Adelaide, Australia, 20th October 2022 – Professor Tim Hirst, GPN Vaccines’ Chairman and CEO, has been awarded Angel of the Year by Techboard, in recognition of his contribution to angel investment and his overall positive impact on the angel community.
Tim commented, “I’m honoured to have been nominated by my peers and fellow angel investors and awarded Australian Angel Investor of Year for 2022. I thoroughly enjoy supporting innovative companies and am gratified that my roles at the Griffin Accelerator in Canberra and Southern Angels and GPN Vaccines in Adelaide have been recognised. As someone with a passion for the wonders of medical science, it’s awe-inspiring to think you might back a company that could save the lives of millions of people worldwide”.
In FY2022, Clarity Pharmaceuticals listed on the ASX and Instaclustr was acquired by NetApp, two companies for which Tim was a first investor. Other Australian companies in Tim’s portfolio include GPN Vaccines, Brain Changer, Emudent Technologies (trading as Dentroid), FlexeGRAPH,Gamma Vaccines,Livac Holdings, MIIROKO, PPB Technology, Remy Therapeutics, SEITEC and Unhedged, all with great potential.
On the key ingredients for success, Tim said “identifying the right opportunity, which must have a first-class, cohesive and dynamic team that thinks globally from day one, respects investors and realises the benefits of a good dose of serendipity”. Regarding his role at GPN Vaccines, he added “I have no doubt this company has the potential to be the largest biotech exit in the history of medical innovation in Australia.”
Tim is a founding member of Southern Angels in Adelaide and has actively supported the team since the group’s inception in 2018. Southern Angels CEO Josh Garratt said, “Tim’s counsel on how to create a vibrant and active angel investment group has been invaluable. He has provided guidance and mentorship to several new members in relation to assessing deals and due diligence. We feel very fortunate to have an experienced angel investor in our ranks who is willing to educate and support the activities of other members”.
GPN Vaccines congratulates Tim on being named Australian Angel Investor of Year for 2022.
About GPN Vaccines
GPN Vaccines is a public (unlisted) biotechnology company developing a vaccine against Streptococcus pneumoniae, which is responsible for causing life-threatening pneumonia, bacteraemia and meningitis, as well as otitis media (middle ear infections). Each year it causes 1-2 million deaths worldwide, killing more children than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. There are now 100 different serotypes of S. pneumoniae and the best vaccine currently on the market only protects against 20 of them. Gamma-PN – GPN Vaccines’ new S. pneumoniae vaccine, is being developed to protect children and adults against all S. pneumoniae strains, regardless of strain serotype.
