ZURICH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Memo Therapeutics AG (“MTx”), a late-stage biotech company developing best-in-class therapeutic antibodies, announced today the appointment of Erik van den Berg as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Mr. van den Berg joins MTx with over 25 years’ industry experience and proven track record in leading and growing companies. During his career, Mr. van den Berg has successfully completed over 20 transactions and partnerships, including a $600 million alliance with Pfizer, $290 million partnership with Kyowa Kirin and $500M in equity and debt financings for biotechnology companies from seed through IPO. He succeeds Dr. Karsten Fischer, who stepped down to pursue other opportunities.
“As Memo continues to make progress to address unmet medical needs of patients, Erik is the perfect person to lead the company through late-stage clinical development and towards potential commercialization of our lead program, AntiBKV. On behalf of the Board and entire team, I’d like to welcome Erik to MTx and look forward to our future endeavors,” said Elias Papatheodorou, Chairman of MTx’s Board of Directors. “I’d also like to thank Dr. Karsten Fischer who served as our CEO for the past 5 years for his dedication and leadership in taking our technological approach into the clinic with multiple antibody candidates.”
Mr. van den Berg was CEO of AM-Pharma for over 12 years and remains on its Board. He is also Chairman of Step Pharma, TargED Therapeutics, co-founder and previous (executive) Chairman of Lava Therapeutics and co-founder and previous (executive) Chairman of Heatmatrix Group (sold to BosNieuwkerk). Previously, Mr. van den Berg also held business development roles at Organon and IsoTis (sold to Integra Lifesciences). Mr. van den Berg holds a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Utrecht and an MBA from Manchester Business School.
“Memo has already made great strides in its development of novel antibody candidates. As CEO, I look forward to continuing this momentum and build on the great progress made recently with AntiBKV in the clinic and its Fast Track designation from the FDA, as well as the recent successful Series C fundraising,” said Mr. van den Berg.
Memo Therapeutics AG (“MTx”) is a late-stage biotech company developing best-in-class therapeutic antibodies to transform the lives of patients with virus infections and cancer. MTx’s lead program, AntiBKV, is a highly effective and safe neutralizing antibody to treat BK virus infection in kidney transplant recipients. This infection can lead to loss of kidney function, as well as organ failure and rejection. MTx’s pipeline consists of additional candidate therapeutic antibodies focusing on infectious diseases, such as cytomegalovirus (“CMV”), immuno-oncology targets as well as a partnership with Ono Pharmaceutical. MTx is a private company located in Schlieren / Zurich, Switzerland.
