MARTINSRIED, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Origenis GmbH, a German biotech company specializing in the discovery and development of highly selective small molecule kinase inhibitors for CNS disorders, today announced the appointment of Thomas Loeser as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Thomas has 30 years of European / U.S. capital market expertise with a particular focus on financing technological innovation and on managing growth and value creation by cross-border team building and transatlantic company development strategies.
Since 1998, he has managed several German, Swiss and U.S. biotechnology companies through rapid growth and difficult market cycles. His range of responsibilities included fundraising, corporate finance/governance, legal and HR functions, transatlantic M&A, business development and dealmaking for strategic planning.
Among others, his CFO duties included the fundraising and company development strategy of ESBATech AG, a Zurich-based biotechnology company, that resulted in the uplift to the Nr. 1 position of Switzerland's 2006 list of “Top 50 Growth Companies” and the closing of a large Preferred Series B round led by a reknowned U.S. syndicate. Further, the execution of a transatlantic company development strategy resulted in the acquisition of the Company's ophthalmology portfolio by Alcon, Inc., in 2009 and the demerger of all other assets into Delenex Therapeutics AG, that in 2017 were acquired by Cell Medica Ltd.
Origenis' CEO Michael Almstetter commented: “We are delighted to expand our executive management team with Thomas. With his proven track record in fundraising, M&A and exits, he brings in a sound understanding of capital markets and an established network of high caliber relationships with institutional investors and investment banks, particularly in the U.S. As we have an upcoming financing round ahead of us, we are very confident that Thomas will help us to steer Origenis in a successful direction.”
Notes
Origenis GmbH (www.origenis.com) is a privately-held German biopharmaceutical company developing brain-penetrating highly selective small molecule medicines and diagnostics for a variety of neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases.
Origenis leverages its unique capabilities in drug design, compound synthesis and characterization to engineer a continuous stream of proprietary IP-protected new chemical entities capable of permeating the blood-brain barrier. Origenis’ approach has been validated by multiple partners resulting in a significant IP and R&D portfolio that ensures strong patent protection until at least 2032.
Origenis’ lead product candidates address novel, clinically-validated targets Leucine Rich Repeat Kinase 2 (LRRK2) and Death Associated Kinase 1 (DAPK1), both of which are associated with neurodegeneration in a variety of chronic and acute brain diseases, including Parkinson‘s, Alzheimer’s, dementia, and traumatic brain injury, among others.
These two internal therapeutic key pipeline programs are complemented by Origenis' proprietary PET tracer programs, that enable a precision medicine approach, open new avenues towards innovative, robust and shortened clinical development pathways with potential for conditional approval after Phase II, and represent a diagnostic tool on its own to enhance drug development and increase overall probability of success.
The combination of its therapeutic with the proprietary PET tracer programs not only forms a sound basis for further clinical development, but also differentiates Origenis from all of its competitors.
Origenis is seeking to raise USD 30 mill. in a Preferred Series A Equity Financing to advance its internal key pipeline candidates towards IND and clinical Phase I and is looking forward to building a transatlantic syndicate of institutional investors.
