Startups gather Board members’ expertise

Versameb is transforming (m)RNA therapeutics to cure hard-to-treat and/or prevalent diseases with its proprietary technology platform, VERSagile, which optimizes the application of functional RNA in different disease contexts. Its lead candidate, VMB-100, is an RNA-based therapy for the treatment of Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI).  The company has made four appointments for its board of directors: Hernán Levett, Dr Lily Geidelberg, Paul Korner and Dr Alexandre LeBeaut. Read more about the new board members in the company’s press release. The appointments come at a significant time of growth and expansion for Versameb. It has recently completed an internal financing round to further strengthen its cash position in preparation to advance its lead candidate, VMB-100, into clinical development in the second half of 2023. In addition, the Company is planning to expand its ground-breaking innovative platform with two discovery programs for the treatment of solid tumours with CTA/IND filing expected in 2026.

Engimmune Therapeutics welcomes Annalisa D'Andrea
Engimmune Therapeutics is developing breakthrough TCR-based therapies that are broadly divided into TCR-redirected T cell therapies (TCR-T) and soluble TCR biologics (sTCRs) and leverage TCR recognition of antigens to promote targeted cytotoxicity for the treatment of oncology and immune-mediated diseases. the startup has welcomed Annalisa D'Andrea to its board of directors as a non-executive director. D'Andrea has over 25 years of experience in the life-science industry including immunology research, drug discovery and development, and strategic leadership in biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. She is a Venture Partner at Longwood Fund and is the former President and Chief Scientific Officer of ImmuneID. Prior to ImmuneID she was the Chief Scientific Officer of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals and was previously Vice President and Global Head of Discovery for Immunology and Inflammation at Roche, where she oversaw the discovery pipeline of drug candidates from inception to the clinic. Previous to Roche, Dr D'Andrea held several executive positions at SRI International, including Executive Director and Section Head of Discovery Biology, where she was responsible for advancing assets through discovery and into development. Earlier in her career, she worked at Chiron Vaccines in Siena, Italy, an American multinational biotechnology firm that was later acquired by Novartis and, most recently by GSK.

Hi-D Imaging appoints Urs Christen to the board
Urs Christen has joined the board of directors of Hi-D Imaging, the ETH Spinoff developing an AI-based decision-making support software to help reduce cardiac pre-operational/surgical planning complexity and times. This aims to overcome the limitations of medical scans for patients with cardiovascular diseases and reduce unnecessary medical imaging examinations. Christen is a Swiss national and is the founder, owner and CEO of the medical trading company Fumedica, which focuses on Interventional Cardiology, Structural Heart, Heart Surgery & General Surgery and has activities in Germany and Switzerland. He has an extensive experience as Chairman and as a shareholder of various international companies in the abovementioned fields such as Jotec GmbH (acquired by Cryolife in 2018) and New Valve Technology (acquired by Biosensors/Bluesail in 2020). He is also the chairman and CEO of Fumedica Switzerland & Germany, Chairman and CEO of Medira AG, Muri, Chairman Valtronic Technologies SA, Charbonnières, Member of the Board and Vice President of Hotel Muri AG, Muri, Member of the Board Occlutech Holding AG, Schaffhausen, Member of the Board of Muri Kultur. Prior to this, he was the Chairman of Jotec and the Chairman and CEO of NVT AG. As the newest board member, he will support us in shaping its strategic direction.

Alentis Therapeutics welcomes Luca Santarelli
Biotech startup Alentis, which develops treatments for organ fibrosis and Claudin-1 positive tumours, has appointed Dr Luca Santarelli as the Chair of its Board of Directors. Rafaèle Tordjman, former chair of Alentis, will remain on Alentis’ board. Luca Santarelli has served as a member on Alentis’ board since 2021. He has more than 20 years of experience in academic and pharmaceutical R&D, spanning the value chain from discovery research to commercialization. He was recently the founder and CEO of VectivBio AG (Nasdaq: VECT), a clinical-stage biotechnology company acquired by Ironwood Pharmaceuticals. Previously, he served as CEO and co-founder of Therachon AG that was acquired by Pfizer in 2019. Prior to Therachon, he spent 11 years at Roche as the Head of Neuroscience, Rare Diseases, Ophthalmology and Small Molecules Research where he advanced over 20 NMEs to the clinic and various NMEs to registration studies. Previously, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University and a co-founder of BrainCells Inc., a company focused on the discovery of novel antidepressants. Dr Santarelli completed his MD and Psychiatry Residency at the University of Turin.

Nexoya welcomes Marco Caradonna
Based in Zurich and Berlin, Nexoya optimizes and automates digital multi-channel marketing campaigns in real-time based on artificial intelligence. Advertisers thus achieve up to 70 percent more conversions. The startup has welcomed Marco Caradonna as a new board member. The internationally recognized CEO and marketing expert founded Simple Agency, the largest digital marketing agency in Italy. He also served as CEO of media agency Carat Italia (part of Dentsu Inc.) and is co-founder and managing partner at BlackSheep MadTech Fund. The startup will benefit from Caradonna's international experience in the marketing industry. He will provide strategic support to the founders Manuel Dietrich and Marco Hochstrasser in its international journey. Caradonna's involvement with Nexoya dates back during his time as Managing Partner at BlackSheep MadTech, which led Nexoya’s Series A round of USD 5 million.

(Press release/RAN)