Management / Founders

Paul Leufkens, PharmD, MBA, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer
Paul LeufkensPaul holds MSc and Pharm D degrees from Utrecht University and obtained his MBA degree at Bradford University (UK). Paul is one of the founders and Vice-President of Business Development of AM-Pharma, a biotech company, and held senior positions in product development and business development at Exponential Biotherapies Inc. and Pharming. Earlier in his career he worked in drug development with Sanofi and Yamanouchi Europe.







Cacha Peeters-Scholte, MD, PhD, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer
Cacha graduated in medicine at Utrecht University in 1997. Subsequently, she became resident in Pediatrics at the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht. She obtained her PhD on neuroprotective strategies following perinatal asphyxia in 2002. After a fellowship Pediatric Neurology in the Free University Medical Center in Amsterdam, she is currently working as a pediatric neurologist at Leiden University Medical Center. Her special interest is neonatal neurology. She has been the driving force behind Neurophyxia since the inception of the project, which started during her PhD.

Huibert Tjabbes, MD co-founder and Vice-president regulatory and medical affairs
Huibert TjabbesHuibert graduated in Medicine and in management at Leiden University. He is Neurophyxia’s Medical Officer and is also responsible for intellectual property. Previously, he was the managing director of the life science incubator of Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam and director of the UMC Utrecht Holding company.








Miranda Janssen, MBA, Head of general affairs and finance
Miranda has a broad experience in administrative activities related to life sciences companies. She has played an important role in the preparation of a variety of business plans for life sciences companies, and has gained significant experience in international merger & acquisition deals. Currently, she is managing director of a private life sciences incubator called WesterToren Innovation Centre and is also involved as a fund manager in Brabant Life Sciences Seed Fund that stimulates Life Sciences Companies.

Ir. Jan van der Hoeven, Chairman of the Board
Jan is an investor in the field of Life Sciences. He has more than 20 years of operating, scientific and financial experience in private equity backed life sciences companies. He has been involved in a number of successful international merger & acquisition deals. He is active in a number of funds to stimulate Life Sciences Companies.