TopoTarget announces new CEO to prepare commercialisation of belinostat
TopoTarget A/S announced that Francois Martelet, MD, takes up the position of CEO of TopoTarget in order to add the necessary late-stage clinical development and marketing expertise to ensure a successful development and commercialisation of belinostat, TopoTarget's lead anticancer drug.
Dr. Francois Martelet has a solid late-stage development and commercialisation experience from the international pharmaceutical industry, including Merck & Co., Novartis, Schering-Plough, Eli Lilly and Roche. During his time with Merck & Co. (2005-2007), he was Vice President & Worldwide Franchise Head, Oncology, from which position he has gained in-depth knowledge of the HDACi drug class via his role in the global launch of Zolinza®. More recently (2007-2009), he was President & CEO of , AVAX Technologies, Inc., a US biotech company which is specialised in cancer vaccines therapy. Francois Martelet is a bilingual English/French speaker, and commands both German and Swedish. He holds a doctorate with distinction in medicine and a masters degree in business (from the Dijon University of Medicine, Dijon, France), and a degree in legal medicine (Descartes University of Medicine, Paris, France). In addition, he has attended advanced management development programs at both Harvard Business School and INSEAD. Francois Martelet is a French national and 50 years old.
The change of responsibilities will take place with immediate effect. In order to ensure a successful transition, Professor Peter Buhl Jensen will, on a fulltime consultative basis, be available for TopoTarget for a six months period in order to facilitate a satisfactory transfer of knowledge.
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