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.
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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.“