Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics (Euronext: AMT), a leader in the field of human gene therapy, announced today the appointment of Mrs. Janneke de Wal, M.D., as Director Global Marketing and Sales. She will report to Anthony J. Gringeri, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer. She will also serve on the company's management team.
Mrs. De Wal has over 20 years of experience in marketing, sales and product development, including the introduction of orphan drug products. Her experience encompasses a wide range of international positions in midsize pharmaceutical and large biotech companies. Mrs. De Wal will be building the in-house marketing and sales force, initially for AMT's lead product Glybera(R).
Mrs. De Wal comes to AMT from Genzyme, which she joined in 2003. She was a key person in that company's marketing and sales achievements in Europe. She successfully launched the orphan product Aldurazyme(R) (laronidase) for Mucopolysaccharidosis I in Europe and the Middle East and as Director European Marketing she was responsible for the marketing of Genzyme's Gaucher portfolio including its leading orphan drug Cerezyme(R) (imiglucerase).
"We are extremely pleased that Janneke de Wal has decided to join the AMT team. Janneke has demonstrated her talent in bringing specialty and orphan drugs with speed and care to the markets, both at Genzyme and Yamanouchi Pharma. She is a real leader in marketing and sales and will play a central role in bringing our products to the patients," said Dr. Lorijn, CEO of AMT.
Prior to joining Genzyme, Mrs. De Wal was part of the product team at Yamanouchi Pharma (Astellas Pharma) responsible for the launch and marketing of a product for Crohn's disease. She started her career at Gist-Brocades in the Netherlands.
She is a graduate of the University of Leiden (the Netherlands), where she studied physics and obtained her medical degree from the University's Medical School with honors in 1986.
