LEIDEN, The Netherlands – March 21, 2024 – Artica Therapeutics B.V. (Artica), a biotechnology
company developing a pipeline of covalent small molecules for autoimmune and inflammatory
disorders, today announced that industry veteran Piet Wigerinck PhD is joining the board as an
independent non-executive director. Dr Wigerinck is a seasoned executive with over three decades of
R&D experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector and deep expertise in the
autoimmunity space.
“We are delighted to welcome Piet to the Artica board”, said Tjeerd Barf, CEO of Artica . “We believe
that Piet’s extensive drug development expertise and network will help to execute on Artica’s strategy
and expedite our innovative approach to treating inflammatory and autoimmune disorders”.
Dr Wigerinck commenting on his appointment said “I am excited to join the Board of Artica and share
my expertise and commitment to Artica’s mission to create the next generation of autoimmune
therapies using their innovative covalent binding technology”.
Dr Piet Wigerinck is a pharmacist and holds a PhD in medicinal chemistry from the KU Leuven. He has
over 30 years of R&D experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Piet has been a
key driver of the research and development programs of 4 approved medicines: PrezistaTM, OlysioTM,
JyselecaTM, and RekambysTM. He started his career in industry at the Janssen Research labs in Beerse
(1988-1998), moved to Tibotec-Virco, where he was Vice President, Drug Discovery, Early Development
and CM&C (1998-2008). He then moved to Galapagos (2008-2021) finishing his Ɵme there as Chief
Scientific Officer. Under his leadership, Galapagos built a pipeline of first-in-class medicines that drove
the growth of the company to a top European biotech player. He has been responsible for all aspects
of drug discovery, preclinical research, CMC, phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials.
Piet is the scientific co-founder of Xinvento, a Dutch biotech, that was acquired by Rhythm
Pharmaceuticas in 2023. He is Chief Scientific Advisor at Fibrocor Therapeutics, and independent board
member of Ipsen SA, miDiagnostics N.V., Atriva Therapeutics GmbH, and Symeres Netherlands B.V.
About Artica Therapeutics
Artica Therapeutics B.V. is dedicated to developing novel small molecule medicines for inflammatory
and autoimmune indications. Artica is at the forefront of covalent binding technology as well as in label free cellular-based screening approaches. The unique combination of these capabilities allows rapid
progression of the best drug candidates that have unprecedented and superior characteristics, creaating
novel and highly selective therapies for patients with unmet medical need. Artica raised a €12M seed
financing round in November 2023 from BioGeneration Ventures (BGV), Thuja Capital, Seroba, and
InnovationQuarter.
More information is available at www.artica-tx.com
Company Contact
Dr. Tjeerd Barf, CEO Artica Therapeutics B.V.
Email: info@artica-tx.com