Seasoned global biopharmaceutical executives add significant clinical and commercial experience to Immodulon
Dr. Selwyn Ho and Gertjan Bartlema will join the Board with immediate effect
Uxbridge, UK – 14 June 2022 – Immodulon Therapeutics Limited, the immuno-oncology company, announces the appointment of Dr. Selwyn Ho and Gertjan Bartlema to its Board of Directors with immediate effect. These strategic appointments bolster the Company’s clinical and business development expertise as well as bringing significant experience of corporate and commercial strategy in the biopharmaceutical industry.
Dr. Selwyn Ho is a senior executive with over 20 years biopharmaceutical and consulting experience in Europe, U.S., and Asia, across clinical product development and strategy, through to regulatory approval, global product launch and country and international general management. Dr. Ho is currently Chief Business Officer at Connect Biopharma (NASDAQ: CNTB), a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies against chronic inflammatory diseases derived from T cell-driven research, where he jointly led the company’s IPO in 2021 and oversaw corporate and business development, alliance management, as well as early commercialisation activities. Dr. Ho is CEO-elect of Medigene AG, (Medigene, FSE: MDG1, Prime Standard) an immuno-oncology company focusing on the development of T-cell-based cancer therapies, which is effective 25 July 2022. Dr. Ho also serves as Executive-In-Residence at New Rhein Healthcare Investors, a venture capital and growth stage fund focused on healthcare therapeutics and medical devices, and as Managing Director of Artemis Catalyst, a strategic consulting service to clinical stage and newly integrated global companies. Dr. Ho received his Medical Degree (MB BS) and Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Pharmacology from Imperial College London, UK, and Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine in Pharmaceutical Medicine from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Physicians, Royal College of Physicians, UK.
Gertjan Bartlema is a senior biotechnology executive with extensive global experience built over 20 years in companies across Europe and the U.S. Mr. Bartlema most recently was Chief Executive Officer at VICO Therapeutics, a biotech company focusing on the development of RNA modulating therapies for rare neurological disorders. Previously Mr. Bartlema was at Celgene where he held a number of leadership roles over a period of 12 years, including General Manager for Middle East, Africa, Israel and Greece; Executive Director Sales & Marketing Excellence EMEA; and Vice President of Information Knowledge Utilisation. Mr. Bartlema was also Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy & Business Development at Celularity, (NASDAQ: CELU) a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing placental-derived off-the-shelf allogeneic cell therapies. Mr. Bartlema received his master’s degree in Economics from the University of Maastricht, Netherlands.
Andy Clarke, Chairman, commented: “We are excited to be welcoming Selwyn and Gertjan to our Board, both of whom bring extensive and invaluable global biopharmaceutical industry experience to the team. This is an exciting time for Immodulon, and we are looking forward to drawing on the expertise of our newly strengthened Board of Directors, as we continue to progress our lead product candidate, IMM-101, through clinical trials.”
Dr. Selwyn Ho said: “I am delighted to be joining Immodulon’s Board of Directors at this important phase of the company’s development and to help realise the full potential of their novel immuno-modulator in addressing the needs of patients with pancreatic and other types of cancer”
Gertjan Bartlema said: “I look forward to working closely with the rest of the Board and management team at Immodulon as they continue to develop their promising programme of immune-oncology assets, particularly IMM-101, which has the potential to improve the lives of patients suffering from cancer.”
About Immodulon Therapeutics
Immodulon Therapeutics Ltd. (London, UK) is a privately-owned, clinical-stage, immuno-oncology company primarily focused on the development of safe, effective, and novel treatments for cancer with an emphasis on pancreatic cancer. Its lead drug candidate, IMM-101, containing heat-killed Mycobacterium obuense which activates dendritic cells and other cells of the innate immune system predominantly via Toll-like receptor 2, has shown promise in early clinical trials. It is Immodulon’s vision that IMM-101 will become a backbone immunotherapy across multiple tumour types in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors and any other standard-of-care treatment of the four major pillars of cancer therapy – immunotherapy, chemotherapy, radio/ablation therapy and surgery. For more information about Immodulon, please visit www.immodulon.com.