Basel (Switzerland) and Mannheim (Germany), September 1, 2016 – VAXIMM AG, a Swiss/German biotech company focused on developing oral T-cell immunotherapies, today announced the appointment of Matthias Schroff, PhD, as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Dr. Schroff has over fifteen years of experience in the biotechnology industry. Previously, he was CEO of Mologen AG, a publicly traded German biotech company, serving on the company’s executive board for over ten years. In the eight years that Dr. Schroff served as CEO, he built Mologen from an early preclinical stage to an established immuno-oncology company with programs in Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials. In addition to his position at Mologen, Dr. Schroff served on the Board of Directors of the biotech arm of the Association of Research-based Pharmaceutical Companies (vfA bio). During his career, Dr. Schroff has served in a variety of functions, including research, manufacturing, scientific collaborations, for example with the MD Anderson Cancer Center, clinical development, business development and investor relations. He is the inventor of numerous patents in the field of immuno-oncology, RNAi and gene expression, including a TLR9 agonist that is now in late-stage clinical development for various cancer indications. Dr. Schroff received his PhD in biochemistry from Freie Universität Berlin at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, where he was involved in clinical trials in immunotherapy against cancer as early as 1994.
Thomas Hecht, MD, Chairman of VAXIMM’s Supervisory Board, said: “We are delighted to have Matthias join VAXIMM’s executive management team. With his strong leadership skills and track record of successfully bringing a company from early-stage science through to late-stage development, he is an excellent fit for VAXIMM as the company moves its programs forward into broadened and advanced clinical development. With Matthias as CEO, the management team is now further completed. I look forward to working closely with him and the other executive team members as they drive VAXIMM’s programs and business.”
Matthias Schroff, PhD, CEO of VAXIMM AG, said: “I am very pleased to have the opportunity to lead VAXIMM at this exciting time with such a strong pipeline and platform technology. I look forward to working with the team to advance the company’s novel oral immunotherapy programs and to create innovative, well-tolerated treatment options for patients suffering from cancer.”
About VAXIMM:
VAXIMM is a privately held, Swiss/German biotech company that is developing oral T-cell immunotherapies for patients suffering from cancer. VAXIMM’s product platform is based on a live attenuated, safe, orally available bacterial vaccine strain, which is modified to stimulate patients’ cytotoxic T-cells to target specific structures of the tumor. VAXIMM’s lead product candidate, oral VXM01, activates killer cells targeting tumor-specific vasculature and certain immune-suppressive cells, thereby increasing immune cell infiltration in solid tumors. VXM01 is currently in clinical development for several tumor types, including pancreatic, colorectal and brain cancer. In addition to VXM01, VAXIMM has a pipeline of complementary development candidates targeting different tumor structures. VAXIMM’s investors include BB Biotech Ventures, Merck Ventures, Sunstone Capital and BioMed Partners. VAXIMM AG is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. Its wholly owned subsidiary, VAXIMM GmbH, located in Mannheim, Germany, is responsible for the Company’s clinical operations. For more information, please see www.vaximm.com.www.vaximm.com
Contact:
Dr. Heinz Lubenau
Tel.: +49 621 8359 687 0
E-Mail: info@vaximm.com
Media Inquiries:
MC Services AG
Katja Arnold, Shaun Brown
E-Mail: vaximm@mc-services.eu
Tel: +49 89 210228-0
