OXFORD, UNITED KINGDOM – Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd is pleased to announce the appointment of Peter Allen ACA to its board.

Peter Allen joins the board of Oxford Nanopore as non executive Director with broad, senior experience in the life sciences industries. He currently serves as Non-Executive Chairman on the Boards of ProStrakan Group plc, Chroma Therapeutics Ltd and Proximagen Neuroscience plc.

Previously, Peter was Chief Financial Officer of the electronics company Abacus Group plc from April 2005 until the company was sold to Avnet Inc in January 2009. Prior to this he was Chief Financial Officer of Celltech Group plc between 1992 and 2004. In addition to managing Celltech’s flotation process in 1993, Peter played a key role in several strategic acquisitions, including Chiroscience Group plc, Medeva plc and Oxford Glycosciences plc. In 2003 Peter was also appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Celltech until the company was sold to UCB in 2004.

Oxford Nanopore also announces the retirement of Riccardo Pigliucci from his role as non executive director, after serving nearly five years on the board.”We are excited to welcome Peter Allen to the Board of Oxford Nanopore,” said Dr Trevor Nicholls, Chairman of Oxford Nanopore. “Peter’s corporate and financial experience across science and technology industries will add to the strength of our existing board. We also extend our thanks to Riccardo Pigliucci for his years of valuable service to the Company.”

Dr Gordon Sanghera, CEO, added, “As Oxford Nanopore transitions to its next stage of corporate development, Peter will provide invaluable expertise along the pathway of a fast growth company with a genuinely disruptive technology. We are looking forward to working with Peter in this exciting period.”