LEIDEN, The Netherlands,
March 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Pharming Group N.V. (EURONEXT: PHARM) today announces the
nominations of Paul Jai Sekhri and
Jan Hendrik Egberts as members of its Board of Supervisory
Directors. The nominations will be subject to shareholders'
approval at the upcoming Annual General Meeting of Shareholders,
which will take place on 30 April
2015.
Mr. Sekhri (1958) has over 28 years of operational experience in
life sciences with in-depth knowledge of multinational
pharmaceutical and biotechnology markets and products. Mr.
Sekhri is currently Chief Executive Officer of Lycera Corp., a
biopharmaceutical company developing breakthrough medicines to
treat cancer and autoimmune disease. Prior to joining Lycera, Mr.
Sekhri was Senior Vice President, Integrated Care at Sanofi, where
he led the creation of innovative solutions and business models to
meet patient needs. Previously, he served as Group Executive Vice
President, Global Business Development and Chief Strategy Officer
at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Mr. Sekhri has held
positions in small biopharmaceutical companies, large and small
pharmaceutical companies, and venture capital/private equity firms,
including TPG, Cerimon Pharmaceuticals, Ariad Pharmaceuticals and
Novartis AG. Mr. Sekhri completed postgraduate studies in clinical
anatomy and neuroscience at the University of
Maryland, School of Medicine and received his BSc degree
from the University of Maryland.
Mr. Egberts (1958) has over 25 years of executive experience in
the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors, most recently as
Chief Executive Officer at Agendia Inc., a molecular diagnostics
company. Prior to this, Mr. Egberts was Chief Executive Officer of
OctoPlus N.V., a specialty pharmaceutical company, which was
acquired by Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. in 2013. Mr. Egberts also
served as a senior healthcare advisor for 3i Group plc, a private
equity firm and as President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
of NovaDel Pharmaceuticals Inc., where he developed a portfolio of
pre-clinical and clinical compounds, gaining FDA approval for two
compounds. In addition, Mr. Egberts has held multiple business
development and general management positions at Johnson &
Johnson, Merck & Co. and Mölnlycke Health Care. Mr. Egberts
graduated from Erasmus University Medical
School in the Netherlands
and he obtained his MBA from Stanford
after which he worked as a management consultant for McKinsey &
Co. Mr. Egberts continues to serve on the supervisory board of CHDR
(Center for Human Drug Research) and Implanet SA.
The Chairman of Pharming's Board of Supervisory Directors,
Jaap Blaak, said:
"We are delighted that our Board may
be strengthened with two highly
qualified professionals, who have
vast experience and networks in the
Pharma and Biotech business, both in
Europe and the US. We
believe both Paul and Jan will be valuable assets for
Pharming. In
particular, their expertise
in developing and
commercialising products and business
development will help us build
a financially sustainable enterprise with a pipeline beyond the
Ruconest franchise and I look forward to
working with them to achieve
this."
About Pharming Group N.V.
Pharming Group N.V. is developing innovative products for the
treatment of unmet medical needs. Ruconest® (conestat alfa) is a
recombinant human C1 esterase inhibitor approved for the treatment
of angioedema attacks in patients with HAE in the US, Israel, all 28 EU countries plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Ruconest is commercialised by
Pharming in Austria, Germany and the
Netherlands. Ruconest is distributed by Swedish Orphan
Biovitrum AB (publ) (SS: SOBI) in the other EU countries and in
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Norway, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine. Ruconest is partnered with Salix
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SLXP) in North America.
Ruconest is also being investigated in a randomised Phase II
clinical trial for prophylaxis of HAE and evaluated for various
additional follow-on indications. Pharming has a unique GMP
compliant, validated platform for the production of recombinant
human proteins that has proven capable of producing industrial
volumes of high quality recombinant human protein in a more
economical way compared to current cell-based technologies. Leads
for Enzyme Replacement Therapy in Pompe, Fabry's and Gaucher's
diseases are under early evaluation.The platform is partnered with
Shanghai Institute of Pharmaceutical Industry (SIPI), a Sinopharm
Company, for joint global development of new products. Pre-clinical
development and manufacturing will take place at SIPI and are
funded by SIPI. Pharming and SIPI initially plan to utilise this
platform for the development of recombinant human-Factor VIII for
the treatment of Haemophilia A. Additional information is available
on the Pharming website: http://www.pharming.com .
Forward-looking statements
This press release may contain
forward-looking statements including without limitation those
regarding Pharming's (the "Company") financial projections, market
expectations, developments, partnerships, plans, strategies and
capital expenditures.
The Company cautions that such forward-looking statements may
involve certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may
differ. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation the
effect of competitive, political and (macro) economic factors,
legal claims, the Company's ability to protect intellectual
property, fluctuations in exchange and interest rates, changes in
tax rates, changes in legislation and the Company's ability to
identify, develop and successfully commercialize new products,
markets or technologies.
As a result, the Company's actual performance, position and
financial results may differ materially from the plans, goals and
expectations set forth in such forward-looking statements. The
Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking
statements or information, which speak as of their respective
dates, unless required by law or regulations.
Contacts:
Pharming Group N.V.
Sijmen de Vries
Chief Executive Officer
+31-71-5247400
Julia Phillips/ Victoria Foster Mitchell
FTI Consulting
+44-203-727-1136