The development director of Vernalis, one of Britain’s best-known biotech companies, resigned yesterday to take up a new job at Renovo, the Manchester University spin-out venture.

John Hutchison, a key figure at Vernalis, the company formed from the remnants of the collapsed British Biotech, has joined Renovo in a newly created position as chief medical officer and executive board director.

Renovo, which recently signed a deal worth up to $825 million (£411 million) to co-develop a new antiscarring drug with Shire, said that Dr Hutchison, 51, had been offered an equity stake in the company. It added that he would oversee the clinical trials programme for Juvista, an experimental treatment for patients who have undergone surgery or suffered burns. It is thought that the drug could generate sales of as much as $4 billion per year if it is approved by regulators.

Renovo’s valuation soared to record highs in June after it signed a deal with Shire to co-develop Juvista. The injectable drug, which is added to wounds before or after surgery, is about to enter Phase-III clinical trials next year.

Shire, Britain’s third-largest drug-maker, has already made an upfront payment of $125 million, which included $75 million in cash and $50 million to purchase about 7 per cent of the company’s shares.

The timing of the move represents a fresh blow for Vernalis, whose shares dipped sharply this month after a decision from regulators in the United States to delay for the second time a decision on Frova, its flagship drug for menstrual migraine.

Vernalis said that Dr Hutchison had indicated some time ago that he wanted to leave. It said that no replacement had been found.

Robin Campbell, an analyst with Jefferies International, said: “He is swapping from a company that has stumbled with Frova . . . into a job with a company that is on the crest of a wave.”

Rodger Pannone, the Renovo chairman, said: “His expertise in drug development, clinical trials, regulatory submissions and significant industry experience, which covers both biotechnology and large pharmaceutical companies, will be invaluable to Renovo.”

Renovo also announced yesterday the departure of Argeris Karabelas, another nonexecutive board member.

Dr Hutchison had been a director at Vernalis since 2000, after joining from Cerebrus, where he was a board director. Vernalis was formed from a combination of Vanguard Medica and British Biotech, the first UK biotechnology group to list on the stock market in 1992. In the mid1990s it nearly entered the FTSE 100, but later was engulfed by a scandal over the accuracy of its statements to the stock market, triggering a fall in its valuation.

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