Knowledge and strategy: our Industrial Advisory Board
With valuable research and industry insights, our Industrial Advisory Board, consisting of experts from diverse backgrounds and led by Prof. Dr. Eric Claassen, identifies market trends and opportunities.
Prof. em. Dr. Eric Claassen
Prof. Dr. Eric Claassen successfully founded and sold numerous Dutch Biotech firms, among which Virclinics Biosciences B.V., Genewity B.V., Rabian B.V. and ViroNative B.V. In addition, Eric is an investor in over 15 Dutch Biotech startups and has been Chairman of advisory boards for various companies, including a tenure as Chairman of NATO PG32 on “Handheld detection of Biological Weapons”. Eric has held positions as a professor of both Immunology and Valorisation at Erasmus MC, during which he became the first Biopartner professor “Entrepreneurship in the Life Sciences” on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs at the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam.
Prof. Dr. Peter W.M. Hermans
Prof. Dr. Peter Hermans has an extensive academic career, spanning approximately 25 years in positions in the Netherlands and abroad. He has authored over 200 scientific papers, published in international peer reviewed journals across a range of medical fields. From 2012 till 2019 Peter has held the position of Senior Director of Vaccines R&D at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, leveraging his scientific expertise and leadership acumen to advance innovative vaccines. Since then, Peter has held a position at UMC Utrecht (The Netherlands) as Liaison Lead for Public-Private Partnerships, alongside his professorship in Infection and Immunology Clinical Trials.
Dr. Harry Flore
Dr. Harry Flore is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of HAL Allergy Holding of Leiden (The Netherlands) – one of Europe’s top players in the field of allergen immunotherapy and a world leader in the production of modified allergen extracts for both therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. He is also active in the supervisory board of HALIX, a CDMO specializing in cell culture-based pharmaceutical production and Scientific Advisor to various companies involved in biotechnological research and production including: Bioneedles Drug Delivery B.V., CeraVx B.V. and ISTAB – Hochschule Bremen.
Prof. Dr. Ab Osterhaus
Prof. Dr. Ab Osterhaus, former head of the Department of Viroscience at Erasmus MC Rotterdam, has a long track record as researcher and project leader, bringing world-leading scientists together in the field of virology, immunology and epidemiology. His research accomplishments include the discovery of more than 80 viruses of humans and animals, enabling health authorities like the WHO to effectively combat disease outbreaks like SARS. In addition to his work as researcher, Ab is active as the Founding Director of the Center of Infection Medicine and Zoonosis Research (RIZ) and Cofounder of both ViroNative and CR2O, focusing on effective testing and refinement of diagnostic tools, as well as preventive and therapeutic intervention strategies.
Dr. Manon Cox
Dr. Manon Cox is the founder and CEO of NextWaveBio, a biotechnology company in East-Haven Connecticut. She is also director of Vaxxas, and GPN vaccines, both clinical stage vaccine development companies. Prior to these roles, Dr. Cox was President at Protein Sciences Corporation, a biotechnology company starting in 1998 until its acquisition by Sanofi in 2018 where she led the development of Flublok®, the only FDA-approved recombinant influenza vaccine. Dr. Cox currently serves on the Board of the Netherlands America Foundation (NAF) and Board of the International Society for Vaccines (ISV). She also serves on various Scientific Advisory Committees including Epivax Therapeutics and Omnicyte.
