Cyprotex's hope for new chief

BIOTECH group Cyprotex, which was recently floated amid much controversy, has appointed Dr Mark Egerton as its chief executive.

Insiders are hoping that his appointment may heal the rift between 35% stakeholder Paul 'The Plumber' Davidson and his former friend and 7% equity holder Angus Monro.

Davidson, the founder of Oystertec, the pipe-fitting group, fell foul of the Financial Services Authority, which is investigating his £6m spread betting on the float of Cyprotex last February. Davidson has consistently denied any wrongdoing. The two men fell out over the spread betting issue.

Egerton brings a wealth of biotech experience to Cyprotex, having been vice president of Cambridge-based Incyte Genomics.

He is expected to concentrate on AIM-listed Cyprotex's progress on developing computer technology that could cut the cost of drug development and reduce the number of animals used in safety testing.