Management Team
& Founders
Rolf Jan Rutten
CEO
Rolf Jan Rutten has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, including business development and product development roles with Akzo Nobel, TNO & Clinquest group, and as co-founder of molecular diagnostics company ThromboDx (sold to Illumina) of Dybly AG, a company targeting inflammatory and fibrotic diseases and of OncoSence, a company developing senescence based strategies to fight cancer.
Prof. Peter Weber, MD MBA
CMO
Peter Weber is head of otology/neurotology at Boston University Medical Center. Peter is former CMO of Decibel Therapeutics and prior to that served in the same role at Frequency Therapeutics. Previously, he was the director of the Ear Institute at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and head of otology/neurotology/skull base surgery at Mount Sinai Health System. He also served as CMO and VP of reimbursement at Cochlear Americas, a world leader in cochlear implant systems. Peter has furthermore held executive positions at the Medical University of South Carolina, the Cleveland Clinic and the Rocky Mountain Ear Center.
Leonie Middelink
Director Clinical Development
Leonie Middelink is a clinical research executive and works and has worked for multiple academic and industry organizations including Citryll, Audion, Amsterdam UMC, Dutch Cancer Institute, UMC Utrecht, Radboud University, Roche, Enceladus & Arthrogen. She headed the Clinical Operations department at Roche and has over 20 years experience in biopharmaceutical research covering Phase I-IV trials
Prof. Albert Edge, PhD
Co-Founder
Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School and Director of Tillotson Cell Biology Unit at Mass. Eye and Ear. Albert Edge has been investigating the molecular mechanisms of hair cell differentiation and hearing restoration. His team identified the cochlear supporting cells and their responsiveness to activation of Wnt signaling for regeneration of hair cells. He has also determined the key steps in differentiation of auditory neurons from embryonic stem cells.
Dr. Helmuth van Es, PhD
Co-Founder
Helmuth is a co-founder of Galapagos, where he was Head of Science and responsible for numerous discovery programs, many of which are now in clinical development and resulted in an approved drug for Rheumatoid arthritis, filgotinib. In addition to Audion, he co-founded Antabio, Effecta Pharma and Citryll. At Citryll a phase 2 stage company, he was CEO and executive director until April 2023 and currently on the Board as Observer, is a Dutch biotechnology company taking a new approach to treat autoimmune diseases and inflammatory diseases targeting extracellular trap formation. Helmuth is also co-founder of Antabio ― a clinical stage small molecule antibacterial company with locations in France and in the US. Helmuth van Es is independent Non-Executive Director at Cantoni Therapeutics developing inhibitors of NNMT in metabolic syndrome and Bimini Biotech a company developing modulators of the Wasp protein in oncology and immune mediated diseases. He advised and is advising a number of companies and their executive teams currently the CEO and teams of Hifibio headquartered in Cambridge, MA, USA and with sites in China spun out of Harvard, Broad Institute and ESPCI in Paris. Hifibio is developing a series of antibody drugs for autoimmune disease and cancer. He is investor appointed advisor of UPyTher in Eindhoven that is developing medications for peritoneal disease.