AM-Pharma: Developing innovative alternatives to antibiotics
June 2008
AM-Pharma: Developing innovative alternatives to antibiotics
In this interview, Fintan Walton talks to Dr. Bart Wuurman, CEO of AM-Pharma.
AM-Pharma: Developing innovative alternatives to antibiotics
In this interview, Fintan Walton speaks with Bart Wuurman, CEO of AM-Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company, based in the Netherlands, that is focused on the development and commercialisation of innovative therapeutics that treat inflammatory diseases and infectious diseases. The company is conducting Phase II clinical trials for two products; Alkaline Phosphatase for acute renal failure and ulcerative colitis; and Selective Immune Response Amplifying peptide hLF1-11 for the treatment of drug resistant hospital acquired infections. With AM-Pharma having completed Series B funding and about to begin Series C, Dr. Wuurman is investigating a range of funding possibilities including partnerships with top-tier development companies, licensing deals, and even a potential IPO offering.
Bart Wuurman
Dr. Bart Wuurman is Chief Executive Office of AM-Pharma and has 18 years of International Pharma and Biotechnology Industry experience. After graduating in Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Netherlands in 1987, he has worked in marketing and business development positions for Organon, Medeva and Antisoma. He has been instrumental to a number of strategically important licensing deals, the last of which was the Antisoma – Roche Oncology Alliance, worth $500 million, signed in November 2002. In 2003 Bart became CEO of De Novo Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, UK, where he was responsible for the successful restructuring and refinancing of the company.
AM-Pharma
AM-Pharma is a biopharmaceutical company, based in Bunnik, The Netherlands. The company is focused on the pre-clinical and clinical development of novel therapeutics to treat inflammatory diseases and infectious diseases. Their products are based on endogenous proteins and (protein derived) peptides, optimized to fight inflammatory diseases and infections. AM-Pharma has intellectual property around two scientific platforms:
• Enhancing Toll Like Receptor mediated activation of innate immune cells
• Dephosphorylation of extracellular substrates to influence disease processes
So far, AM-Pharma has developed two products originating from its intellectual property franchise, Alkaline Phosphatase and hLF1-11, up to the point of initial proof of clinical efficacy and safety.
