"I had my first contact with Wellington in early 1999 as CEO of Actelion. Straight away, I liked their way of working. They always see themselves as a partner, trainer and advisor and never interfere with day-to-day business. Today, as a Wellington Investment Partner myself, I do my best to continue the Wellington way of investing and collaborating."
Thomas Widmann
former CEO of Actelion
Wellington contact:
Thomas Widmann
| Meeting global demands for unmet medical needs |
Actelion was Europe’s first biotech company dedicated to the discovery, development, and marketing of breakthrough pharmaceutical products that are effective on the endothelium.
Actelion delivered the proof of concept for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) with its endothelin antagonist Tracleer (bosentan). Following successful trials that were conducted in record time, Tracleer went on to receive approval for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in all major countries, including the US, EU, Australia, and Japan.
Today, Actelion is one of Europe’s largest, most profitable, and fastest-growing biopharmaceutical companies with a market cap of EUR 5 billion and annual sales of EUR 1.5 billion, proving that it is possible to develop and market biotech products from Europe on a global scale. In addition to its leading position in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, the company has built a strong pipeline of innovative small molecule drug candidates addressing many different indications on the basis of own drug discovery and concluded significant collaborative agreements with Roche and Merck & Co.
Actelion was co-founded by Thomas Widmann, who also acted as the company's first CEO. He joined Wellington, an investor in Actelion's series B round, as a Venture Partner in 2003 and as a General Partner in 2006.
