Ananda Developments - Establishment of Scientific Advisory Board

21 March 2024

ANANDA DEVELOPMENTS PLC

("Ananda" or the "Company")

Establishment of Scientific Advisory Board

Ananda Developments plc (AQSE: ANA), a company whose ambition is to be a leading provider of cannabinoid-based medicines for the treatment of chronic, complex inflammatory pain conditions, is pleased to announce that it has formed a Scientific Advisory Board ("SAB") to provide the Company with expert technical advice and guidance. The SAB will be Chaired by Professor Clive Page, a non-executive director of Ananda Developments plc.

The Purpose of the SAB is to:

1.   Review, advise and validate Ananda's scientific activities;

2.   Provide strategic advice and guidance including identifying potential areas of unmet medical need that would benefit from Ananda's drug candidates;

3.   Provide advice and guidance on clinical trial and protocol development;

4.   Review publications arising from Company projects; and

5.   Provide advice and guidance as the Company moves through the relevant regulatory pathways required to achieve Marketing Authorisation for its drug candidates.

The SAB will initially comprise of Professor Clive Page as Chairman, Professor Trevor Jones, Professor Marie Fallon, Professor Cherry Wainwright and Charles Morgan.

Ananda CEO, Melissa Sturgess, commented: "The SAB members bring a wealth of expertise including new drug and pharmaceutical product development as well as clinical research and academia. They also have significant experience as directors and advisers of other successful pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare companies. We are very fortunate to be able to call upon their advice to help develop our operational approach and strategy."

Scientific Advisory Board Members

Professor Clive Page OBE - Chair

Clive Page is a Professor of Pharmacology, King's College London and Director of The Pulmonary Pharmacology Unit, King's College London. Clive's main research interests are in the pharmacology of inflammation and respiratory diseases, and he has published over 250 scientific papers. Clive was the co-founder and previous Chairman of the Board of Verona Pharma plc which is now capitalised at approximately $1.25 billion and quoted on NASDAQ. He was awarded the Society of Biology President's Medal in 2012 for an outstanding contribution to the life sciences over the previous year. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and an Honorary Fellow and recent Past President of the British Pharmacological Society. In 2017, Clive was awarded an OBE for Services to Pharmacology. Clive will also continue in his role as a non-executive director of the Company.

Professor Trevor Jones CBE

Trevor Jones has had a long and distinguished career in the pharmaceutical industry, notably as Group R&D Director at The Wellcome Foundation Ltd , and in academia. He is well known both nationally and internationally for his contribution to pharmaceutical medical sciences. He is a founder of the Public Private Partnership, The Medicines for Malaria Venture and was for three years a Commissioner for the WHO. Professor Jones has served on many government Committees including Chair of the UK Genetics Advisory Board, the Medicines Commission, British Pharmacopoeia, the Cabinet Office Advisory Board on the Human Genome, and the Advisory Board of MRC. In 2003, Trevor was awarded a CBE for Services to the Pharmaceutical Industry.

Professor Cherry Wainwright

Cherry graduated from the University of Aberdeen with a BSc (Hons) in Pharmacology and subsequently the University of Strathclyde with a PhD in Cardiovascular Pharmacology. Her research career spans more than 42 years, with over 20 years spent at Strathclyde University before moving to Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, where she spent 8 years as the Director of the multi-disciplinary Institute for Health & Wellbeing Research and was the lead in Cardiometabolic Health Research and Co-Director of the Centre for Natural Products in Health. 

Throughout her career, Cherry has worked continuously in collaboration with industry conducting research on the identification of novel therapeutic targets of cardiovascular diseases. For the last 20 years her focus has been on the influence of endocannabinoids and phytocannabinoids on various cardiovascular disorders (ischaemia/reperfusion, cardiac fibrosis), vascular (atherosclerosis, restenosis) injury and cardiac energy regulation. 

Cherry has published around 100 full original articles and invited reviews and holds 3 patents. She is a Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society, for which she is currently President Elect. 

Charles Morgan

Charles Morgan is a  venture capitalist who has identified emerging sectors and acquired early stage and strategic positions in a wide range of ventures around the globe. He has a proven track record in identifying early-stage commercial opportunities and acting as a corporate catalyst, acquiring strategic assets and positions, partnering with regional and technology experts, securing teams of appropriate executives and funds to build and develop projects and companies. He has several successful exits to his name, including the private acquisition of approximately 150,000 acres of oil and gas leases within the Marcellus Shale in North East Pennsylvania, USA. Having built this position in the early 2000s the acreage was farmed out, drilled and the working interests eventually sold to Chesapeake Energy, while retaining an ongoing royalty. He was also a founder of Clarity Pharmaceuticals Ltd,  Australia's largest pharma ASX IPO. Charles was awarded an honorary PhD by Curtin University in Australia for his services to the commercialisation of technology. Charles will also continue in his role as Chairman of the Company.

To stay up to date with the latest developments at Ananda, we encourage you to follow our social media channels which are:  

·      Register at our Investor Hub: https://investors.anandadevelopments.com/s/a66906

·      Instagram: https://instagram.com/anandadevelopments?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=   

·      LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/anadevelopments/   

·      Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnandaPlc

·      Investor Meet Company: https://www.investormeetcompany.com/ananda-developments-plc/register-investor

-Ends-

The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement.

For more information please contact:

About Ananda Developments

Ananda is an AQSE-listed company whose ambition is to be a leading provider of cannabinoid-based medicines for the treatment of complex, chronic inflammatory pain conditions.

For further information on the Company visit https://anandadevelopments.com/ or sign up at https://investors.anandadevelopments.com/s/a66906.

 https://investors.anandadevelopments.com/link/5PbVXP