Edinburgh Molecular Imaging Appoints Bernhard Sixt as new Chief Executive Officer

EDINBURGH, Scotland, November 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Seasoned CEO with 30 years' experience in the healthcare industry  

Edinburgh Molecular Imaging (EM Imaging), the optical molecular imaging company, today announces the appointment of Dr Bernhard Sixt as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.

Dr Sixt has 30 years of healthcare industry experience in the development and commercialisation of laboratory services, in vivo and in vitro diagnostics, and pharmaceuticals for industry leaders such as Amersham (now part of GE Healthcare) and Nycomed Pharma (now part of Takeda). Since leaving Amersham, Bernhard has led several companies. He is a co-founder of Agendia and served as its CEO from 2003 until 2011 and in 2005 founded Ipotuba, a pioneer for addressing the emerging need for pharmaceutical cryo-logistics. He also led ImmunID, an innovator in precision immuno-oncology, from 2013 until 2016. Dr Sixt holds a Master of Science degree in Biochemistry and Chemistry from Ludwig Maximilians University (LMU) and a PhD from the Technical University (TU), both in Munich, Germany.

Roy Davis, Chairman of the Board of EM Imaging, said: "We are very pleased to have attracted someone of Bernhard's calibre and I warmly welcome him to EM Imaging. Bernhard's proven track record and experience in leading and growing companies will be invaluable in taking EM Imaging on its next stage of development.

"The board would also like to thank Ian Wilson, a former Amersham colleague of Bernhard, for his contribution in building and leading EM Imaging to its current stage."

Bernhard Sixt, Chief Executive Officer of EM Imaging, commented: "Throughout my industry career, I have always been excited by the potential that optical imaging modality offers. I am very pleased to join EM Imaging which has the opportunity to maximise the potential offered by advanced optical imaging. Our lead product, EMI-137, offers a 'real time in situ pathology vision' to physicians and surgeons and has the potential for improved cancer detection. It has been safely administered to 69 patients so far, demonstrating encouraging data and in a phase 1/2a colonoscopy study demonstrated a 17% increase in cancer lesion detection compared to standard colonoscopy, and increased detection of high risk lesions. Currently EMI-137 is also being trialled in several other cancer indications."

About Edinburgh Molecular Imaging 

EM Imaging's highly novel molecular imaging technology platform targets disease detection in real-time during interventional procedures including surgery, providing more accurate treatment while sparing healthy tissue. With a portfolio focused on development and commercialisation, the company's optical imaging agents see disease in the body in real time, and help clinicians make time-critical diagnostic and treatment decisions.

EM Imaging's 'SMART' optical agents visualise pathology in vivo by lighting up cells, enzymes and receptors present in disease, reducing the time to diagnose patients from days to seconds, enabling point of care treatment selection and early intervention. For more information, please visit http://www.emimaging.com.

The company was formed in 2014 by lead investor Epidarex Capital, a venture capital firm specialising in early stage life science investments. For more information, please visit http://www.epidarex.com.

About Optical imaging

Optical imaging is a technique for non-invasively looking inside the body, as is done, for example, with x-rays. Unlike x-rays, which use ionizing radiation, optical imaging uses visible light and the special properties of photons to obtain detailed images of organs and tissues as well as smaller structures including cells.

Further information:

Edinburgh Molecular Imaging
Bernhard Sixt, CEO:
[email protected]
Tel: +131-(0)-658-5308
@edinimage #CRCcure

SOURCE EM Imaging