Kiadis Pharma appoints Dr. Robert Friesen as Chief Scientific Officer
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Boston, Massachusetts, USA - February 4, 2019 - Kiadis Pharma N.V. ("Kiadis" or the "Company") (Euronext Amsterdam and Brussels: KDS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announces the appointment of Robert Friesen, PhD as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) effective February 1, 2019. Dr. Friesen will lead the Company's science, discovery and pre-clinical development activities and will be instrumental in building the Company's scientific platform and identifying other programs for potential in-license. Dr. Friesen will report to Kiadis CEO Arthur Lahr and will be a member of the Company's management team.
Dr. Friesen has more than 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, leading multiple Research and Development (R&D) organisations. Dr. Friesen joins Kiadis from Ablynx where he was CSO until its acquisition by Sanofi. At Ablynx, Dr. Friesen oversaw a team of more than 300 people who were responsible for more than 40 development-stage product candidates across a wide range of diseases. Prior to Sanofi, he served as Senior Vice President of ProQR Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotechnology company, heading the Science and Early Development division. Prior to joining ProQR Therapeutics, Dr. Friesen worked at Janssen BioTherapeutics, a Johnson & Johnson Company as Global Head of Biologics Research, where he established an R&D organisation of more than 200 scientists and professionals located in Europe and US; and at the Crucell Vaccine Institute, a Johnson & Johnson Company, as Vice President Preclinical and Clinical Research where he led the team responsible for discovery, production and preclinical development of monoclonal antibodies. Before Crucell Vaccine Institute, he was Head of Preclinical & Early Clinical Development at MorphoSys.
Dr. Friesen has authored a significant number of high-impact peer-reviewed scientific publications, with broad expertise in multiple areas of human health, including oncology, immunotherapy, and infectious diseases. Dr. Friesen holds a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Texas and performed postdoctoral research at the University of Groningen.
Commenting on the appointment, Arthur Lahr, CEO of Kiadis Pharma, said: "I am delighted to welcome Robert to Kiadis. His outstanding scientific track record and experience in innovative drug development will add further depth and breadth to Kiadis as we progress the development of ATIR101 through phase 3 clinical trials."
Robert Friesen, Chief Scientific Officer, Kiadis, said: "I am very pleased to join Kiadis Pharma at this exciting stage as the Company approaches the potential approval of its lead product candidate, ATIR101, in the EU. I look forward to working with this dynamic and talented team to build and maximise the potential of our pipeline."