Supervisory
Board

Dr. John Tchelingerian
Chairman of the Supervisory Board
Dr. John Tchelingerian is a serial entrepreneur in life sciences, who combines scientific, business and dealmaking skills & experiences. As a veteran of the industry, he co-founded and/or lead several biotech companies: Neurotech, Key-Obs, Diatos, TcLand Expression, Key Neurosciences, Melkin Pharmaceuticals and Promethera Biosciences. He is currently the Managing Partner of two specialized strategic advisory firms that he co-founded, The Connecting Architects and Silver Ocean Ventures. In his last role as CEO, he lead Promethera over 5 years by transforming it into a global leader in liver diseases with a pipeline of cell therapy & antibody products. This successful execution was the result of a structured organic and M&A combo growth, people and capabilities growth, key assets repositioning, a US / Asian expansion and significant capital raising from leading international investors and strategic partners. Under his leadership at Promethera two clinical programs were advanced up to phase 2a and phase 2b pivotal studies in end-stage liver diseases as well as the launch of multiple preclinical programs for the cell therapy and antibody programs. He raised a total of over €200 million during his career. and achieved together with his teams to bring five drug candidates from research to the clinics (up to phase IIb/III) and realized several partnering and M&A deals. As a scientist and innovator, John invented several patents in the field of cell therapy and drug delivery. He is a PhD graduate in Neurosciences from Pierre et Marie Curie University in Paris.

Dharminder Chahal
Supervisory Director
Dharminder Chahal is owner and managing director of Exponential B.V. in which capacity he acts as consultant to Van Herk Investments and companies in the Van Herk Investments portfolio. Furthermore he is CEO and co-founder of SkylineDx a company based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and developing diagnostic tests in oncology. Mr. Chahal has built an extensive network in the global life science industry and created a strong track record in supporting successful companies in their journeys, a.o. Crucell sold to Johnson and Johnson, deVGen sold to Syngenta and Ablynx sold to Sanofi. Currently the main investments in the portfolio are Galapagos, Zealand Pharma (Denmark) and BioInvent (Sweden). As a board member or advisor he has been and still is active for several European companies and funds in the field of life sciences. In addition to his board membership at Medis, Mr. Chahal is Chairman of the Board of DCPrime, Sensara and Anemones Hospitality and Hotels (India), Board member of BioInvent (Sweden), VitalneXt and Ceradis and he is Observer of the Board at Bio2 Technologies (US), Miach Orthopaedics (US) and VBHC (India). Mr. Chahal previously held various positions in investment banking and asset management, including Kempen & Co and Robeco. Mr. Chahal obtained a master degree in Business Economics (Erasmus University Rotterdam) and a master degree cum laude in Aerospace Engineering (TU Delft).

Prof. Dr. Chris H. Bangma
Supervisory Director
Prof. Dr. Chris H. Bangma is urologist and Professor of the Department of Urology at Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Mr. Bangma has extensive experience as a Principle Investigator in early phase clinical trials and international surveillances in prostate cancer. He chaired several consortia and working groups such as the European Fifth Framework Program from 2000, the GIANT consortium within the European Sixth Framework Program. Mr. Bangma is the founder of the first multidisciplinary prostate centre in the Netherlands in 2010, and the network raised following named Prostate Partners (2014). In 2018 he initiated the Anser Prostate Network, an official cooperation of 9 major hospitals in Holland with centralization of surgical treatment in the Anser Clinic. Currently he is director of the Anser Prostate Network. He has contributed to over 300 peer reviewed papers predominantly in the field of prostate and bladder carcinoma. As past President of the Dutch Urologic Society, he is Chairman of the Dutch Convent of Academic Professors in Urology, and has initiated the construction of the Dutch Urologic Research Organization. Amongst memberships of societies and committees, he is a member of AAGUS (2006) and till 2020 member of the Scientific Committee of the EAU. Mr. Bangma was granted a research fellowship on gene therapy for prostate cancer by the Dutch Cancer Society, and spent a two-year period at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA, with Prof Timothy Thompson and Peter Scardino, and afterwards at the oncology lab of Prof. Bob Pinedo at the Free University in Amsterdam.

Dr. Michel Briejer
Supervisory Director
Dr. Michel Briejer is managing partner and joined the venture capital firm Thuja Capital early 2008. He has contributed significantly to building the firm and its successful portfolio of early stage companies in the therapeutics and medical technology space.

Prior to joining Thuja, he held senior management positions in drug development both in the international pharmaceutical industry (e.g. Janssen Pharmaceutica (Belgium), Yamanouchi (currently Astellas Pharma)) as well as in the biotech industry (Crucell).

Mr Briejer holds an MSc degree in Pharmacy (Utrecht University) and a PhD in Pharmacology (Wageningen University), as well as a post-doctoral degree in Pharmaceutical Medicine (Dip.Phar.Med., European Center for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Basle).