René has over 20 years of experience in a variety of different roles. Since 1999 René has been a key member of the management committee and General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of Crucell N.V. Crucell is the successful Dutch biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the research & development, production and marketing of vaccines and antibodies against infectious disease worldwide. As such he has been instrumental in building Crucell from a loss making, privately financed company to one of the most successful publicly listed independent vaccine companies in the world. Crucell was recently acquired by Johnson & Johnson (J&J) for over € 2 billion.
Over the past 12 years at Crucell, René gained unique competence and operational experience and played an important role in the Dutch Life Sciences industry. With a masterly feeling for timing he has lived the full story, in good times and bad. With his in-depth knowledge of the financial markets he successfully executed Crucell’s stock market listings in 2000 on the NYSE/Euronext and Nasdaq. In addition he was seconded to Galapagos N.V for their private placement and IPO and was leading numerous Crucell acquisitions, including the public bid for the Swiss Berna Biotech and acquisition of the Swedish SBL assets. In 2009 he closed the strategic collaboration and minority equity transaction between Crucell and J&J. Followed in 2011 by closing successfully the public bid on all of the outstanding Crucell equity after the acquisition by J&J.
Prior to joining Crucell, from 1994 to 1999, René was Senior Legal Counsel for GE Capital/TIP Europe. From 1991 to 1994, he held the Legal Counsel position at TNT Express Worldwide N.V. He has a Masters in Law from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands and a post doctoral corporate law degree from the University of Nijmegen.
About Aescap Venture – www.aescap.com
Aescap Venture is a venture capital company investing in private medical companies in Europe. Aescap invests in companies with the potential to become global leaders in their markets. This involves investments in all phases of development with an emphasis on earlier stages. Aescap Venture’s added value is based on a multi-disciplinary team of four experienced investment partners. Each has a proven track record of success and the skills to coach entrepreneurs in accelerating the growth of their companies. Aescap Venture is currently raising funds for Aescap Venture II with a target size of €150 million.
For further information please contact:
Patrick Krol
Tel: +31 (0)20 570 29 40
pkrol@aescap.com
Or
René Beukema
Tel. + 31 (0)20 570 29 40
rbeukema@aescap.com
