|
| |
Jan van Heek joins PanGenetics' Supervisory Board
Utrecht, The Netherlands/ Cambridge UK- 8 December 2006
– PanGenetics B.V. announced today that Jan van Heek will join the company’s
Supervisory Board. Welcoming Mr. van Heek, Kevin Johnson, CEO of PanGenetics,
commented: “I am delighted that Mr. van Heek, who is a senior executive at
Genzyme Corporation, has decided to join our team in a supervisory role. His
tremendous experience in the biotech industry, combined with his strategic
insight will be instrumental in shaping the future path of PanGenetics.”
Dr. De Rubertis, Chairman of the Board of PanGenetics, added: “With Mr. van Heek
joining as an independent board member, another important step has been taken
towards the establishment of PanGenetics as a key player in the field of
therapeutic antibodies. I look forward to working with him.”
Asked about his reasons for joining the PanGenetics board, Mr. van Heek stated:
“I am genuinely impressed by what the PanGenetics team has achieved in a very
short time. Within a period of 18 months, they have secured financial backing
through a strong and committed investor syndicate, brought together an
experienced management team with an impressive track-record and have build a
mature portfolio of therapeutic antibodies. Furthermore, I am very attracted by
the business model of PanGenetics which is focused on developing in-licensed
antibodies through to clinical proof of concept. In my opinion, this model meets
the need of the pharmaceutical industry to work with high quality biotech
companies to enhance their product portfolios at reduced risk. It will be a
great pleasure for me to take on an active role in this exciting company”.
The appointment of Mr. van Heek follows two additions to the PanGenetics
executive management team earlier this year: Geoff Race, former CEO of Carex,
Strasbourg, France, joined the company as Chief Financial Officer and Arnoud
Dijkstra joined PanGenetics from Actelion Pharmaceuticals of Switzerland, taking
on the responsibility for the company’s licensing activities as SVP of Business
Development. Kevin Johnson commented: “Geoff’s strong background in finance
combined with his previous roles as a senior executive in the European biotech
industry make him optimally suited to guide the company’s financial course. With
the addition of Arnoud, we have brought in the necessary business development
skills that are required for the execution our business model, which is strongly
based on licensing. With both of them on board we have an optimal team in place
to take the company forward”.
-ENDS-
Notes for editors
About Jan van Heek
Jan van Heek joined Genzyme in 1991. From then until April 2004 Mr van Heek was
responsible for building the worldwide therapeutics, surgical and genetic
testing businesses. He established Genzyme’s European offices in the early 90’s;
and after moving to the US Mr van Heek helped build Genzyme’s broad portfolio of
businesses and manufacturing infrastructure worldwide. Since April 1, 2004, Mr
van Heek’s has been employed as a Senior Advisor to the CEO and the senior
management team of Genzyme Corporation. In this capacity he has been focused on
expansion of business opportunities outside the US. Prior to Genzyme, Mr van
Heek held various management positions at Baxter Healthcare Corporation in
Europe and the US for over a decade. At Baxter, his last position was as Vice
President/General Manager of the Global Fenwal Division of Baxter Healthcare
Corporation based in Deerfield, Illinois. Mr van Heek is a board member of
Viacell Corporation in Cambridge, MA and Zelos Corporation in Waltham, MA. He
received a M.B.A. from St. Gallen University, Switzerland and an executive
degree from Stanford Business School, California.
About Geoff Race
Prior to joining PanGenetics, Geoff Race was Chief Executive Officer of CareX
SA, a biopharma’ specializing in the discovery and development of drugs in the
area of metabolic diseases, based in Strasbourg, France. Geoff was responsible
for the company’s successful merger with 7TM Pharma, a Danish company with a
focus in similar disease areas. Prior to joining CareX, Geoff was Chief
Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Adprotech Ltd, a ‘spin out’ of
SmithKline Beecham founded in 1997, based near Cambridge, UK which focused on
the development of anti-inflammatory products. Before joining Adprotech Ltd,
Geoff was Finance Director of Bioprocessing Ltd and participated in the
negotiations and the sale of the company to Millipore Corporation in 1999.
Geoff’s career encompasses several general management roles and Board
involvement in ‘large’ industrial settings as well as ‘early stage’ companies,
including exposure to sectors such as telecommunications and the automotive
sector. Geoff is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
and successfully gained his MBA from Durham University Business School in 1994.
About Arnoud Dijkstra
Before joining PanGenetics as SVP of Business Development in May 2006, Arnoud
spent 14 years in the Swiss pharmaceutical and biotech industry. Having received
his Ph.D. from the Department of Biophysical Chemistry, Groningen, the
Netherlands, Arnoud joined the Pharma Research Department of Hoffmann-La Roche
in Basel in 1992, where he spent eight years in several management positions.
After this experience in big pharma, he switched to biotech and was involved in
setting up the Basel branch of the start-up Morphochem AG, where he served as VP
of Operations for three years. He then joined Actelion Pharmaceuticals where,
during the two years prior to moving back to Holland, he served as Director of
Business Development. In this role he was responsible for all in-licensing
search & evaluation programs. In addition he was involved in Actelion's investor
relations activities.
About PanGenetics B.V.
PanGenetics is headquartered in Utrecht, The Netherlands with an office near
Cambridge in the UK. The company specializes in taking antibodies at the late
research stage through to clinical proof of concept. The company employs a lean
business model with most development activities outsourced to specialist
providers in Europe. The most advanced program is PG102, a CD40 antagonist that
has already shown promise in an open label phase Ib/IIa Crohns study. The
company's management, board and advisors comprise many of the worlds leading
antibody developers.
Source: PanGenetics B.V., December 8, 2006
Contact: Dr. Arnoud Dijkstra
Tel. + 31 651 941 921
info@PanGenetics.com
www.PanGenetics.com
Northbank Communications: Sue Charles, Gemma Bradley, Katie Odgaard
Tel. +44 (0)20 3008 7550
pangenetics@northbankcommunications.com
| |
|
