Thursday, April 24, 2008
Dr Colja Laane has been appointed the new Director of NGI as of 1 April 2008. The new Director’s main responsibility will be the implementation of the NGI Business Plan 2008 – 2012, a project for which the Dutch government has pledged an investment of € 271 million.
Laane has extensive expertise in the life sciences sector, both in the area of academic research and in the corporate world. His former employer was DSM, where Laane was Science Director and Corporate Scientist White Biotechnology.
The combination of academic and corporate expertise makes Laane fit for the job. “Our emphasis will be: from Publication to Product”, Laane says, looking forward to the challenge. “All money and effort put into research must result in more applications. Valorisation is the motto, in terms of patents, licenses and new businesses.”
Laane already looks ahead to the period after 2012. “In Holland, we tend to finance projects for two terms only. If we take into account that it usually takes over ten years to develop new products in life sciences, we must be prepared to grant NGI a third term, possibly in a different setup. I would like to stand up for that.”
Laane was formally introduced as Director of NGI at a welcoming event on April 23rd. Check out the photo impression.