LONDON: Graft Polymer (UK) Plc (LSE: GPL) announced the appointment of Anthony Tennyson as Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect. Victor Bolduev has stepped down as CEO but will remain on the Board of the Company as Chief Technology Officer.

Mr. Tennyson will lead a comprehensive review of the Company’s operations, with a particular focus on maximising value from the existing assets, including its novel and patented Graft Bio drug delivery solution. He will lead the Board in identifying opportunities for commercial growth and strategic partnerships.

With a career spanning the life sciences and financial services sectors, Mr. Tennyson brings a wealth of relevant experience to the Company. His position with the Company will be held jointly with his existing employer Awakn Life Sciences Corp (“Awakn”), which he co-founded in 2020 and serves as its CEO.

Awakn is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing medication-assisted treatments for addiction, with a near-term focus on Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). Under Mr Tennyson’s leadership, Awakn successfully navigated public listings on Cboe Canada and the OTCQB in the US, raising CA$20 million. He also cultivated strategic partnerships with government agencies and leading pharmaceutical companies resulting in licensing agreements for promising phase 2 and phase 1 programmes targeting AUD.

Prior to his role at Awakn, Mr. Tennyson held senior roles at Aon Plc where he contributed to the growth and development of Aon’s risk consulting business. He also gained valuable experience of the capital markets at Merrill Lynch and Bank of Ireland. Mr. Tennyson holds an MBA and an MSc from University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland.

Anthony Tennyson commented: “I am delighted to join Graft Polymer at this pivotal moment in its journey and look forward to working closely with the Board to unlock the full potential of Graft Polymer.”

Nicholas Nelson, Chairman, commented: “We thank Victor for his role as CEO through an extremely difficult time for the Company. Remaining on the Board, he will work alongside Anthony during and following his review of the operations. Anthony comes on-board as we develop our future as a medical products and services company with the existing Graft Bio medical devices business remaining at the Company’s heart.”

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