Scenic Biotech Appoints Industry Veteran Ben Machielse to Board of Directors

AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Scenic Biotech, a pioneer in the field of modifier therapies for severe diseases, today announced the appointment of Ben Machielse to its board of directors. Ben brings over 25 years of experience in the biotech industry with proven expertise in leading the development of therapeutics through clinical evaluation up to market approval in start-ups and fully integrated companies. Ben joins the board to replace Sandra Glucksmann, who is stepping down as an independent board member.

"As Scenic continues on its mission to develop a novel class of therapeutics for genetic disorders, Ben's extensive experience across all stages of drug development and for rare disease indications, including Niemann-Pick Disease, will be instrumental in our next phase of growth," said Oscar Izeboud, CEO of Scenic Biotech. "Together with Ben, we are well positioned to materialize on Scenic’s potential to rebalance health by neutralizing disease impact with our pipeline of modifier therapies. On behalf of the company, I would also like to thank Sandra for her remarkable contributions over the past seven years. Her dedication has helped transform the company to where we are today."

"Scenic’s pioneering approach, fueled by its unique Cell-Seq platform, is opening unprecedented avenues to map previously unexplored biological pathways and investigate the complexities of disease biology in genetic disorders," said Ben Machielse, board member at Scenic Biotech. "I look forward to supporting the Scenic team in navigating the path from discovery through therapeutic development, ensuring that their innovative treatments reach patients in need."

Ben Machielse brings deep experience in guiding life sciences companies through the development and regulatory approval of new therapeutics. He served as Chief Executive Officer of Vtesse, a rare disease company dedicated to developing treatments for Niemann-Pick Disease, where he built the company, oversaw the completion of the pivotal study and the subsequent acquisition by Sucampo Pharmaceuticals in April 2017. Prior to this, Ben served as Chief Operating Officer of Omthera Pharmaceuticals, where he led the development and approval of a drug for the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia. His contributions were instrumental in Omthera's IPO and eventual acquisition by AstraZeneca. Ben was also Executive Vice President of Operations at MedImmune, where he spent 11 years leading the global development and operations of therapeutic antibodies, small molecules, and vaccine products. Before his tenure at MedImmune, Ben held executive positions in product development, quality, and operations at Xoma Corporation and Centocor BV. Currently, he serves as the chairman of the board at Mosanna Therapeutics and has held board positions at Polyneuron Pharmaceuticals, Xencor, Tetragenetics, Comet Therapeutics, and Complexa. Ben holds a Bachelor of Science in Medical Biology and a Master’s in Biochemistry from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands.

About Scenic Biotech

Scenic Biotech is advancing modifier therapy, a radically new approach to treating genetic disorders. Instead of targeting the primary disease-causing mutation, modifier therapy seeks to rebalance health by acting on another function in the genome that can neutralize the disease impact, leading to a therapeutic effect. Our robust pipeline, derived from our proprietary Cell-Seq platform, includes first-in-class small molecule programs that are either wholly owned or partnered through strategic collaborations with multinational pharmaceutical leaders. By unlocking new pathways in the genome, Scenic will develop a range of modifier therapies to help patients.