Theo Berkvens

DNage is a life sciences company founded in 2004 as a spin off from the Department of Genetics of the Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam. The Company was seed-funded through an equity investment of an international syndicate of venture capitalists including LSP (NL) and Inventages (CH). The Company's main scientific founder Prof J. Hoeijmakers is a world-renowned scientist working on DNA repair and genome stability. His team was the first to establish an explicit connection between DNA damage (lack of repair) and the process of ageing, a scientific breakthrough. DNage has acquired exclusive access to this technology and now focuses on developing therapies to reduce the effects of ageing, leveraging the unique technologies developed by its founders. DNage has matured from an early stage technology company into a drug development company with ongoing clinical trials and several research programs. It has been acquired by Pharming Group NV in October 2006 and is currently involved in a financing round whereby Pharming will reduce its ownership to a non-controlling stake. The team of the company consists of approximately 15 people. DNage has laboratory facilities and offices in Rotterdam and Leiden, The Netherlands.