Team spirit is our key to success
The Versameb team consists of a number of senior experts in drug development and business building, complemented by a strong advisory team with research, clinical, technical and commercialization expertise.
Management Team
KLAAS ZUIDEVELD
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER & MEMBER OF THE BOARD
Dr. Klaas Zuideveld brings over 20 years of drug development and life science industry experience to Versameb at a pivotal stage in the Company’s development as two of its lead assets transition from early discovery into clinical development. Klaas joined Versameb as Chief Development Officer in May 2020. Prior to this, Klaas has held leadership positions at Roche where amongst other things he has led the clinical development of Avastin™ (bevacizumab), and at Caris Life Sciences where he was responsible for the company’s first companion diagnostic partnership in oncology. He has further worked for and advised Mosaic Biomedicals (acquired by Northern Biologic), T3 Pharma, Envision Sciences, Therachon (acquired by Pfizer for $340 million upfront plus $470 million contingent payments) and Nucleai.
Board of Directors
ALEXANDRE LEBEAUT
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
Dr. Alexandre LeBeaut has more than 25 years of experience and leadership both in innovation, research and development, from preclinical to post-marketing stage and with major achievements in particular in immunology, oncology, cardio-metabolic and infectious diseases. He has held various global positions, notably in the United States at Bluebird Bio, Sanofi, Novartis and Schering Plough Research Institute. Most recently, Alexandre LeBeaut served as Executive Vice-President R&D and Chief Scientific Officer at Ipsen in the US and as CEO at the Institute for Advanced Clinical Trials for Children. He is a member of the Board of Calypso Biotech (Geneva, Switzerland) and OSE Immunotherapeutics (Paris, France).
BETTINA ERNST
MEMBER OF THE BOARD
Dr. Bettina Ernst has been investing in healthcare companies for the past 6 years. She also serves on the board of several early-stage biotech companies in Switzerland, on the board of the Swiss Biotech Association, and as a member of the advisory board of the Swiss Entrepreneur Fund and of the Innovation Council of Innosuisse. Bettina is a co-founder of two biotech companies. Prior to her investment and entrepreneurial activities, she worked for 10 years in fundamental immunology in the US (Scripps Research Institute, San Diego, CA) and in Europe. Bettina holds a PhD in immunology and an undergraduate degree in natural science from the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. Bettina resides in Switzerland.
PAUL KORNER
MEMBER OF THE BOARD
Paul Korner, MD, MBA is a board-certified obstetrician & gynecologist physician executive with over 24 years of pharmaceutical/biotech industry experience, previously serving in senior R&D leadership positions for Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Ardelyx Inc., Sarepta Therapeutics and Axovant Gene Therapies. He is currently the Chief Medical Officer of Agile Therapeutics, Inc. He has been responsible for multiple INDs/CTAs and more than 50 clinical trials (phase 1-4), leading to marketing authorization/approvals of 10 products including VYONDYS 53® (golodirsen) and several others. While serving as SVP Clinical & Medical Affairs at Axovant Gene Therapies, he advanced two gene therapy programs into IND and BLA enabling clinical trials for GM1 and GM2 gangliosidosis. He has been part of the Laidlaw Venture Partners team for more than 3 years, providing strategic and operational scientific/clinical guidance to portfolio companies and serving on the Board of Directors for Voltron Therapeutics.
HERNAN LEVETT
MEMBER OF THE BOARD
Hernan serves as Chief Financial Officer of BioVersys AG. He is an experienced professional with a career in finance of over 28 years, twenty-one of those years in the pharmaceutical industry. Before his current role at BioVersys, Hernan held the position of CFO at Spexis AG, a pharmaceutical company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. At Spexis, he played a pivotal role in both formulating essential financing strategies and negotiating a landmark $182 million licensing agreement with Fosun Pharma. He also had a noteworthy tenure at Nasdaq-listed Auris Medical Holding AG in the role of CFO, where he effectively orchestrated multiple financing transactions and initiated strategic adjustments to preserve the company’s Nasdaq standing. Before his roles at Spexis and Auris, Hernan gained experience in diverse finance positions at organizations such as Acino Pharma, InterMune, and Novartis. Hernan is a Certified Public Accountant from the Universidad de Buenos Aires.
