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Boss of drugs firm Shield Therapeutics steps down as US prescriptions ramp up

2025-04-16 17:33:37 By

Greg Madison led Shield Therapeutics since June 2021.

The CEO of pharmaceutical firm Shield Therapeutics has stood down and left the company, it revealed in an update to investors on the London Stock Exchange.

Greg Madison has led the developer of iron deficiency-beating tablets since June 2021 and had overseen its recent, significant push into the US market via its partnership with healthcare firm Viatris. The AIM-listed business, which has operations on Tyneside, said Mr Madison had stood down from the board by mutual consent to pursue other opportunities, and had left the company immediately.

He is replaced by independent non-executive Anders Lundstrom as interim CEO. US-based Mr Lundstrom has experience in a range of biotech and pharmaceutical companies including Biogen, AstraZeneca, and Orexo, where he was president and CEO.

News of Mr Madison's departure came as Shield gave an unaudited Q2 trading update which it said pointed to a strong growth in prescriptions of its key Accrufer drug for patients with iron deficiency issues, either with or without anaemia. Total sales for the period were £5.3m ($6.9m), a 69% increase on the first quarter, as well as a 259% increase on the second quarter of 2023.

That meant first half sales of Accrufer generated $11m (£8.5m) revenue and total prescriptions of 65,200 - increases of 250% and 160% respectively compared to H1 2023. Shield also said cash at the end of June was $8.1m (£6.2m) , excluding the ($5.7m) (£4.4m) advance struck with shareholder AOP contingent on milestones in China.

Mr Lundstrom said: "I am excited about stepping in as the interim CEO and continue to build on the strong performance we delivered in the second quarter of 2024. Large states such as California, NY, and Florida continue to drive a significant portion of the increase in prescriptions, while Texas begins to rebound. Our efforts on the operational side also showed outstanding progress, with an increase in our net selling price of 23% which is a direct result of strategies and investments over the past few quarters."

He added: "As we reflect on the first full year of the Shield/Viatris launch of our expanded field force, we are pleased that the market has responded in such a positive way to our efforts to increase physician awareness and adoption of Accrufer. This fortifies our continued belief the market potential of Accrufer is significant. We are committed to delivering further Accrufer growth making it the oral iron of choice for patients with iron deficiency, with or without anemia."

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