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ABOUT US
We believe the MAC is an underexploited target for drug development. Through its drug discovery program, Regenesance BV has identified several new compounds that reduce MAC activity in animal models of traumatic nerve injury and multiple sclerosis. Patients suffering from acute injury to the CNS (as in a car or motorcycle accident) have few therapeutic options. Recovery and rehabilitation can be a slow, expensive and painful. To address this unmet need, Regenesance BV is seeking to reposition a complement inhibitor approved for human use as a new treatment for patients suffering from traumatic injury to the brain (TBI) and spine (SCI). VISION
MANAGEMENT
Dr. Manja Bouman has over 15 years of executive experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. Before joining Regenesance in December 2011, she held the position of Chief Executive Officer at Kiadis Pharma for almost 8 years. Prior to Kiadis Pharma she was Vice President of Licensing and Technology at DSM Pharmaceutical Products. Dr. Manja Bouman started her pharmaceutical and biotech industry carreer at DSM in global New Business Development. Manja Bouman holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the State University of New York, USA .
Frank Baas is a Professor of Neurogenetics, current head of the Neurogenetics laboratory at the AMC at the University of Amsterdam and a board certified Clinical Molecular geneticist. In 2006 he became Head of the Genome Analysis facility AMC. In 1991 he became assistant Professor at the Department of Neurology, University of Amsterdam Academic Medical Centre, to specialise in human molecular (neuro) genetics, staying as an honorary staff member, at the Netherlands Cancer Institute from 1991-1996. In 1989-1991 he was a scientist at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Division of Molecular Biology, establishing a research group on the regulation of gene expression and the identification of new mechanisms for multidrug resistance. Frank Baas obtained his MD (1982) and his PhD (1986) in Amsterdam (UvA). From 1987-1988 he was visiting scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cancer Center (D.E. Housman) and Harvard University (T. Maniatis). Frank Baas has published over 250 peer-reviewed papers in the field of human genetics. He is also a named inventor on patents in the fields of neurodegeneration and cancer. THE BOARD Jan van de Winkel, Ph.D., is President and Chief Executive Officer of Genmab A/S, which he co-founded in Feb 1999. Genmab is a leading international biotechnology company focused on developing innovative antibody products for the potential treatment of cancer. Dr. van de Winkel has overseen the creation and development of a number of human antibodies for the treatment of cancer and other life-threatening and debilitating diseases. The first approved antibody, Arzerra, received regulatory authorization by the United States FDA [Oct 2009] and the European Medicines Agency [April 2010] for therapy of refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Dr. van de Winkel is widely recognized as one of the leading scientists in the study of antibodies and their interaction with the immune system. Dr. van de Winkel has (co-) authored more than 300 scientific publications and has been responsible for over 40 patents and patent applications. He holds a Professorship in Immunology at Utrecht University. Prior to joining Genmab, Dr. van de Winkel served as Vice President and Scientific Director of Medarex Europe. He is a member of the board of directors of ISA Pharmaceuticals, the scientific advisory board of Thuja Capital Healthcare Fund and the advisory board of Capricorn Health-tech fund. He holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Nijmegen.
Tom Schwarz is a partner of Life Sciences Fund Amsterdam, an independent venture capital fund focusing on early stage companies and (university) spin-outs in the biotechnology and biomedical field with a presence in the Amsterdam Area. Tom co-founded the Fund in 2009 after he had co-founded a similar university venture capital fund in Rotterdam, the Erasmus MC Biomedical Fund in 2007. Tom started his venture capital career in 1998, when he co-founded Life Sciences Partners (LSP), a leading European life sciences venture capital fund. Tom enjoys strong contacts within the academic and pharmaceutical community. Tom, a pharmacist by training, gained his experience in the life sciences industry as a CEO of U-Gene Research, a contract research organization in the Netherlands, which he sold in 1997 to Kendle (US). Tom has led a number of investment processes, including Sequenom, Introgene, Semaia, Santarus, Skyline, River Diagnostics, ArGENX and AIMM Therapeutics and has held board positions at most of these companies. Four of the investments that Tom has played a role in have gone public, i.e. Crucell, Santarus, Sequenom and DeVGen. Furthermore, Tom has extensive experiences with start-up companies, e.g. he was actively involved in founding and management of several biotech start-ups, involving strategy development, fundraising, and analyzing M&A opportunities; and in the sourcing and initialization of university spin-outs.
David Housman is a member of both the National Academy of Sciences (USA) and the Currently, he has a research program with Dr. Anne B. Young and her team at MIND, the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University Medical School. Together they are working to find new treatments and cures for Huntington's disease with the help of the pharmaceutical company, Novartis. David Housman founded Integrated Genetics in 1980, which was acquired by Genzyme in 1989. His biotechnology company brought DNA based diagnostics into an accessible setting for clinical use as well as developing a number of useful, biologically based therapeutics, including recombinant human fertility hormones. He received both his B.A. and Ph.D. from Brandeis University in 1966 and 1971, respectively. His Ph.D. was in molecular genetics. He has contributed to the mapping, identification and functional characterization of genes for many human genetic disorders and phenotypes including the genes for Wilms tumor, myotonic dystrophy, Huntington's disease, familial melanoma as well as elucidating the role of the gene c-kit in hematopoietic stem cell function and the multidrug resistance genes in tumor cell biology. His laboratory has participated in the development of innovative genomic technologies which have played a key role in the advancement of the Human Genome Project and the discovery of genes responsible for genetically-based human diseases.
Robert Jan became the first director of the combined AMC UvA Technology Transfer Office (TTO UvA AMC), in 2008. In this role he was the first co-director of the Life Sciences Center Amsterdam (2010) and the director of the AMC Holding Company (2010). The TTO UvA AMC, comprising a team of 24 experts and staff, commercializes university science for the benefit of society. It strives to be focused on service and invention, and expand its’ network of expertise and opportunity on a daily basis. After attaining his degree in business economics at the University of Amsterdam, thesis on innovation and the market introduction of new medicine, Robert Jan started working for KPN Telecom introducing new services and business models. From 1998 Robert Jan took his first steps as an entrepreneur by founding the first of several new businesses. In 2004 Robert Jan started to focus more on innovation, specifically life sciences. After co-initiating the Life Sciences Fund Amsterdam, setting up the Life Science Center Amsterdam and revitalizing the Amsterdam Biomed Cluster, Robert Jan became director TTO UvA AMC. Robert Jan holds a position in the supervisory board of three AMC spin off companies amongst which Regenesance.
INVESTOR RELATIONSRegenesance BV is funded from equity financing contributed by its founding shareholders and Life Sciences Fund Amsterdam. The company will seek additional seed stage financing in 2011 to fund further pre-clinical activities and to support development of our drug pipeline. CORPORATE STRATEGYOur strategy is to leverage the Company’s expertise in the development of inhibitors that target a novel intervention point in the complement cascade (membrane attack complex or "MAC") for the treatment of selected acute and chronic nerve disorders. More specifically, we wish to become:
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Regenesance BV was founded in November, 2009 based on ground breaking research from the Academic Medical Center (AMC) at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. AMC researchers found that an innate part of the immune system (complement pathway) is activated after nerve damage to produce a lytic complex (called the membrane attack complex or MAC). Normally, the MAC attacks pathogens and helps remove tissue debris following trauma. However, AMC researchers learned that MAC can also damage nerves, particularly those attempting to regrow after injury. This work indicates that a variety of acute or chronic nervous system disorders may benefit from therapies that strategically control MAC activation. 
Our vision is to position Regenesance BV as an innovative leader in the development of drugs that reduce unwanted complement activity as a new approach to reduce nerve damage associated with disease or injury. To our knowledge, this therapeutic approach is new, and we believe it can be translated into effective therapies for patients suffering from selected peripheral neuropathies and chronic CNS diseases. We are also committed to discover new uses for complement inhibitors that have already been approved for human use as a way of rapidly developing new treatment options for patients suffering from traumatic CNS injury.
Manja Bouman, PhD
BACK TO TOP
Frank Baas, MD, Ph.D
Jan van de Winkel, Ph.D
Tom Schwarz
David E. Housman, Ph.D
Robert Jan Lamers, 
About Complement
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