Healthcare >> CEO Interviews >> September 13, 2002

Rainer Wessel – Axxima Pharmaceuticals Ag

RAINER WESSEL earned a PhD in molecular biology in Constance, Germany (1991), then moved to Japan to receive training in Japanese and to perform research at Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) Nippon KK. In 1993, Dr. Wessel returned to Germany to join the Patent Department of BI, where he received training in patent law and was responsible for a worldwide biotech patent portfolio. In 1997, he moved to Qiagen GmbH to establish and head the Intellectual Property and Licensing Department. Dr. Wessel joined Axxima in July 1999 as the Vice President of Business Development. In August 2001, he was appointed Chief Business Officer by Axxima's Supervisory Board and led the third financing round. In March 2002, he was appointed President and CEO. Profile
TWST: Could you start us off with an introduction to Axxima?

Dr. Wessel: Axxima is a signal transduction company developing small

molecule compounds able to modulate signal transduction