Smith served as Director for Commercialization of Alchemia Ltd. from June 2006 to April 2007 and served as its Head of Alchemia's Commercialisation and Business Development Division since May 2006. He has more than 18 years commercial experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry.

[Managing the more predictable Alchemia business is no longer for him. “I will be exiting the Alchemia board but remain acting chief executive for six months,” he says. “There won’t be a huge amount of activity in Alchemia.” Smith’s energies will be focussed on Audeo Oncology, where he will become president.
Having the ability to let go, as Smith is doing, requires a degree of self-awareness, according to business coach Neil Posus, founder of the web site askacoach.com. He says executives should apply a balanced scorecard to themselves and to their staff when a business is undergoing a transition from being high risk to predictable. “You have to identify what has been learned,” he says. “Leaders have to do some important reflection. Did they get the result they wanted and is it really measurable? Do people acknowledge their own strengths and continue to use them, or are they exhausted from their efforts?”]

http://leadingcompany.smartcompany.com.au/leadership/job-done-syndrome-how-to-recognise-when-its-time-to-move-on/201211042968