LONDON ¿ The founder and former executive chairman of Cortecs plc, Glen Travers, will receive a lump sum of #1.3 million (US$2.1 million), plus costs, as a settlement of his claim for wrongful dismissal from the company.

A spokesman for Cortecs, based in Deeside, near Chester, told BioWorld International the company can afford the payment ¿because [Cortecs] has been very conservative with its money, and has made provisions.¿

In a statement agreed upon by Travers¿ lawyers, Cortecs said the amount paid ¿covers salary, pension and other allowances, under prior contractual arrangements which were approved by the duly authorized remuneration committee and audited and disclosed, as necessary, in the jurisdictions in which the contractual arrangements were effective at the time.¿

Travers said he is ¿pleased that my claims have been settled. I wish the company well for the future.¿ Travers¿ share options are unaffected by the agreement. Through family trusts, he owns less than five percent of the shares.

Travers was forced out of the company in May 1998 in a disagreement over its commercialization strategy. In December 1998, Cortecs admitted that its programs were not as advanced as previously stated, and acting CEO Michael Flynn left the company. Since then, PA Consulting Group has carried out a commercial and technical review of the portfolio, and the company has restructured to cut the burn rate from #17 million per annum to under #10 million, under new CEO Phil Gould.