Dr. Jan Hendrik Egberts - Board Chairman
Dr. Johanna Holldack
Ms. Gwen Melincoff
Oslo, Norway April, 28, 2017: Photocure ASA (OSE:PHO), a specialty pharmaceutical company and world leader in photodynamic technology for treatment of bladder cancer, today announced the appointment of Jan Hendrik Egberts,M.D., Johanna Holldack,M.D. and Gwen Melincoff to its board of directors with Dr. Egberts as the new board chairman.
Kjetil Hestdal, President and Chief Executive Officer of Photocure said, "We are pleased to welcome Jan Hendrik Egberts, Johanna Holldack and Gwen Melincoff to Photocure's Board of Directors. Their extensive life science experience and strong international relationships will be valuable as we plan and execute our development and commercialization plans. The successful execution of our expansion in the U.S. market is a key focus and their contribution to our Board will benefit us greatly."
Dr. Egberts has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and medical devices sector. Currently, Dr Egberts serves as the Managing Partner of Veritas Investments, a private investment company focused on minority and controlling investments in healthcare companies. Dr Egberts gained his medical degree from Erasmus University Medical School in the Netherlands and pursued the clinical part of his medical training at Harvard Medical School. Dr Egberts also obtained an MBA from Stanford University. After Stanford, he joined McKinsey & Co. as a strategic consultant in New York. Dr Egberts subsequently held various business development and general management positions of increasing responsibility in the USA at Merck & Co. and Johnson & Johnson. While at J&J, he initiated and subsequently led the leveraged buyout of the BARRIER surgical drapes and gowns business from J&J and the subsequent merger with Mölnlycke Health Care. Thereafter, he served as Senior Advisor, Healthcare Investments for 3i, the private equity firm. Dr Egberts then became CEO of OctoPlus, a publicly traded specialty pharmaceutical company in the Netherlands. OctoPlus was subsequently acquired by Dr Reddy Laboratories. After this, Dr Egberts joined Agendia, a molecular diagnostics company, initially as board member and subsequently full time as interim CEO. Dr Egberts also has held over 15 executive and non-executive supervisory board positions in the U.S.A. and various European countries.
Dr. Holldack has international operational experience from pharma companies, including clinical trials, drug approvals, IPOs and licensing. She has also managed several mergers and acquisitions. In addition, Dr. Holldack has venture capital experience from Swiss-based Aravis Venture where she was a partner for 5 years. Her industry career spans over 20 years, during which she held key positions in both start-up and large pharma companies. Her experience includes management and executive positions at Behringwerke, Chiron, MediGene, Borean Pharma, Telormedix and Trethera Corporation. She is chairman of Amal Therapeutics. In Telormedix she gained experience within the field of bladder cancer, something highly relevant for Photocure. Dr. Holldack has a medical degree from Georg-August-University in Gottingen, Germany and is a Board Certified pediatrician. In addition, she has held positions as an assistant professor at the University of Essen, research fellow for the Deutsche Krebshilfe and a research associate at Harvard Medical School.
Ms. Melincoff has over 25 years of leadership experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Her experience has spanned public and private company boards, venture financing, business development, licensing, mergers and acquisitions, research operations, marketing, product management and project management. From August 2014 to September 2016, she served as Vice President of Business Development at BTG International Inc. From September 2004 to the December 2013, Ms. Melincoff was Senior Vice President of Business Development at Shire Pharmaceuticals. Additionally, she led the Strategic Investment Group (SIG), Shire's $50MM corporate venture fund which was started in 2010. During her tenure, she was involved in numerous licenses, product divestments, co-promotion and collaboration agreements, and mergers and acquisitions. Melincoff was named a "Top Women in Biotech 2013" by Fierce Biotech as well as being named to the Powerlist 100 of Corporate Venture Capitalist in 2012 and 2013. Ms. Melincoff has a B.S in Biology, a Master's of Science in Management, and has attained the designation of the Certified Licensing Professional (CLP(TM)).
About Photocure ASA
Photocure, headquartered in Oslo Norway, is a specialty pharmaceutical company and world leader in photodynamic technology. As a commercial stage company focused on the urology market, Photocure's proprietary technology provides improved detection and management of bladder cancer. Our aim is to provide solutions which can improve health outcomes for patients worldwide. Photocure is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE: PHO). Information about Photocure is available at www.photocure.com.
For more information, please contact:
Kjetil Hestdal
President and CEO,
Tel: + 47 91319535
Email: kh@photocure.com
Erik Dahl
Chief Financial Officer
Tel: +47 450 55 000
Email: ed@photocure.no