Portage Biotech CEO Dr. Ian Walters named board chairman

Portage Biotech Inc., a Westport-based clinical-stage immuno-oncology pharmaceutical company, has announced the appointment of CEO Dr. Ian Walters to the role of chairman of the board of directors. He replaces Dr. Greg Bailey, who will transition to lead director.

“The changes reflect the Board”™s confidence and acknowledgement of Portage”™s recent growth and progress under Dr. Walters”™ leadership,” said Bailey. “Dr. Walters has decades of industry expertise, deep knowledge of immuno-oncology drug development and is dedicated to Portage”™s mission. Despite the challenging financial market conditions, he has been able to grow the team and pipeline and Portage is now poised to deliver multiple data readouts over the coming year.”

The company also hired Justin Fairchild as vice president of development. Fairchild previously served as vice president of clinical development at The Parker Institute of Cancer Immunotherapy. In his new role, he will assist Dr. Walters in advancing Portage”™s pipeline of novel immunotherapy treatments, including the ongoing Phase 1/2 study of the iNKT agonist PORT-2 and the planned trials for adenosine inhibitors PORT-6 and PORT-7, both of which have been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to enter clinical studies.