Koimun, New Board Members Recruited to Pursue Nasdaq Listing

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] SCM Life Science and Genexine have recruited Michael Pekete, an expert in business strategy and corporate governance, and Greg Tibbits, a financial expert, as new outside directors of their U.S. affiliate, CoImmune. CoImmune is actively pursuing a listing on the Nasdaq market.

Michael Pekete earned a bachelor's degree in finance from Pennsylvania State University and began his career at investment banks such as CIBC World Markets and Oppenheimer & Co. He later transitioned to the pharmaceutical, bio, and medical device industries, accumulating 35 years of experience in these fields. He has expertise in business strategy planning, M&A, and corporate governance. He currently serves as an advisor to SeaSpine, a medical technology company based in California, and DFB Pharmaceuticals, a private investment and development company based in Texas.

Greg Tibbits is a certified public accountant who holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of San Diego and an MBA from San Diego State University. He is known as an expert in public and private investment and IPOs. He has over 30 years of experience in communications with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He served as a board member of IDMI Pharma, a Nasdaq-listed bio company. He has experience as a chief financial officer (CFO) in both public and private companies. He currently operates a corporate advisory firm.

In March, CoImmune recruited Dr. Ed Barakini, who has a successful track record of Nasdaq listings for U.S. bio companies, as an outside director in charge of business development. By newly recruiting two experts in financial accounting and corporate investment, CoImmune has continuously secured talent to promote its Nasdaq listing. CoImmune is accelerating related business activities with the goal of listing in 2023.

CoImmune is developing next-generation allogeneic CAR-CIK-based leukemia treatments and dendritic cell cancer vaccines. It is a bio venture specializing in immune cell therapies with cGMP manufacturing facilities. SCM Life Science and Genexine acquired CoImmune in February 2019. In November last year, CoImmune completed a Series A investment round worth $45 million (approximately 51 billion KRW). It is expanding research and clinical development of immune cell therapies.

Charles Nicolet, CEO of CoImmune, said, "We have recruited Michael Pekete and Greg Tibbits as new outside directors of CoImmune," adding, "We will successfully lead CoImmune’s business with talented professionals who have strategic and specialized knowledge in the biotechnology industry and finance."