Singapore: Australia based pharmacuetical company, Starpharma, has appointed Mr Robert Thomas to the Board as a non-executive director, effective from December 2013 and will assume the role of Chairman mid-year when Mr Peter Bartels retires as part of a deliberate succession plan and board renewal.

Mr. Thomas has a strong background in financial services and is a non executive director on a number of listed companies in Australia and the United States. He is the immediate past non-executive Chairman of HeartWare and remains a non-executive director of that company. He is also a director of ASX listed REVA Medical, Virgin Australia Limited and Biotron Limited.

Commenting on his decision to join the Starpharma Board, Mr. Rob Thomas said, "I have been following Starpharma for some time and have been watching their recent progress with great interest. I am enthusiastic about the commercial potential of the company's technology and welcome the opportunity to become involved with the company. I look forward to working with CEO Jackie Fairley and the other members of the Board."

Chairman Mr Peter Bartels said, "Rob is an excellent candidate for the chairman's position and we look forward to welcoming him to the Board and the broader Starpharma family. His deep financial experience combined with a very solid understanding of the global healthcare environment will be highly complementary to the existing Board."

Peter Bartels will retire as Chairman and non-executive director of the Company in mid-2014.

Mr Bartels joined Starpharma in 2003 and he has overseen a period of significant development.

"Starpharma has developed from a budding technology company with a collection of high-potential patents to, today, a company with an international profile, an extensive portfolio of clinical stage products, commercial partnerships and approaching commercialisation of our lead product VivaGel," Mr Bartels said.