NBE-Therapeutics Appoints Bertrand Damour as Chief Executive Officer

- 20 Years' Industry Experience Managing Biotech Companies in US and Europe

- Aim to Maximize Potential of ADC Platform and Accelerate Clinical Development of Lead Compound an Anti-ROR1 Antibody Drug Conjugate

BASEL, Switzerland, Aug. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NBE-Therapeutics, the Swiss-based company developing best in class cancer therapies based on its proprietary, highly differentiated Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) platform, announces the appointment of Bertrand Damour as Chief Executive Officer.   

Bertrand Damour has 20 years' management experience in the biotech industry in Europe and US as CEO of biotech companies and in the banking industry. He was previously CEO of:  US proteomics company GeneProt Inc.; Mind NRG, a Swiss biotech in the field of CNS (which was acquired by Minerva Neurosciences);  OncoEthix, a Swiss based oncology company in the field of epigenetics, (which was acquired by Merck & Co. for US$375 million); and more recently at Synthena AG, a company developing Oligonucleotide based therapeutics for the treatment of genetic neuro muscular diseases. Bertrand has extensive expertise in corporate transactions, including M&A, LBOs and IPOs gained while working in the banking industry at J.P. Morgan, Rabobank International and Deutsche Bank in New York and London.

Detlev Mennerich, Partner at Boehringer Ingelheim Ventures and Board Member of NBE-Therapeutics, commented: "We are delighted to welcome Bertrand to NBE-Therapeutics. His extensive financial, management, and biotech expertise will be invaluable as we take NBE-Therapeutics to the next stage of development and help maximize the potential of its unique ADC platform."  

Bertrand Damour, the new CEO of NBE-Therapeutics, said: "I am very enthusiastic about my new role with NBE-Therapeutics. The company has a fantastic technology platform and I have been genuinely impressed by the management's professionalism and the unsurpassed track record of the scientific team. NBE-Therapeutics has an exciting future and I am proud to be a part of the team to help drive our success."

Dr. Ulf Grawunder, founder and previous CEO of the company will move to a new role as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Development Officer. He will be focused on moving the company's first drug candidate, NBE-002, an anti-ROR1 ADC, through clinical development.

Commenting on the appointment, Dr. Ulf Grawunder, Founder of NBE-Therapeutics, said; "I am very pleased to have Bertrand take over as CEO with his vast expertise in corporate transactions.  I am looking forward to working with him at this very exciting stage of the company."

NBE-Therapeutics' best in class iADC™ platform creates highly potent and safe immune-stimulatory ADCs with an anthracycline payload, inducing a long-lasting immunological anti-tumor effect. Lead candidate NBE-002 has shown unprecedented preclinical efficacy, as well as favorable safety profile in multiple pipeline programs. A first-in-human study with NBE-002 is expected to commence in 2020, focusing on triple negative breast cancer and lung cancer, as well as other solid cancer indications and lymphomas.

About NBE-Therapeutics

NBE-Therapeutics is a privately-owned Swiss biotech company based in Basel and founded in 2012 with the vision of developing next-generation immune-stimulatory antibody drug conjugate (iADC™) products. NBE advances its products to clinical proof of concept with the goal of improving treatment options for cancer patients.

The company leverages proprietary platforms covering all aspects of ADC development: its Transpo-mAb Display™ technology for antibody discovery, its SMAC-Technology™ for site-specific payload conjugation of toxins to antibodies and a novel highly effective and immune-stimulatory anthracycline-based toxin platform. The company is financially backed by the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (D), the PPF Group and Novo Holdings (DK) as institutional investors, and by additional Swiss, German and Dutch private investors. For more information about NBE visit the website www.nbe-therapeutics.com.

A photo of Bertrand Damour is available on request.