Wotton's Time is Now

June 2016 - Wotton is appointed to the board

Stewart Washer, Cynata's then Executive Chairman, welcomed Dr Wotton's decision to join the Board and noted "Paul's direct experience in driving commercial transactions and broad exposure to the stern cell and regenerative medicine sector is particularly pertinent to Cynata's business model and ongoing partnership discussions. We look forward to his guidance and to working with Paul as Cynata continues to execute its business strategy."

September 2016 - Cynata signs its first non-binding terms sheet was with FujiFilm

November 2016 - Wotton re-elected to the Board

His Bio from Explanatory Memorandum of the Notice of Meeting read as:
“Dr Wotton has an outstanding track record of leading companies to clinical, financial and commercial success, most recently demonstrated in his stewardship of Ocata Therapeutics, Inc, a US-based stem cell therapy company, culminating in the recent acquisition of that company by Astellas Pharma, Inc., in a US$379 million all cash transaction.

Dr Wotton has more than 30 years' experience in the pharmaceuticals and biotech industry. He served as CEO and President of Ocata Therapeutics from July 2014 until the completion of the Astellas acquisition in February of 2016. Prior to that he served for 6 years as CEO and President of Antares Pharma, Inc., a Nasdaq-listed specialty pharmaceutical company. Before leading Antares Pharma he held various senior executive roles in large- and mid-cap pharma and biotech companies in the USA and Europe. He is a member of the board of Vericel Corporation, a US company developing autologous cellular therapies. Dr Wotton is a pharmacist by training with both a Ph.D. from the University of Nottingham and an MBA from Kingston Business School in the U.K. In 2014 he was named New Jersey EY Entrepreneur of the Year in Life Sciences.”

February 2017 - Wotton appointed as Chairman.

He sates:
“From the moment I joined the board of Cynata it has been clear that our therapeutic stem cell platform technology, Cymerus is going to play a potentially significant role in helping to treat many challenging and life-threatening diseases such as graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). I am looking forward to working with Ross Macdonald and the team as we continue to execute against our strategic plan.”

As part of Wotton's appointment, he was granted 2 million options exercisable at $1.50 each that expire on 17/11/19.

Fast forward to our upcoming 2019 AGM, Wotton is up for re-election.

His Bio from Explanatory Memorandum of the Notice of Meeting read as:
“Dr Wotton is the CEO of Obsidian Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering controllable cell and gene therapies, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Prior to this he was the Founding CEO of Sigilon Therapeutics, a cell therapeutics company also based in Cambridge. Dr Wotton has an outstanding track record of leading companies to clinical, financial and commercial success. He was the CEO of Ocata Therapeutics, Inc, a US-based stem cell therapy company, acquired in February 2016 by Astellas Pharma, Inc., in a US$379 million all cash transaction. Prior to that he served for 6 years as CEO and President of Antares Pharma, Inc., a Nasdaq-listed specialty pharmaceutical company. Before leading Antares Pharma he held various senior executive roles in large- and mid-cap pharma and biotech companies in the USA and Europe. He is a member of the boards of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) and Veloxis Pharmaceuticals A/S (VELO.CO). Dr Wotton has a B.Pharm. (Hons) from UCL, a Ph.D. from the University of Nottingham and an MBA from Kingston Business School in the U.K. In 2014 he was named New Jersey EY Entrepreneur of the Year in Life Sciences.”

Maybe just identifying one significant career milestone he has achieved for Cynata in his two years as Chairman would have been nice to see!

But nothing! The Legendary Stem Cell Whisperer is deafeningly silent!

As of today, it seems our first non-binding terms sheet (signed 3 years ago) is still currently our last!

Also today, Wotton has done a cashless conversion of other options that were in the money (expiring 17/11/19). This adds 20,775 Ordinary Shares to his holding, now totalling 175,775 Ordinary Shares. In my estimate, this would rank him around 70th in the top 100 shareholders.

What he now does with the other 2 million options (strike price of $1.50) that’s 15% short of the current price, will determine my vote on his re-election.

I am looking for leadership and someone who has faith in the company. It is time for Wotton to step up or move on!