Amsterdam-Duivendrecht, The Netherlands, July 26, 2017 – Kiadis Pharma N.V. (“Kiadis Pharma” or the “Company”) (Euronext Amsterdam and Brussels: KDS), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative products to make bone marrow transplantations safer and more effective for patients suffering from blood cancers and inherited blood disorders, today announces that at its next General Meeting of Shareholders, the Kiadis Pharma Supervisory Board will nominate Dr. Otto Schwarz to be appointed as a new member of the Supervisory Board.
Dr. Otto Schwarz is a highly accomplished industry veteran, with significant operational and commercial leadership experience, including global launches of multiple major orphan and specialty care products. Most recently, Otto was Executive Vice-President, Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Actelion Executive Committee, up to the recent acquisition of Actelion by Johnson & Johnson. At Actelion, which he joined in 2008, Otto was responsible for global operations including marketing strategy & sales, medical affairs, manufacturing and supply chain, leading over 1300 people. Under Otto’s leadership, Actelion successfully launched the orphan products Opsumit, Uptravi and Veletri, growing total company sales to well over €2 billion. Prior to joining Actelion, he was Executive Vice-President Commercial Operations at Nycomed and an Executive Board Member at Altana Pharma. Prior to that he worked for almost 20 years at Schering-Plough and Eli Lilly in Austria, Switzerland, Canada, the US and Germany. Otto Schwarz is an Austrian citizen with a PhD in pharmaceutical chemistry from Vienna University.
Arthur Lahr, CEO of Kiadis Pharma, commented: “I am very pleased Otto has decided to join our Supervisory Board. As we prepare for the potential European commercial launch of ATIR101™ in 2019. Otto’s wealth of experience in launching and growing orphan and specialty care products, and in building a strong, fully integrated biotech company, will be incredibly valuable for Kiadis Pharma. With Otto’s support, we should be well positioned to make ATIR101™ widely available to patients and a commercial success.’’
Otto Schwarz added: “I am very happy to join the Kiadis Pharma Supervisory Board and am impressed by the Company’s investigational products and technology. I am committed to bring my 30 years of experience to support the further maturing of Kiadis Pharma as it enters the next important phases in its development, to help patients have safer and more effective bone marrow transplantations.’’
Mark Wegter, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Kiadis Pharma, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Otto to our Supervisory Board. He is well respected with very relevant experience that will be invaluable in the next stage of our evolution, and he will help drive the commercial strategy for our products and continued transformation of the Company and our Board.”
