Bildnachweis: AL-S Pharma.
Swiss biotechnology company AL-S Pharma AG has appointed Harry Welten as chief executive officer (CEO). He succeeds Michael Salzmann, Ph.D., and will lead the company as it prepares to advance its lead candidate AP-101 into a confirmatory Phase 3 clinical trial, which it aims to initiate in 2027. The appointment follows positive topline results from a Phase 2 study of AP-101, a human monoclonal antibody targeting misfolded superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), a protein implicated in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Welten brings more than 25 years of experience as a chief financial officer and chairman in the life sciences industry across Europe and the United States. He has guided companies through growth, restructuring, financing, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and commercialisation, raising more than CHF 500 million through venture capital, initial public offerings (IPOs), follow-on offerings, private investments in public equity (PIPE) and convertible instruments. He has led or supported more than eight M&A, public-market and strategic transactions, including what the company describes as the largest European IPO of 2005.
15 years if board experience
With more than 15 years of board experience, Welten has served on 14 boards across life sciences, medtech and AI diagnostics in Switzerland, Europe and the United States, including seven chairmanships. He has chaired audit and finance committees as well as nomination and compensation committees. As chairman, he guided Biognosys, Aidence and Proteomedix through to their sale or merger with Nasdaq-listed companies. He currently serves as chairman of b-rayZ AG and as a board member of Lumendi AG. Welten holds an MBA with honours from Columbia Business School, a degree in business administration and economics from the Zurich School of Management, and a federal degree in banking and finance from KV Business School Zurich. “As AP-101 enters its confirmatory study, we are delighted to welcome Harry to AL-S Pharma. Harry has spent his career building life sciences companies, both as CFO and as chairman setting strategy at the board level, and has a proven record of securing the financing and partnerships needed to advance clinical programs. The board is confident that his strategic and financial leadership is what AL-S Pharma needs to take AP-101 through Phase 3 and toward regulatory approval, so that it can become available to people living with ALS,” said Hubert Birner, Ph.D., chairman of AL-S Pharma. “On behalf of the board, I would also like to thank Michael for his leadership. During his tenure, the Company advanced AP-101 from early development to a Phase 3-ready program.” Welten outlined his priorities for the next stage of development: “AL-S Pharma has reached a pivotal stage in the development of AP-101, and I have great respect for what the team has built over the past decade. I look forward to working with the board, the leadership team, and our clinical and scientific partners to build on this strong foundation,” he said. “As AP-101 advances into Phase 3, my priorities will be to execute the Phase 3 program with rigor, on time and on budget, and to secure the financing and strategic partnerships required to bring AP-101 through regulatory approval to patients. Above all, I am committed to contributing to the well-being of people living with ALS and their families, who urgently need new treatment options.”
