Board of Directors
Yossi Ben-Yossef – Founder and Chairman (active) of the Board
Mr. Yossi Ben-Yossef, entrepreneur, lead investments with active involvement in successful Biotech/Life Sciences companies in the last 12 years. Mr. Ben-Yossef will be in charge of financing the Company and will contribute to the venture by providing the benefits of his extensive financial experience and know-how in Biotech/Life Sciences start-up operations and business development.
Prof. Michel Revel - Director
Prof. Revel is Professor Emeritus of Molecular Genetics at the Weizmann Institute of Science. His research on Interferon, its mechanisms of action and the isolation of the human Interferon-beta gene, have led to the biotechnological development of Interferon-beta therapy for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. The drug, Rebif®, is now a US$ 1.7 billion drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is presently marketed worldwide. Revel also discovered the human gene for the cytokine Interleukin-6 which was developed at his laboratory and at InterPharm (now Merck-Serono) based on its activity for protecting nerve cells and the nerve myelin coating in neuropathies. In recent years, Revel's laboratory focused on hESC and succeeded to produce nerve myelinating cells that reconstitute the myelin coating after transplantation into myelin-deficient animals. These studies contributed to the development of the suspension culture technology for hESC which can then be used to produce differentiated human cells such as insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells and nerve myelinating cells.
Julien Ruggeri - Director
Mr. Julien Ruggieri serves as Director of Finance of Batipart (http://www.batipart.com). Before joining the Batipart Group, Mr. Ruggieri worked at Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds (MSREF) in New York, after having worked for an American subsidiary of the Arcelor Group. He serves as the Chairman of the Board at Cherbourg Hotels and Monroe SA. He also serves as Vice Chairman at Jardiland SA. He serves as a Member of Board of Directors at IMMEO Wohnen GmbH, GFR IMMOBILIEN GmbH, and ANTHEMIS (SAS) and a Director at Parcs GFR SA, Promיo SA, Maelys SA and Cotinvest SA. He serves as a Representative Member of Supervisory Board at Korian SA. He serves as a Member of Supervisory Board of Fonciere des Regions and also served as its Director until November 25, 2008. He served as Member of Supervisory Board and Director of European Board at Fonciere Des Murs. Mr. Ruggieri is a graduate of the European Business School and holds a DESS post-graduate degree in Audit from IAE, Aix-en-Provence and an MBA at Johnson School, Cornell University. Additional information on the Ruggieri's family activities can be found at: http://www.fondlight.com
Ofer Haviv - Director
CEO of Evogene. Prior to being named CEO of Evogene in late 2004, Ofer held the positions of company COO and CFO from 2002 to 2004 and was involved in Evogene's spin-off from Compugen. Prior to the spin-off, he held the position of Director of Finance and Treasurer of Compugen for four years, during which time the company completed two private placements and an IPO on NASDAQ. Earlier, Mr. Haviv was the CFO of Klei Zemmer. He was also an auditor with a leading accounting firm belonging to a network of the "Big Five".
Amir Naiberg – Observer
Mr. Naiberg is the CEO of Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd., the Technology Transfer Company of the Weizmann Institute of Science. Yeda markets and commercializes intellectual property created at the Weizmann Institute laboratories.
Einat Zisman – Observer
Dr. Zisman is the CEO of Hadasit, the Technology Transfer Company of the Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO) in Jerusalem. Hadasit promotes and commercializes HMO’s intellectual property and Research & Development.