Corporate News

Polarean Imaging plc (AIM: POLX), a commercial-stage medical device leader in advanced magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”) of the lungs, announces the appointment of William Blair (“Bill”) as an Independent Non-Executive Director (“NED”) to the Board of Polarean with immediate effect.

Bill is an investment professional, board director and executive with over 30 years of experience in investment banking, fund management, venture capital and private equity, with particular expertise in advising smaller and AIM-listed healthcare companies.

He currently serves as a NED and Chair of the Audit Committee at North East Finance, which invested £160m in a portfolio of companies ranging from micro-companies to those now listed on the London Stock Exchange.  in the North East of England and the Tees Valley. Since July 2020, Bill has also served as an NED for Iksuda Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on developing antibody-drug-conjugate therapies, providing strategic advice and support on funding options and exit strategy. Bill is also currently a director at HVS Advisers, providing strategic advice to venture capital funds, institutions and SMEs (small and medium enterprises), and is a member of the Investment Advisory Board at the Pioneer Group Life Sciences Fund.

Bill will be appointed to the Board on the same basis as regards voting and term of appointment as the Company's existing Non-Executive Directors. He will be subject to the same requirements as contained in the Articles of Association of the Company for such appointment to be approved at the next Annual General Meeting of the Company and will be subject to the same requirements for retirement by rotation as the other Directors.

500,000 share options over ordinary shares in the Company (the “Share Options”) have been granted to Bill. The Share Options will be exercisable at a price of 52p each per ordinary share in the Company and will vest 25% on 27 September 2024 with the remaining Share Options vesting in equal portions on the last day of each calendar month over the period of 36 months starting on 31 October 2024.

Notifications have been made in accordance with the requirements of the UK Market Abuse Regulation in respect of the PDMR and further details can be found by following this link:  https://www.polarean-ir.com/content/investors/shareholder-information

Christopher von Jako, Ph.D., CEO of Polarean, said: “We are delighted to welcome Bill to the Board of Polarean. We felt it was important to have someone with further experience of the UK healthcare sector and with AIM-listed companies on the Board. Following conversations with Amati Global Investors, our largest shareholder, and several other shareholders, we identified Bill as the ideal candidate, given his deep understanding of the UK investor landscape and vast experience with AIM.

“We believe Bill’s expertise will be invaluable to us as we continue the commercialisation of XENOVIEW and look to address the unmet medical needs of patients suffering with chronic respiratory diseases. As a team we look forward to his strategic advice helping us identify and evaluate the various financing options for the Company.”

William Blair, Non-Executive Director of Polarean, said: “I am pleased to be joining the Board of Polarean, and to be able to share my experience as an investment professional and adviser to innovative companies. I am excited by Polarean’s technology and its potential in both pulmonary and cardio-pulmonary medicine, and look forward to working with the other Board members to take the Company forward.”

Additional Information

The following information is disclosed pursuant to Rule 17 and Schedule Two paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies in relation to Mr. William Taninhill Blair, aged 68:

Save as disclosed above there are no additional disclosures to be made in accordance with Rule 17 or Schedule Two paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

Enquiries: 

About Polarean (www.polarean.com)

The Company and its wholly owned subsidiary, Polarean, Inc. (together the "Group") are revenue-generating, medical imaging technology companies operating in the high-resolution medical imaging space. Polarean aspires to revolutionise pulmonary medicine by bringing the power and safety of MRI to the respiratory healthcare community in need of new solutions to evaluate lung ventilation, diagnose disease, characterise disease progression, and monitor response to treatment. By researching, developing, and commercialising novel imaging solutions with a non-invasive and radiation-free functional imaging platform. Polarean’s vision is to help address the global unmet medical needs of more than 500 million patients worldwide suffering with chronic respiratory disease. Polarean is a leader in the field of hyperpolarisation science and has successfully developed the first and only hyperpolarised MRI contrast agent to be approved in the United States.   The company also commercialises systems (such as the HPX hyperpolarisation system), accessories (such as Xe-specific chest coils and phantoms) and FDA-cleared post-processing software (to support ventilation defect analysis), to support fully integrated modern respiratory imaging operations.

XENOVIEW IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Warnings and Precautions

Risk of Decreased Image Quality from Supplemental Oxygen: Supplemental oxygen administered simultaneously with XENOVIEW inhalation can cause degradation of image quality. For patients on supplemental oxygen, withhold oxygen inhalation for two breaths prior to XENOVIEW inhalation, and resume oxygen inhalation immediately following the imaging breath hold.

Risk of Transient Hypoxia: Inhalation of an anoxic gas such as XENOVIEW may cause transient hypoxemia in susceptible patients. Monitor all patients for oxygen desaturation and symptoms of hypoxemia and treat as clinically indicated.

Adverse Reactions

Adverse Reactions in Adult Patients: The adverse reactions (> one patient) in efficacy trials were oropharyngeal pain, headache, and dizziness. Adverse Reactions in Paediatric and Adolescent Patients: In published literature in paediatric patients aged 6 to 18, transient adverse reactions were reported: blood oxygen desaturation, heart rate elevation, numbness, tingling, dizziness, and euphoria. In at least one published study of paediatric patients aged 6 to 18 years, transient decrease in SpO2% and transient increase in heart rate was reported following hyperpolarised xenon Xe 129 administration. XENOVIEW is not approved for use in paediatric patients less than 12 years of age.

Please see full prescribing information at www.xenoview.net

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