Top Roche Executive will become Chairman of NovImmune

The Geneva-based biotech company NovImmune S.A. announced today the forthcoming arrival of Eduard E. Holdener, Chief Medical Officer, and formerly Head of Global Pharmaceutical Development at F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel, who will succeed Bernard Mach, the founder of NovImmune, as its new Chairman. He will take on his new function after his retirement from Roche at the beginning of 2008.

NovImmune is a biotech company active in immune-related diseases and inflammation for which it is developing therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). Thanks to a combination of sophisticated and integrated technologies, NovImmune generates fully human MAbs and has demonstrated the ability to deliver one new drug candidate per year and bring them up to Phase II clinical development stage. Its most advanced product, NI-0401, is currently undergoing Phase I/IIa clinical trials in Crohn’s disease and acute rejection following kidney transplantation. Furthermore, NovImmune has a pipeline of six additional therapeutic MAbs at various earlier stages of development.

NovImmune was founded and launched by Bernard Mach in 1998, who gradually recruited an entire management team. Novimmune secured successive funding rounds in 2001, 2005 and 2006. “I am delighted and very comfortable to have Ed Holdener take my position as Chairman of NovImmune because, in addition to his strong personality, he will bring the required skills and knowledge in both business and medicine, and has first-hand experience in the field of monoclonal antibodies. I am looking forward to working with him on the NovImmune Board”, states Bernard Mach.

Ed Holdener obtained his MD degree at the University of Zurich and held academic positions as a clinical oncologist both in Switzerland and the USA before joining Roche in 1986. “It is an honor to succeed Bernard Mach as NovImmune’s Chairman, because he is a recognized leader in medical sciences and biotechnology. I am impressed with NovImmune’s ability to regularly deliver NMEs into the development pipeline and by the value of its portfolio driven by an excellent management team. I am confident in NovImmune’s future”, declares Ed Holdener.

Click here to download the press release (.PDF format)

For further information please contact:

Jack Barbut, CEO
NovImmune SA
Tel +41 22 839 71 41