Scenic Biotech Strengthens Drug Discovery Expertise in Management Team with the Addition of Kristof Van Emelen

AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Scenic Biotech, a pioneer in the discovery of genetic modifiers developing therapeutics to treat severe diseases, today announced the appointment of Kristof Van Emelen, PhD, as Vice President of Drug Discovery. At Scenic Biotech, Dr. Van Emelen will be responsible for the development of the company’s pipeline candidates based on genetic modifiers, genes that counteract the effect of a disease-causing gene. He joins from Ermium Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing therapies for auto-immune diseases. Dr. Van Emelen brings to the Company more than 25 years of big pharma and biotechnology experience.

“Kristof is an exceptionally qualified drug discovery and development expert with a track-record of leading therapeutic platform validation efforts. He also brings Scenic Biotech considerable experience in optimizing and executing research and development strategies from his time at large pharmaceutical and contract research organizations,” said Dr. Oscar Izeboud, CEO of Scenic Biotech. “We already have generated four programs from our proprietary drug discovery platform and Kristof will be instrumental in advancing these and more through preclinical evaluation.”

“Through its unique platform, Scenic Biotech can identify drug targets that have not been explored before. I am drawn by the opportunity to leverage these novel targets and develop first-in-class small-molecule therapeutics that have the potential to disrupt the current treatment paradigm. I am looking forward to working with the Scenic Biotech team as we create novel treatment options for patients living with severe diseases,” commented Dr. Kristof Van Emelen, VP, Drug Discovery at Scenic Biotech.

With over 25 years of experience, Dr. Van Emelen has worked with both early-stage biotech and established pharmaceutical companies. Prior to Scenic Biotech, Dr. Van Emelen served as the Head of Medicinal Chemistry for Ermium Therapeutics, a French biotech developing therapeutics to treat auto-immune diseases. In 2019, he joined as entrepreneur-in-residence for the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) and before that, he served as Chief Operating Officer Product Development at preclinical CRO ProDigest. Earlier in his career, Dr. Van Emelen was Scientific Director-Emerging Sciences and Innovation, for The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. Dr. Van Emelen is a co-author on a range of patent applications, scientific articles, and presentations. He holds a PhD in organic chemistry and a MSc from KU Leuven.

About Scenic Biotech

Scenic Biotech is at the forefront of identifying genetic modifiers, naturally occurring genes that compensate for mutations responsible for severe diseases. Our robust technologies, reproducible approach and high-resolution insights into disease pathways enable us to develop small-molecule compounds that start with genetic modifiers to provide new therapeutic concepts. By understanding the genome’s power to correct toward health, Scenic Biotech will bring novel therapeutics to patients in need.