Archive: Company News
Company News: InDex Pharmaceuticals Expands Management Team
– InDex Pharmaceuticals Names Pernilla Sandwall Head of Clinical Operations and Thomas Knittel Chief Medical Officer –
Stockholm, April 11, 2012 – InDex Pharmaceuticals today announced two additions to its management team: Pernilla Sandwall has been appointed as Head of Clinical Operations and Thomas Knittel as Chief Medical Officer. Pernilla Sandwall will lead the company’s clinical development team, with the main focus being the ongoing phase III clinical trial of Kappaproct® in patients with treatment-refractory ulcerative colitis. Thomas Knittel will serve as the company’s lead medical expert and provide leadership in medical and marketing affairs.
Pernilla Sandwall has more than 20 years of experience in clinical research operations. She joins InDex Pharmaceuticals from Merck & Co. Inc. (MSD), where she has worked both in the Swedish subsidiary and the U.S. headquarters, as well as regionally in Europe. She has experience in the field as CRA and project manager, as well as strategically as Clinical Research Manager. Her focus over the last years has been global patient recruitment, site selection strategies and execution. She also has experience in change management and Lean Six Sigma methodology. She has a Master of Science in Pharmacy from Uppsala University.
Thomas Knittel has over 15 years of clinical experience within gastroenterology as well as 13 years of experience in medical affairs and marketing management. Before joining InDex Pharmaceuticals, he held positions as Business Unit Director and Director of Sales and Marketing at Novo Nordisk for central Europe, as General Manager Pharmaceuticals at Harlan Laboratories, and as Vice President Corporate and Medical Affairs at Develogen AG. He has a Medical degree from the University of Mainz with a specialist training in internal medicine and gastroenterology. He is an Associate Professor in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology at the University Clinic Goettingen. In addition, he has an MBA from Kellogg School of Management/WHU.
Company News: Aleva Neurotherapeutics Raises CHF 4.0 Million in Series B Financing Round
– Lead investor Banexi Ventures Partners joins strong investment consortium –
Aleva Neurotherapeutics, a company developing next-generation implants for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in major neurological indications such as Parkinson´s disease or depression, today announced the closing of a Series B financing round totaling CHF 4.0 million.
Banexi Ventures Partners acted as a lead investor in the financing, with selected private investors also participating in the round. Existing institutional investors are BioMedInvest AG, BB BIOTECH VENTURES III, L.P. and Initiative Capital Romandie.
The proceeds will be used to advance Aleva’s leading-edge neurostimulation products through clinical development up to CE marking. Aleva´s products are based on its proprietary, next-generation microDBS™ technology for Deep Brain Stimulation therapy (DBS).
DBS is targeting a rapidly growing patient population with Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor and dystonia, which currently consists of over six million people worldwide. Other potential application areas include Alzheimer´s disease and dementia.
Aleva’s microDBS™ technology has been designed as a next-generation treatment for target-specific brain stimulation, which is supposed to significantly reduce side effects, potential complications and costs associated with DBS therapy.
Company News: Curetis AG to Present Its Unyvero™ System for Pneumonia Diagnostics
– Demonstration supported by symposium on bacterial pneumonia and emerging antibiotic resistance at the 22nd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) –
Curetis AG, an innovative molecular diagnostics company focusing on the development and commercialization of in-vitro diagnostic products for infectious diseases, today announced the presentation of its Unyvero™ System and the Unyvero™ P50 Pneumonia Cartridge during the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in London.
The showcasing will be accompanied by the Curetis-sponsored Integrated Symposium “Bacterial Pneumonia and Emerging Antibiotic Resistance”, which will focus on pneumonia-causing pathogens, their respective antibiotic resistances, and the relevance of multiplexed molecular diagnostic testing. The event will be chaired by clinical microbiologist and molecular diagnostics specialist Prof. Christine Ginocchio (North Shore-LIJ Health System School of Medicine, New York), and Prof. Keith Klugman (Emory University, Atlanta), the world’s premier expert on antibiotic resistance among pneumococcal bacteria.
The Unyvero™ System is a versatile hardware platform for the detection of a broad panel of bacteria and antibiotic resistances from a single sample in one run. It processes a disposable cartridge providing the necessary reagents to complete the analysis from sample to report. The Unyvero™ P50 Cartridge is the first cartridge developed by Curetis AG and focuses on pathogen as well as antibiotic resistance testing for pneumonia. Each cartridge handles one patient sample and simultaneously analyzes 39 DNA targets. Results are available within less than 4 hours.
Company News: Aleva Neurotherapeutics Expands Board of Directors
– Entrepreneur Martin Velasco and Industry Expert Scott R. Ward Appointed as Board Members –
Aleva Neurotherapeutics, a company developing next-generation implants for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in major neurological indications such as Parkinson´s disease or depression, today announced the expansion of its Board of Directors. Martin Velasco, a seasoned entrepreneur and business angel, and Scott R. Ward, advisor and former Senior Vice President and President, CardioVascular at Medtronic, were appointed as members of the Board of Directors.
Martin Velasco is an entrepreneur and business angel with extensive experience in the IT, medical and biotech industries. He is the co-founder and former CEO of SpeedLingua, a company developing and marketing solutions for language learning. In addition, he has co-founded various technology companies and serves as a board member of several high-tech and healthcare firms including Anecova, Sumerian, AC-Immune, Cocomore, and Aridhia. Moreover, Martin Velasco is Vice President of the Board of the Foundation EPFL+ and Vice Chairman of the European Tech Tour Association. He has received numerous prestigious awards for his activities as a business angel.
Scott R. Ward is President of Raymond Holdings, LLC, a firm focused on the life sciences with activities in venture capital, corporate strategy, and transactional advisory services. From 1981 to 2010, he has held various senior management positions at Medtronic, Inc. with increasing responsibility, including Senior Vice President and President, Vascular and CardioVascular, Senior Vice President and President Neurological, Gastroenterology, Urology and Diabetes, and President Neurological Business. Mr. Ward is Chairman of the Board of MAP Pharmaceuticals, iScience Interventional and Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare. He also serves on the Board of Creganna-Tactx Medical, Respircardia Inc., and Surmodics, Inc.
André Mercanzini, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Aleva Neurotherapeutics, has stepped down as a board member of Aleva. The founders have elected Scott Ward as their representative. Markus Hosang of Biomedinvest AG and Juerg Eckhardt of Bellevue Asset Management AG continue to serve as members of the Board of Directors, which is chaired by Oern Stuge, MD. Mr. Stuge has a long-standing management track record with healthcare companies such as Medtronic Inc. and Abbott Laboratories Inc.