Israel-based biopharmaceutical company Polypid Ltd. (NASDAQ:PYPD) has appointed Dikla Czaczkes Akselbrad as CEO, effective July 1, 2022. Czaczkes Akselbrad, who is currently the company’s Executive Vice-President and CFO, will succeed Amir Weisberg.
Weisberg, who also holds the position of a Director in Polypid’s Board, will retire on July 1 after serving as the company’s CEO for more than 11 years. Further, starting April 1, he will direct a transition period with Czaczkes Akselbrad.
Commenting on the appointment, Jacob Harel, PolyPid’s Chairman, said, “Since joining PolyPid seven years ago, Dikla has been instrumental in guiding our financial, strategic and operational objectives. As we approach commercialization, our business is at a critical inflection point, and we are confident that under Dikla’s leadership, we will execute on the many compelling opportunities that lie ahead of us.”
Czaczkes Akselbrad said, “We continue to rapidly advance our many development programs, including the large Phase 3 program for our lead asset, D-PLEX100, for the prevention of Surgical Site Infections, as well as progress our commercial preparations. In addition, our promising OncoPLEX development platform initially targeting brain tumors continues to generate compelling preclinical data, and we are preparing to begin a clinical study this year.”
Meanwhile, PolyPid’s COO Shaul Mukhtar will retire in March after a two-and-a-half-year stint at the company.
About PolyPid
PolyPid is focused on the development, production and sale of targeted, locally-administered, and prolonged-release therapeutics to improve surgical outcomes. These therapies use the company’s proprietary PLEX (Polymer-Lipid Encapsulation matriX) technology to deliver medication at the surgical site to improve patient outcomes in localized medical conditions such as infection, pain, inflammation and cancer.
The stock closed 6.3% up on Monday at $6.10.
Wall Street’s Take
Following the announcement, JMP Securities analyst Roy Buchanan reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $15 (146% upside potential).
The analyst said, “We believe this is an important move for PolyPid ahead of an exciting year for a company we continue to believe is one to watch in 2022.”
Overall, the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 2 Buys. The average PYPD stock prediction of $22.50 implies 269% upside potential. Shares have lost 41.4% over the past year.
Download the TipRanks app now, available on iOS and Android.
Related News:
CNH Industrial Completes Demerger with Iveco Group; Shares Rise
Universal Technical Institute, Inc. Updates 4 Key Risk Factors
Rexford Buys Eight Industrial Properties for $270M
