AMT Appoints New Chief Executive Officer
By Prne, Gaea News NetworkWednesday, September 23, 2009
AMSTERDAM - Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics (Euronext: AMT), a leader in human gene therapy, announced today the appointment of Jorn Aldag as its new Chief Executive Officer, starting October 5. Mr. Aldag has a strong record of accomplishments in the life sciences sector and more than twenty five years of experience in corporate management and finance. As former President and CEO of Evotec AG, he was instrumental in transforming the company from a technology provider to one of the leading drug discovery and development companies in Europe.
Prof. Sander van Deventer will step down as interim-CEO of AMT. He will continue to contribute to AMT as Scientific Advisor.
Ferdinand Verdonck, Chairman, voiced the satisfaction of the members of the Supervisory Board that Mr. Aldag - who was their choice amongst a field of strong candidates - is set to take on the responsibilities as AMT’s CEO. They are confident that AMT will greatly benefit from Mr. Aldag’s acumen and proven management skills and that the company’s scientists and staff will maintain their enthusiastic commitment to develop novel therapeutic cures under his focused guidance. The Supervisory Board looks forward to Mr. van Deventer’s continuing excellent contributions as Scientific Advisor to the company.
Jorn Aldag: Since its inception AMT has developed a unique and powerful gene therapy platform. The company’s scientists have used this platform and excellent knowledge of gene therapy to develop a rich portfolio of potential cures. AMT’s lead product Glybera is approaching registration. In addition, the company has 8 potential products under development for important orphan and non-orphan diseases. I am proud to work with the AMT team to drive its development to become a successful and profitable biopharmaceutical company.
From 2001 to 2008, Mr. Aldag was President and CEO of Evotec AG, a German company that he transformed from a technology provider into a leading drug discovery and development company with a promising pipeline targeting the central nervous system. He accomplished this through a strategic approach and by achieving the corporate and financial milestones required, including a number of acquisitions and funding rounds. Mr. Aldag started at Evotec as CFO in 1997. Since 2007, Mr. Aldag has also been Chairman of the Board of Molecular Partners in Switzerland. Before joining the life sciences industry Mr. Aldag held senior management positions at MAN, the German Privatization Agency Treuhandanstalt, and at Daimler Benz. From 2002 to 2008 Mr. Aldag also served as a Member of the German Monopoly Commission.
Mr. Aldag holds business degrees from the European Business School and from the Harvard Business School.
About Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics
AMT has a unique gene therapy platform that to date appears to circumvent many if not all of the obstacles that have prevented gene therapy from becoming a mainstay of clinical medicine. Using adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors as the delivery vehicle of choice for therapeutic genes, the company has been able to design and validate what is probably the first stable and scalable AAV production platform. As such, AMT’s proprietary platform holds tremendous promise for thousands of rare (orphan) diseases, especially those that are caused by one faulty gene. Currently, AMT has a product pipeline with nine products at different stages of development.
Certain statements in this press release are “forward-looking statements” including those that refer to management’s plans and expectations for future operations, prospects and financial condition. Words such as “strategy,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “will,” “continues,” “estimates,” “intends,” “projects,” “goals,” “targets” and other words of similar meaning are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on the current expectations of the management of Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics only. Undue reliance should not be placed on these statements because, by their nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and can be affected by factors that are beyond the control of AMT. Actual results could differ materially from current expectations due to a number of factors and uncertainties affecting AMT’s business, including, but not limited to, the timely commencement and success of AMT’s clinical trials and research endeavors, delays in receiving U.S. Food and Drug Administration or other regulatory approvals (i.e. EMEA, Health Canada), market acceptance of AMT’s products, effectiveness of AMT’s marketing and sales efforts, development of competing therapies and/or technologies, the terms of any future strategic alliances, the need for additional capital, the inability to obtain, or meet, conditions imposed for required governmental and regulatory approvals and consents. AMT expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements except as required by law. For a more detailed description of the risk factors and uncertainties affecting AMT, refer to the prospectus of AMT’s initial public offering on June 20, 2007, and AMT’s public announcements made from time to time.
Source: Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics B.V
For Information, Rob Janssen, Director Corporate Communications & Investor Relations, Tel +31-(0)20-566-7509, Mob +31-(0)6-54-70-88-65, r.janssen at amtbiopharma.com. Andre Verwei, CFO, Tel +31-(0)20-566-5686, a.verwei at amtbiopharma.com
Tags: Amsterdam, Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics B.V, Netherlands