Cellerix names board member Eduard E Holdener
Madrid, 3rd March 2009—Cellerix, a biopharmaceutical company that develops and produces innovative medicines based on cell therapy, has appointed Eduard Enrico Holdener MD as new member of its Board of Directors.
Eduard E. Holdener earned his medical degree from the University of Zurich and held the post of Chief Medical Officer & Global Development Head in the Pharma Division of F. Hoffmann-La Roche Pharmaceutical Ltd until February 2008. He began his career in pharmaceuticals in 1986 after 14 years of working at various hospitals and academic institutions in Switzerland and the United States. During his tenure at Roche, he was credited with winning approval for an important number of new medicines in the different therapeutic areas where he collaborated.
“It is a source of great pride for me to join an innovative company such as Cellerix and to be able to add my experience to that of this extraordinary Board,” Holdener said. “We are at an exciting moment and we face enormous challenges that I am sure we can overcome with success.”
This latest appointment completes the Cellerix Board of Administration with a roster of members who are well-known and internationally prestigious. Holdener, a heavyweight in his own right, joins Joël Jean-Mairet, chairman of the board since October 2008, Jacques Theurillat, Mounia Chaoui (General Partner Ventech), Joachim Rothe (General Partner LSP), Eduardo González (Genetrix President), Luis Oliver (Genera Group), and Eduardo Bravo (Cellerix CEO).
Joël Jean-Mairet has said: “The appointment of Eduard E. Holdener reinforces our already strong Board of Administration. His vast experience in the sector will help us fulfil our ambitious goals as we move in the final stages of getting our fist product approved.”
Note to the Editors:
Cellerix is a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative medicines based on cell therapy. The company has two products undergoing clinical trials: Ontaril®(Cx401) for the treatment of perianal fistulas, currently in Phase III, and Cx501 for skin regeneration, currently in Phase II. Ontaril®and Cx501 have orphan status by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). Cellerix closed in September 2007 a €27.2 million financing round led by blue chip venture capital companies. In October 2007 it entered into an exclusive license and development agreement with Axcan Pharma for the North American rights to Cx401.