Remko van Leeuwen, with a Ph.D. in clinical HIV studies, has more than 30 years of R&D experience under his belt, both in the industry as well as in the academic arena. He has a medical background, has been trained as a clinical epidemiologist, and has extensive experience in clinical infectious disease management. He has been a team leader in several international drug and vaccine development programs, both in the public and private sectors.

He carries in-depth knowledge of product development, especially of poverty-related diseases. He has experience in moving products toward the market, including in challenging market environments. As an entrepreneur, he founded the Netherlands-based biotech company Madam Therapeutics, which brings a novel class of antibiotics to market.

Remko van Leeuwen leads the secretariat of the European Global Health research Institutes Network (EGHRIN), an association representing the leading global health research groups in Europe. Moreover, he serves as a board member of the BEAM Alliance, which represents biotech companies in Europe that work on the development of new antibiotics to overcome the societal challenge of antimicrobial resistance. He was the program director of the FP7 funded HOOKVAC project on vaccine development for hookworm disease (the world’s only consortium that is developing a vaccine for the neglected tropical disease hookworm. Currently, he co-leads the EU/India-funded INDIGO program, in which he also brings valorization and global health aspects (affordability and better accessibility) to the project.