Innate Pharma SA announced the appointment of Nicolai Wagtmann as chief scientific officer. His appointment to the Executive Board will be proposed at the next Supervisory board.
Wagtmann joins Innate Pharma from Novo Nordisk, where he was vice president R&D and head of Inflammation Biology. Wagtmann is a pioneer of pharmacological approaches targeting innate immunity lymphocytes both in immuno-oncology and in inflammation. His research, initiated in academia, was developed in industry through the research collaboration between Innate Pharma and Novo Nordisk.
Wagtmann has resigned from Novo Nordisk. His appointment as Innate Pharma’s CSO is independent of Innate Pharma’s corporate agreement with Novo Nordisk and was supported unanimously by Innate Pharma’s supervisory board. He replaces François Romagné, co-founder of Innate Pharma, chief scientific officer and member of the executive board since the Company’s inception. From January 2014 François Romagné will lead CIMTECH, the new immuno-technology platform at Aix-Marseille University, which Innate Pharma co-founded. Romagné will join Innate Pharma’s Scientific Advisory Board at the same date.
Wagtmann said: “My team at Novo Nordisk has enjoyed very productive interactions with Innate Pharma during a multi-year research collaboration which resulted in three first-in-class therapeutic antibodies undergoing clinical development. I have been impressed by Innate Pharma’s unique scientific approach for therapeutically modulating the immune system. I now look forward to leading this excellent team to broaden and grow this unique platform and to advance several novel drug candidates into clinical development over the next few years. With the explosion of the immuno-pharmacoloy field, we have an exciting opportunity for building a highvalue therapeutic antibody company.”
Romagné said: “The appointment of Nicolai is a great opportunity for Innate Pharma. Heading CIMTECH will allow me to focus on discovery and validation of new targets in immunology, in close link with fundamental research and of course Innate Pharma.”
Hervé Brailly, CEO and co-founder of Innate Pharma, said: “We are very happy to welcome Nicolai, who brings not only a deep understanding of immunology and its creativity, but also an industrial vision which will be key for the growth and development of Innate Pharma’s portfolio of drug candidates.
François was decisive in building the company and its portfolio of first-in-class antibodies. The changes we are announcing today are an important step for Innate Pharma and also for the structuring and development of Marseille-Immunopole, confirming its world-class status as a collaborative ecosystem in immunology.”
Date: October 2, 2013
Source: Innate Pharma
