New Management Team
Vienna (OTS) - With a new management team, the Viennese biotech company has positioned itself for the final spurt in the extremely important phase II study in the development of its main product, an innovative dialysis fluid for the treatment of severe kidney failure.
One of the two managing directors is Bernd Seibel. He was previously a member of the Supervisory Board of Zytoprotec, where he was responsible for corporate financing. Last year, Zytoprotec succeeded in raising a further EUR 4 million to finance its most important development project, PDprotec®. Mr Seibel has more than 20 years of experience in financing biotechnology companies and was most recently General Partner and Chief Financial Officer of TVM Capital, one of the leading venture capital firms in Europe.
Zytoprotec has also appointed Bernhard Zinner as Managing Director. His professional background is in marketing and sales of dialysis products. Mr Zinner has worked for international companies for over 20 years in a managerial role, most recently as Managing Director, and has made a significant contribution to expanding the peritoneal dialysis segment in Austria. Prof Dr Christoph Aufricht, co-founder of Zytoprotec, will continue to work for Zytoprotec as Chief Scientific Officer.
"We are delighted to have gained two very renowned industry veterans in Bernd Seibel and Bernhard Zinner to lead Zytoprotec," said Prof. (hon) Dr Uwe Schlokat, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Zytoprotec. "With their extensive experience in financing biotech companies and distributing commercial dialysis products, we are in an excellent position to enter this highly exciting phase of the company."
Zytoprotec's lead product is an innovative dialysis fluid that is being developed to fundamentally improve the treatment of patients with severe kidney failure. Until now, the use of dialysates for peritoneal dialysis has been limited because these solutions inevitably lead to tissue damage due to their composition. PDprotec® contains a cell-protecting ("cytoprotective") active ingredient discovered by Prof. Aufricht, which is intended to reduce this tissue damage in the long term.
PDprotec® has been in phase II clinical development since mid-2014. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the clinical efficacy and tolerability of the product in a larger patient group. The trial is scheduled for completion at the end of 2016.