TargED Biopharmaceuticals appoints Ludo Haazen, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer
TargED Biopharmaceuticals, a biotech spin-off of the University Medical Center Utrecht, today announced the appointment of Ludo Haazen as Chief Medical Officer (CMO).
Kristof Vercruysse, CEO of TargED commented: “We are delighted that Ludo is joining our team as CMO. In Ludo, we found the ideal candidate to support the company’s transition from preclinical to clinical stage company. Ludo’s extensive experience and outstanding track record in the clinical development of new medicinal products, including in the field of acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (aTTP), will be a valuable asset for TargED Biopharmaceuticals.” In his role as CMO, Ludo will design and lead the clinical development of the company’s lead compound, Microlyse, in patients suffering from aTTP and acute ischemic stroke (AIS), in line with regulatory requirements and with support of TargED’s Scientific Advisory Board. Ludo will directly report to Kristof Vercruysse, CEO.
About Ludo Haazen: Ludo obtained his Medical Degree (M.D.) in 1985 from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium as well a postgraduate certificate in Statistics and Epidemiology. He practiced 2 years as resident in internal medicine and 2 years as general practitioner before starting his career of over 30 years in the pharmaceutical industry. As such, Ludo worked as Global Medical Leader and Global Project Leader at Janssen Research Foundation (J&J), as Regulatory and Medical Affairs Director at Orthovita, and for over 18 years now, Ludo has been consulting start-up and small biotech companies. In this role, he held various functions including that of Head of Pharmacovigilance, Medical Director and CMO. At Ablynx (2013- 2017), he provided expert clinical and medical support in the phase II and phase III clinical development program of Caplacizumab in aTTP. Ludo is also appointed as lecturer and examiner by the Free University of Brussels (ULB), and is Review Editor for the medical journal Frontiers Pharmacology for the section Pharmaceutical Medicine and Outcomes Research.
Ludo Haazen stated: “I am excited to join the dynamic TargED team to ensure an efficient and seamless transition of their promising lead product Microlyse into the clinic. Microlyse has the potential to fill an important medical need in the management of various thrombotic diseases and I want to make sure to maximize this potential from a clinical perspective”.
About TargED Biopharmaceuticals: TargED is a UMC Utrecht spin-off founded in July 2020 by Associate prof. Coen Maas, PhD, Steven de Maat, PhD, Marc van Moorsel and Kristof Vercruysse. TargED stands for Targeted Enzyme Delivery and the company develops first-inclass biological drugs that use small antibodies (“nanobodies”) to deliver enzymes to sites of thrombosis, enabling ‘targeted thrombolysis’. In November 2020, TargED raised a EUR 1.35 million seed investment to develop their lead compound Microlyse. Microlyse accelerates the degradation of blood clots that obstruct the vasculature and, consequently, reduce the risk for organ failure. TargED’s objective is to accelerate thrombolysis in all forms of thrombosis, irrespective of the thrombus composition or location. Its first target indications are acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (aTTP) and acute ischemic stroke (AIS).
Contact: info@targedbio.com
