Biotech entrepreneur joins Armana Therapeutics

Amarna Therapeutics, a Dutch privately held biotechnology company developing next-generation, SV40-based gene-replacement and immunotherapies, has appointmented former VP Operations and Managing Director at Kite Pharma EU, Dr Markwin Velders to its Supervisory Board.

Velders is presently Chair of HollandBIO and brings many years of experience from the biotech industry, specifically in cell and gene therapy.

Steen Klysner, CEO of Amarna Therapeutics BV, said: “After serving as interim CEO for Amarna until recently, his in-depth experience within and knowledge of the company … will be a valuable addition to our Supervisory Board. We are delighted to welcome Markwin on board … his contribution will certainly be of great value in the upcoming clinical phase of our platform development."

Velders´ career in the biotech industry includes management roles in research, development, quality management and business development. Before joining Kite, he was CSO at Dutch AM-Pharma, Business Unit Manager at TNO Biosciences, and CEO at SomantiX. After mediating the sale of the start-up T Cell Factory to Kite, he joined Kite Pharma to establish the company’s EU headquarters in Amsterdam, helping to advance clinical development, and playing a key role in preparing the commercial launch in Europe after the acquisition by Gilead.

Most recently, he was involved in the establishment of Kite’s CAR-T commercial manufacturing site in Hoofddorp, The Netherlands. Velders runs his own consultancy firm, holds a PhD in Molecular Immunology, and has authored or co-authored 40 scientific papers and publications.

Velders added: “I am highly motivated and excited to be joining the Supervisory Board of Amarna Therapeutics. The company is at a very important development stage and its potential to transform gene therapy and immune therapies for autoimmune diseases, with its new and non-immunogenic viral delivery system, is impressive.“