Prosensa is a Dutch biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of RNA-based therapeutics targeting diseases with unmet medical needs, in particular neuromuscular disorders. Prosensa’s drug development is based upon a unique and proprietary technology platform involving ‘exon skipping’, enabling correction of mutated RNA. This ability to modulate genes selectively through RNA-based therapeutics could provide a new way to treat a wide range of human diseases. The company has a leadership position in fundamental patents, technology, and know-how relating to RNA-based approaches and exon skipping. Prosensa’s lead compounds for DMD are currently in clinical phase I/II development and the company has received orphan drug designation both in Europe and the US. For more information on Prosensa, please visit www.prosensa.nl.

Speaker Profile

Gerard Platenburg, CEO

Gerard is CEO and co-founder of Prosensa. He is trained as a molecular biologist, joined several start-up companies among which Pharming in 1989 as one of the founding crew. Since then, he has held different management positions and has over 20 years of experience in the field of biotechnology. He managed several complex research projects and established an extensive network within the biotechnology community.

Gerard founded, together with Prof. Herman de Boer Prosensa four years ago. Gerard led the company through a seed financing round in January 2005 and a series A round of venture funding in February 2007. Prosensa has recently successfully finalized the first clinical trial for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Prosensa currently is preparing to enter multiple phase I/II trials. Gerard is responsible for general management, including investor relations.