AstraZeneca, Business Development Professional of the Year Award 2008
Bristol, England and Hasselt, Belgium, May 13, 2009 – Apitope International NV, is proud to announce that Dr. Keith Martin, CEO of Apitope, has received the AstraZeneca, Business Development Professional of the Year Award 2008. David Brennan, CEO of AstraZeneca PLC, gave the award at the Pharmaceutical Licensing Group (PLG) Annual Awards Dinner 2009.
The deal, negotiated by Dr. Martin, granted Merck Serono exclusive, worldwide rights to develop and commercialise Apitope's ATX-MS-1467 to treat multiple sclerosis. ATX-MS-1467 is a novel peptide-based therapeutic derived from Apitope’s proprietary technology
platform. The deal was announced in January.
In giving the award to Dr. Martin, David Brennan said it was in: “recognition of the contribution made to the company’s growth through securing an exceptional partnering deal with Merck Serono for Apitope’s ATX-MS-1467, a peptide therapeutic designed to induce immunological tolerance to the autoantigens involved in multiple sclerosis. MS is considered a high-risk area for deals and Keith has helped a small company, spun out from Bristol University to prosper during this very difficult economic climate.” Dr. Martin said: “I am honoured to receive such an award, which reflects the expertise and dedication of everyone in Apitope and the outstanding support of our advisers and backers. The deal with Merck Serono is, the first of many such deals the company will sign in the coming years.”
Congratulating Dr. Martin on his award, Dr. Geoffrey Vernon, Chairman of Apitope said: “this deserved award is a tribute to the hard work, commitment and performance of Keith and his team at Apitope.”
The AstraZeneca Business Development of the Year Award for 2008 is given for the bestperformance in Business Development during 2008 and is not necessarily awarded inrecognition of long term Business Development performance or one specific deal - although this is clearly a factor that is taken into consideration.
Criteria for the award include:
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The best Partner of Choice promotion and performance as evidenced by professionalism, speed of response and post signature performance
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Best performance in negotiations
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The most protracted or shortest negotiation
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The most difficult or unlikely deal
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The most talked about deal (i.e. the individual whose company made the most deal ‘news’ during 2008).