UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
Form
6-K
Report
of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant
to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For
the
month of January, 2006
Commission
File Number: 000-51310
XTL
Biopharmaceuticals Ltd.
(Translation
of registrant's name into English)
Kiryat
Weizmann Science Park
3
Hasapir Street, Building 3, PO Box 370
Rehovot
76100, Israel
(Address
of principal executive offices)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under
cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form
20-F
X
Form
40-F
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted
by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): ____
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted
by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): ____
Indicate
by check mark whether by furnishing the information contained in this Form,
the
registrant is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant
to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Yes
____ No
X
If
“Yes”
is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in
connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82-
N/A
XTL
Biopharmaceuticals Announces Appointment of Ron Bentsur as Chief Executive
Officer
Rehovot,
Israel; Tuesday, 3 January 2006
- XTL
Biopharmaceuticals, Ltd. ("XTLbio") (LSE: XTL; NASDAQ: XTLB; TASE: XTL),
a
biopharmaceutical company developing drugs against hepatitis, announced today
the appointment of Ron Bentsur as Chief Executive Officer of the Company.
Ron
Bentsur is based in the US.
Michael
S. Weiss, Chairman of XTLbio’s Board of Directors, stated, “On behalf of the
Board, I want to welcome Ron Bentsur to XTLbio. Ron is an experienced
biotechnology executive with a track record for assisting in creating
shareholder value. I believe that Ron’s excellent and longstanding relationships
with the biotechnology investment, research and banking communities in the
US
and Europe will be a true asset to the Company. I am confident that under
Ron’s
dedicated leadership, XTLbio will continue along its trajectory towards success
and become a major player in the biotechnology sector.”
“I
am
extremely excited about this opportunity,” said Mr. Bentsur. “I look forward to
working with the XTLbio management team to continue to build long-term value
in
the Company. I am eager to begin to leverage our capabilities to position
the
Company for long-term success.”
Ron
Bentsur has nearly a decade of experience in the biotech industry. Most
recently, Mr. Bentsur served as Vice President, Finance and Investor Relations
of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, a position he has held since June 2003. From
October 2000 to June 2003, Mr. Bentsur served as Director of Investor Relations
at Keryx. From July 1998 to October 2000, he served as Director of Technology
Investment Banking at Leumi Underwriters, where he was responsible for all
technology/ biotechnology private placement and advisory transactions. From
June
1994 to July 1998, Mr. Bentsur worked as an investment banker at ING Barings
Furman Selz. Mr. Bentsur holds a BA in Economics and Business Administration
with distinction from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel and an MBA,
Magna Cum Laude, from New York University’s Stern Graduate School of
Business.
During
an
interim transitional period, Mr. Bentsur will continue to serve as Vice
President, Finance and Investor Relations of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals,
Inc.
Contact
XTLbio:
Jonathan
Burgin, Chief Financial Officer Tel:
+972
8 930 4440
About
XTLbio
XTL
Biopharmaceuticals Ltd (“XTLbio”) is engaged in the research, development and
commercialization of therapeutics for the treatment of infectious diseases,
with
a particular focus on hepatitis C. XTLbio’s most advanced therapeutic in
Hepatitis C is XTL-6865 - a combination of two monoclonal antibodies against
the
hepatitis C virus - presently in Phase 1 clinical trials in patients with
chronic hepatitis C. XTLbio’s second Hepatitis C therapeutic is XTL-2125 - a
small molecule inhibitor of the hepatitis C Virus polymerase - expected to
enter
Phase 1 clinical trials in 1H2006. XTLbio hepatitis C pipeline also includes
several families of pre-clinical hepatitis C small molecule inhibitors. In
2004,
XTLbio licensed HepeX-B - an antibody therapeutic against hepatitis B - to
Cubist Pharmaceuticals. XTLbio is publicly traded on the London, NASDAQ,
and
Tel-Aviv Stock Exchanges (LSE: XTL; NASDAQ: XTLB; TASE: XTL).
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized.
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XTL
BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
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| Date: January
3, 2006 |
By: |
/s/ Jonathan
Burgin |
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Jonathan
Burgin
Chief
Financial Officer
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