AMT's EGM Passes All Resolutions and Strengthens Supervisory Board With Joseph Feczko, Steven Holtzman and Francois Meyer
By Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics B.v, PRNESunday, September 19, 2010
AMSTERDAM, September 20, 2010 - Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics (AMT) Holding N.V. (Euronext: AMT), a
leader in the field of human gene therapy, announced today that its
Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders passed all resolutions set out
in the Notice of the Meeting dated August 9, 2010, including an increase of
the authorized capital and the appointments of Dr. Joseph Feczko, Mr. Steven
Holtzman and Dr. Francois Meyer to the Company's Supervisory Board.
"We are very pleased with the appointment of these highly
experienced healthcare industry executives. AMT is at an important juncture
with the EMA for the marketing authorization of Glybera(R), which gears us up
for the launch of the first gene therapy treatment in the Western world. The
knowledge and experience that our new board members will contribute during
this phase, and as we progress our pipeline further, will be highly valuable
to the Company," said Ferdinand Verdonck, Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
Jorn Aldag, Chief Executive Officer of AMT, said: "We are proud
to welcome these leaders of the life sciences industry to our Supervisory
Board. Under our Chairman's leadership we now have an extraordinarily strong
Supervisory Board that also includes Mr. Philippe van Holle, President of
Celgene Europe, and co-founder of AMT, Sander van Deventer, Ph.D. With their
knowledge and guidance, we are confident that we can realize our ambition to
develop AMT into a full-fledged specialty pharmaceutical company."
Background new Supervisory Board members
Joseph M. Feczko, M.D.
Joseph Feczko was, until May, 2009, Senior Vice President and
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Pfizer, Inc., and a member of the Executive
Leadership Team with global responsibilities for all aspects of Pfizer's
medical, regulatory and safety activities. Following a time in private
practice, he joined Pfizer in 1982 in New York. He then worked for ten years
in the United Kingdom for both Pfizer and Glaxo where his responsibilities
included supervising clinical research, regulatory affairs, data management
and safety reporting. He returned to Pfizer in New York in 1996, where he
held positions of increasing responsibility in clinical research, and
regulatory affairs and safety, culminating in the role of CMO.
Dr. Feczko is currently a member of the Board of Directors of
the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Research!America, the
International Longevity Center and the New York Academy of Medicine (all US).
He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Accordia Global Health
Foundation and the Technical Expert Committee for Trachoma on the
International Trachoma Initiative of the Task Force for Global Health. He is
also a member of the Governing Board of the Technology Strategy Board of the
United Kingdom. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cardoz
Pharmaceuticals AB (Sweden), and a member of the Board of Directors of Keryx
Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (US). Dr. Feczko is board-certified in Internal
Medicine and a specialist in infectious diseases. He has a B.Sc. degree from
Loyola University Chicago, and an M.D. from the University of Illinois
College of Medicine.
Steven H. Holtzman
Steven Holtzman, Executive Chairman of Infinity
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (US), is a highly experienced biotech entrepreneur, who
has founded and led a number of life sciences companies. He also has
substantial experience in building collaborations with major pharmaceutical
companies and licensing products. From 1996 to 2001, Mr. Holtzman served as a
Presidential Appointee to the United States National Bioethics Advisory
Commission, the principal advisory body to the President and Congress on
ethical issues in the biomedical and life sciences.
Mr. Holtzman served as Chief Executive Officer 2006 to 2009
and President 2007 to 2008 of Infinity Pharmaceuticals. He was also a
co-founder of Infinity Discovery, Inc. and served as its Chief Executive
Officer and as Chair of its Board of Directors from inception in 2001 until
the time of its merger with Infinity Pharmaceuticals' predecessor company in
2006. He also served as President of Infinity Discovery from 2001 to 2006.
From 1994 to 2001, he served as Chief Business Officer of Millennium
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (US), a publicly traded pharmaceutical company. Prior
to joining Millennium, from 1986 to 1994 Mr. Holtzman was a founder and
Executive Vice President of DNX Corporation, a publicly-traded biotechnology
company. In addition to his role at Infinity, he is currently a member of the
Board of Directors of Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (US) and Sartori
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (US). Mr. Holtzman graduated from Michigan State
University and received his B.Phil. from Oxford University, which he attended
as a Rhodes Scholar.
Francois Meyer, Ph.D.
Francois Meyer was General Director for Research and
Development at Aventis Pharma, France until 2002 and subsequently
Director-General of Aventis' Gene Therapy Division, Gencell, until his
retirement in 2006. He joined Gencell as Vice-President in 1996, within the
Rhone-Poulenc Group, prior to the formation of Aventis when Rhone-Poulenc
merged with Hoechst. He was promoted to Vice President of RPR Global Research
in 1997, and Corporate Senior Vice President of Global Research in 1998. In
1992, Dr. Meyer joined Sandoz Pharma's gene and cell therapy business as Vice
President, while he also served as a member of the company's Corporate
Research Board. From 1989 to 1992, he was Director of Research at the CNRS.
From 1980 - 1984, he built and headed the Molecular Genetics department in
the newly formed Biotechnology division at Ciba-Geigy, where he was
responsible for the discovery and production of new recombinant proteins.
Dr. Meyer is a member of the Board of Directors of BioSeek,
Inc. (US), Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. (US), Gene Therapy, Inc. (US), and
Urogene SA (France), and a member of the Scientific Advisory Boards of
Genethon (France), Systemix, Inc. (US) and Biotransplant, Inc. (US). Dr.
Meyer graduated from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETFH), in
Zurich, and studied Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of
Zurich. He received his Ph.D. from the Institute for Molecular Biology in
1978, and became a Senior Member at the Institute. During his career, Dr.
Meyer has also served as a lecturer in Molecular Biology at the Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology.
About Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics (AMT) Holding N.V.
AMT, founded in 1998 and based in Amsterdam, is a leader in
the development of human gene based therapies. Using AAV 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. This safe and efficacious proprietary platform offers a unique
manufacturing capability which can be applied to a large number of rare
(orphan) diseases that are caused by one faulty gene. Currently, AMT has a
product pipeline with several AAV-based gene therapy products in LPLD,
Hemophilia B, DMD, Acute Intermittent Porphyria and Parkinson's Disease at
different stages of research or development.
For pictures of the new appointed Supervisory Board Members please
contact Ellen Roest.
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 (AMT) Holding N.V. 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. EMA, 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.
PRN NLD
For further enquiries: Ellen Roest, AMT Communications, Mobile +31-6-2900-6179
, e.roest at amtbiopharma.com; Mike Sinclair, Halsin Partners, Tel +44-20-7318-2955, msinclair at halsin.com; Jorn Aldag CEO, Tel +31-20-566-7394, j.aldag at amtbiopharma.com
Tags: Amsterdam, Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics B.V, Netherlands, September 20