LSIPR 50 2017: Michael Salzmann
Name: Michael Salzmann
Organisation: Neurimmune
Position: Chief operating officer
Michael Salzmann works as the chief operating officer and general manager of biopharmaceutical company Neurimmune.
Neurimmune is a Swiss-based company that is dedicated to the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Salzmann joined Neurimmune in 2008 and has 15 years’ experience in the industry in the US and Europe.
Before joining the company, he held several executive positions in the public and private sector.
He has worked with pharmaceutical company Roche and medical device manufacturer Bruker.
In 2005, Salzmann was appointed project director of the strategic $600 million life sciences development venture, Science City, at ETH Zurich, a science, technology, engineering and mathematics university.
Salzmann studied chemistry at the University of Zurich and received his PhD from ETH Zurich.
In December 2016, Neurimmune and venture capital fund company TVM Capital Life Science announced the creation of AL-S Pharma to develop innovative therapy for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
ALS, also known as motor neurone disease, causes the death of neurons which control voluntary muscles. Professor Stephen Hawking suffers from the disease.
According to a release at the time, AL-S Pharma will develop AP-101, a human monoclonal antibody targeting misfolded SOD1 (a gene in the body) for the treatment of ALS.
"Salzmann joined Neurimmune in 2008 and has 15 years’ experience in the industry in the US and Europe."
Neurimmune and TVM Capital Life Science will engage with Chorus, an autonomous unit of Eli Lilly, in order to execute a cost-effective plan.
AL-S Pharma said it would leverage its product development expertise to potentially bring the AP-101 product to human proof-of-concept and aim to initiate the first human dose study in 2018.
Salzmann took up the position of CEO of AL-S Pharma and said at the time: “The management team of AL-S Pharma is excited to collaborate with Chorus and TVM Capital Life Science, the adviser to the investing fund, to develop this promising drug candidate to clinical proof-of-concept.”
