Dr. Klaus Hellmann
Remko van Leeuwen
Remko van Leeuwen has a medical background in the field of infectious diseases - and more than 25 years of drug development and clinical trial experience under his belt, both in the industry as well as in the academic arena. He knows both worlds inside out, have a large network, and therefore able to build bridges between them.
Remko founded Madam Therapeutics in 2011, as he wanted to do something to about the significant deficit in the development of novel antimicrobial compounds over the two decades. In the 7 years since it’s foundation, the company has matured into a near clinical stage biotech company that has developed a new generation of compounds that manage to knock out persister cells residing in bacterial biofilms. As highlighted in a recent editorial comment on the website of Science1, this represents the first published demonstration of the killing of such persister cells, which is anticipated to have great potential to treat patients with complicated infections.
In these 7 years, Remko has met many other entrepreneurs that are as motivated as he is to bring new antimicrobials to the market. At the same time, he also encountered a lot of sepsis and reluctance to make serious investments from professional investors and established companies in this field. He will share his experiences from the roller-coaster road to get his companies financed, and will share his ideas on how to improve ties between medical professionals and veterinarian to preserve the health and well-being of all species.
1. http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/01/powerful-new-weapon-against-drug-resistant-bacteria-was-inspired-human-body
Rüdiger Raue
Rüdiger Raue studied veterinary medicine at the Free University of Berlin (Germany), where he also obtained his Dr. med. vet. (PhD equivalent) in 2000. He spent five years as a post-doctoral fellow in Leipzig (Germany) working on molecular characterisation and engineering of avian viruses. During this time he qualified as a Veterinarian Specialist for Virology and earned certified qualifications in molecular biology and genetic engineering in animals. In 2005, he started his industrial career at Pfizer Animal Health in Sandwich (United Kingdom) as a member of the Analytical Sciences group in which he held various positions with increasing responsibilities. When the European R&D operations for Animal Health moved to Belgium in 2011, he became the head of the EU Analytical Sciences team. Rüdiger joined the External Innovation organisation within Zoetis R&D in March 2016. He is responsible for external collaborations and research alliances in Europe.
Zoetis is the leading animal health company, dedicated to supporting its customers and their businesses. Building on more than 60 years of experience in animal health, Zoetis discovers, develops, manufactures and markets veterinary vaccines and medicines, complemented by diagnostic products and genetic tests and supported by a range of services. Zoetis serves veterinarians, livestock producers and people who raise and care for farm and companion animals with sales of its products in more than 100 countries. With our singular focus on animal health, we strive to make our products, services, and people the most valued by our veterinarian and livestock producer customers around the world. For more information, please visit www.zoetis.com.
Chris Primiano
Chris is responsible for leading Karyopharm’s operations, business development and legal departments and has been with the Company since March 2014.
Prior to joining Karyopharm, Chris worked at multiple international law firms and led internal legal and business development departments. He was a Counsel at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, a full-service multinational law firm, and he served as Vice President, Corporate Development, General Counsel and Secretary of GlassHouse Technologies, Inc., an information technology consulting company, where he led global legal operations and managed asset and subsidiary acquisition and sale activity. Chris began his career at Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian LLP, a global law firm focused on venture capital and the emerging technology marketplace.
Chris received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy and English from Georgetown University, a Master of Business Administration from the Boston College Carroll School of Management and a Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School.
Sharon Huws
Sharon's key research interests lie in understanding the role that rumen microbes play in ruminant food security. Her research is strategically focused on understanding the functionality of rumen microbes—with the aim of addressing food security and human health—coupled with industrial biotechnology related to the rumen microbiome. Sharon also has a general interest in microbiomes and occasionally focuses attention on poultry, pig, and even human lung microbiomes.
Sharon coordinates the global & Rumen Microbial Genomics; network, is a senior editor for the journal Microbiome and editor-in-chief for its sister journal & Animal Microbiome.
Petra Roubos
