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Ablynx Strengthens Management Team With the Appointment of Dr Andreas Menrad as Chief Scientific Officer

Ablynx (EURONEXT BRUSSELS: ABLX), today announced that it has appointed Dr Andreas Menrad as its Chief Scientific Officer.

Dr Menrad has over 20 years experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, with significant expertise in drug discovery and the successful progression of lead candidates into pre-clinical development. He will head up the research activities, be responsible for the ongoing development of the Nanobody(®) platform, and identify and prioritise new therapeutic programmes that Ablynx will take forward either on its own or with partners to help continue building the rapidly growing portfolio of Nanobody development candidates.

Prior to joining Ablynx, Dr Menrad was at Genzyme for five years, where since 2011 he held the position of General Manager and Vice President of Antibody Therapeutics. Previously he has also held senior research positions with Schering AG.

Dr Menrad received his Ph.D. in immunology from the University Stuttgart in 1989. He then took a post-doctoral position at The Wistar Institute Cancer Center in Pennsylvania, USA.

Dr Edwin Moses, CEO and Chairman, said: "We are delighted that Andreas is joining us to head up the research activities at Ablynx. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in the drug discovery area with a strong expertise in biologics, which will further strengthen and complement our existing management team, and will help us to continue to develop and exploit our Nanobody platform over a wide range of therapeutic areas."

Commenting on his appointment, Dr Menrad said: "I am excited to join Ablynx at this very important time and I am looking forward to contributing to the already very strong Nanobody platform and portfolio of products. I am impressed by the broad applicability of the Nanobody technology to different target classes including GPCRs and ion channels which have proven challenging for conventional antibodies. I am also keen to build on the fact that Nanobodies can be administered through non-injectable routes such as inhalation, as shown by the anti-RSV Nanobody currently in Phase I trials."

Complete version of the press release: http://hugin.info/137912/R/1585652/496507.pdf

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Source: Ablynx via Thomson Reuters ONE

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