Cartherics appoints Dr Ian Nisbet as Chief Executive Officer
- Dr Ian Nisbet appointed as Chief Executive Officer
- Prof Alan Trounson AO will move into the role of Deputy Chair of the Board
Melbourne, Australia, 28 November 2025 – Cartherics Pty Ltd (“Cartherics” or “Company”), a biotechnology company developing off-the-shelf immune cell therapies focusing on high-impact women’s diseases, with lead programs in ovarian cancer and endometriosis, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Ian Nisbet as Chief Executive Officer as part of a planned leadership transition. Prof Alan Trounson AO will transition to the role of Deputy Chair of the Board, where he will continue to provide his expertise to support the company’s strategic direction.
Dr Nisbet is a co-founder of Cartherics and was previously Chief Operating Officer of the Company for the past six years. He is an accomplished senior leader in the biotechnology industry, with over 40 years of experience in product development, business development and project management at executive and board levels, in both Australia and the US. Dr Nisbet also serves as a director or advisor to several Australian and US biotechnology companies.
Prior to joining Cartherics, Dr Nisbet was a principal for the consulting company, Afandin Pty Ltd. He has previously held CEO positions at Meditech Research Ltd and Xenome Ltd, and senior level positions at Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc, CSL Ltd and ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals Ltd. He has a strong oncology development background and led the development teams for two FDA-approved oncology drugs, VELCADE® and SYNRIBO®.
This leadership transition comes at a pivotal moment in Cartherics’ growth, as the Company continues to advance its mission to transform women’s health through a growing pipeline of innovative, off-the-shelf immunotherapies.
Commenting on his appointment, Dr Nisbet said: “I feel privileged to take over the role of Cartherics CEO from Alan Trounson, who has provided visionary leadership to the company through its founding and early growth. I look forward to working with the Cartherics team to take it to the next level as a clinical-stage development company.”
Commenting on the leadership transition, Prof Alan Trounson AO, said: “I support the transition of Ian Nisbet to CEO, he is an extremely competent executive with sound experience in the delivery of the business of Cartherics. This change will allow me to develop a new interest and help guide Cartherics’ growth and success from the Board.”
Prof Bryan Williams, Chairman of the Board, commented: “This is an important strategic move by Cartherics where we will transition to new leadership under CEO Ian Nisbet as we focus on manufacturing our unique CAR-iNK cells in preparation for clinical trials. At the same time, we will benefit from the broad experience and extensive international reputation of Alan Trounson in his new role on the Cartherics Board.”
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About Cartherics
Cartherics Pty Ltd is a privately held biotechnology company based in Melbourne, Australia developing off-the-shelf immune cell therapies focusing on high-impact women’s diseases, with lead programs in ovarian cancer and endometriosis. The Company’s allogeneic (“off-the-shelf”) cell platform is based upon induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) generated from donated cord blood that can be differentiated into NK cells, T cells and other cells of the immune system. The iPSCs are genetically engineered at specific “safe harbour” genomic sites to provide enhanced function for the derived NK and other immune cells. The Company’s lead product, CTH-401, is a CAR-iNK cell product. It carries a CAR directed against TAG-72, a well-validated tumour target, along with the deletion of two genes associated with immunosuppression. The company has a strong pipeline of additional novel CAR-immune cell products tailored to disrupt a variety of cancers including; ovarian, triple negative breast cancer and other solid tumours; and is also targeting severe endometriosis and neurological diseases with specific NK cell products.
Watch our latest company video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxQEyx6i7hk
Media contact
Christine Filippis
Teraze Communications
Phone: +61 419 119 866
Email: christine@teraze.com.au
