Genesis Research boss in for long haul

Stephen Hall, the new chief executive of Genesis Research. Picture / Amos Chapple

New Genesis Research boss Stephen Hall will hardly have time to get his feet under the table before he faces his first big challenge.

In the next few days the once high-flying biotechnology company expects to get test results that will make or break its flagship eczema drug, AVAC.

Hall, who has been with the company since 2000 and takes over this week from founder Jim Watson, said he was confident his new job would be long-term regardless of how AVAC fared.

"We always manage the business on the basis of not presuming a drug will be successful," he said.

The statistical reality of the biotechnology sector was that failures were far more common than successes, he said.

"It is a difficult industry and there are failures in even the biggest and best companies."

In his four years with Genesis, Hall has had plenty of opportunity to learn just how hard it can be.

The company listed at the height of the biotech boom in 2000 and naive local investors pushed the stock price up to more than $7. It now trades for less than 50c a share.

Genesis has survived the failure of its first drug candidate, PVAC. This year its plant science division also went through a major down-sizing after it failed to attract new investment.

But Hall remains positive. Genesis is working hard to prepare new drugs being developed for commercialisation.

It is close to securing a partnership deal that could enable trials of Zyrogen, a newly discovered and patented molecule that has shown promise for the treatment of auto-immune diseases such as lupus and osteoporosis.

"There is no simple or instant answer to this business, but it has a great base and I've got a good functional board behind me," Hall said.

Before joining Genesis, Hall was chief financial officer and company secretary of the St Lukes Group.

He was appointed to his new role after an international search that saw the board consider a number of candidates, said chairman Jim McLean.

In his role as head of corporate services at Genesis, Hall had been heavily involved in all aspects of the business including setting up partnerships, dealing with capital markets and protecting intellectual property, McLean said.

Watson will continue to work with Genesis in the newly created role of founder scientist.