LS@W alumnus Eline van Beest announced as Dutch winner of the first Henri Termeer Transatlantic Connections Award

The winners of the first Henri Termeer Transatlantic Connections Award have just been announced live in front of an online audience at the Innovation for Health event. The Massachusetts winners are Josh Cohen and Justin Klee, Co-CEO’s of Amylyx Pharmaceuticals and it was Catharine Smith, Executive Director from the Henri Termeer Foundation who had the honour to announce the Massachusetts winner. The Dutch winner is Eline van Beest, CEO of Hybridize Therapeutics and was announced by Clémence Ross van Dorp, Ambassador of the Action Programme “New Opportunities for Top Sector LSH”. We want to congratulate both winners!

First reaction Amylyx

‘We’re thrilled to be chosen as honourees for the 2021 Henri Termeer Transatlantic Connections Award, particularly as we reflect on the incredible impact the late Henri Termeer made at the foundational stages of our company,’ said Joshua Cohen, Co-CEO, Chairman and Co-Founder of Amylyx. 

'Our team of industry veterans continues to grow, and we know that our connections to the wonderful team at the Termeer Foundation will further propel us as we aim to launch global products for patients who need better treatment options.'

‘When we founded Amylyx more than 8 years ago, we knew we had an opportunity to help improve the lives of people affected by neurodegenerative diseases like ALS and Alzheimer’s,’ said Justin Klee, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Amylyx. ‘It was Henri Termeer who told us that when you have positive data in people, it’s no longer an opportunity, but a responsibility. We’re honoured to push forward with that responsibility as a global representative of the Termeer Foundation and the values Henri stood for.’

Joshua Cohen and Justin Klee established the company with the mission to one day end the suffering caused by neurodegenerative diseases. ‘Every day we strive for better therapies. We question the unquestioned, yet we look for simple solutions.’

First reaction Hybridize

‘I am very happy and grateful for this Award,’ said Eline van Beest, CEO of Hybridize. ‘I am very impressed with the Termeer network and the fact that such great leaders are taking their time to give newcomers like me the opportunity to learn from them and realise a new generation of innovations and treatments for patients. It really feels like an exclusive opportunity and I hope I can implement their insights.’

'Here in the Netherlands, we have a strong life sciences community, but it is quite difficult to broaden your network beyond that. The Termeer Transatlantic Connections Award creates a strong link to the Massachusetts biotech ecosystem, greatly enhancing the opportunities for all kinds of collaborations for Hybridize.'

Hybridize’s overarching goal is to help patients overcome untreated viral diseases. They do this by developing virus-specific RNA-based therapies. Their ambition is to become a global player in developing anti-viral therapies using RNA therapies.

About The Henri Termeer Transatlantic Connections Award

The Henri Termeer Transatlantic Connections Award is an annual award competition for life science entrepreneurs in the Netherlands and Massachusetts. Each year the Termeer Foundation and Health-Holland select two young life science entrepreneurs, one in Massachusetts and one in the Netherlands, who are leading innovative biomedical research activities, and whose programmes have the potential to strengthen transatlantic relations between the two life science regions. 

Awardees receive Fellowship status within The Termeer Foundation, which includes access to experienced healthcare mentors, networking with fellow peer entrepreneurs, and recognition at the annual Termeer Fellows Celebration. Recipients are invited to spend a week visiting their fellow awardee’s company, and to participate in additional learning, networking and cultural events in that location.

LS@W alumnus Eline van Beest is the Dutch winner of the first Henri Termeer Transatlantic connections Award

‹ News overview