US-incorporated biotech Peplin (ASX: PLI) has appointed BIO pioneer Tom Wiggans as CEO, replacing Michael Aldridge.

Wiggans, a former CEO of dermatology company Connetics, is also chairman of Peplin’s board of directors and will continue in that role.

Wiggans served on the board of directors of the US-based Biotechnology Industry Organisation (BIO) for 10 years.

Dr Eugene Bauer has been appointed both president and chief medical officer of the company, which recently re-incorporated in the US. Bauer served as CEO of Neosil Corporation, which recently entered into a merger agreement with Peplin.

Bauer will assume responsibility for the company’s medical affairs and strategies.

Peplin has also arranged to raise around $24 million in capital via a private share placement.

The money will primarily go towards funding of Phase III clinical trials of the company's PEP005 formulation.

PEP005 is an ingenol mebutate, intended as a treatment for actinic keratosis, a common pre-cancerous skin lesion.