Arix Bioscience plc announced the appointments of Dr. Debra Barker, Dr. Benny Soffer, and Andrew Smith as Senior Independent Director and Non-Executive Directors respectively with immediate effect. In light of these appointments which bring the Board into compliance with the UK Corporate Governance Code, Sir Michael Bunbury is resigning from the Board with immediate effect. Debra Barker will Chair the Company's Remuneration Committee and Andrew Smith will Chair the Company's Audit Committee.

Debra Barker is a seasoned international life sciences executive with more than 25 years' senior and board experience from start-up biotech to big pharma companies, having held a number of senior drug development, strategic and operational roles in Novartis, Roche, SmithKline Beecham and Knoll. Debra is currently Non-Executive Director of three publicly listed biotechnology companies: Destiny Pharma plc, BergenBio in Norway and most recently, CureVac AG in Germany. Debra has a Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine and received a MSc in Immunology from the King's College in London and a Medical Degree from the Queens' College, Cambridge, UK.

Benny Soffer, MD is Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Consonance Capital Management, a healthcare-focused public equity investment management firm. He previously completed a residency in internal medicine at Yale and served in a variety of managerial roles at Yale-New Haven Hospital.  Dr. Soffer is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, receiving his MD at Emory University and his MBA at Yale University. Andrew Smith is an internationally experienced chief financial officer with strong financial and operational experience in US, Swiss and UK-based biotech and pharmaceutical companies.

Andrew is currently Chief Financial Officer of Santhera Pharmaceuticals, the Swiss-based speciality pharmaceutical company, having previously held a number of senior operational and financial roles in companies including Allecra Therapeutics, Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Retroscreen Virology (Now HVIVO Ltd). He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and a Chartered Global Management Accountant. He studied business and accounting at Liverpool John Moores University and Durham University Business School.