Raymond James Corporate Finance adds Prof. Eric Claassen to its European Advisory Board

Munich - Raymond James Corporate Finance is pleased to announce the expansion of its European Advisory Board with the appointment of Prof. Eric Claassen, SMBWO certified Immunologist and Executive Chairman of Emotional Brain BV. He is the founder and CEO of ViroNovative BV and ML Consulting BV, and an investor in more than 15 Dutch Biotech startups. Prof. Claassen is also Chairman of the Probiotic Advisory Board of Pfizer Consumer Health (USA) and Chairman of the SAB of Christian Hansen A/S (Denmark).

Claassen holds the chair as Biopartner professor of “Business Management and Entrepreneurship in Health & Life Sciences” founded on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs at the Athena Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where he teaches Business Management, Entrepreneurship, Clinical Trials and Strategic Financing.

The addition of Prof. Claassen to its European Advisory Board reflects Raymond James’ strategy of continuously strengthening its biotech expertise in the European market. During the last ten years, the Raymond James M&A Biotech & Healthcare team has closed approximately 350 deals worldwide.

“Prof. Claassen brings his entrepreneurial experience, proven biotech track record and numerous industry relationships to our investment banking team,” said Melville D. Mummert, head of Raymond James Corporate Finance. “He is a recognized management expert in the financing of biotech companies and the commercialization of their technologies, and we are excited to have him join our team.”

Claassen added: “Working with Raymond James as an executive advisor is a natural extension of my network and ambitions to facilitate meaningful growth financing and exits in EU Biotech.”

Besides being a senior author on more than 270 peer-reviewed papers and patents, he is currently directing or has directed over 35 PhD students in Medical/Life Sciences, Valorization, Innovation, Business development and IP management. In 2018, Claassen published and edited books on “Microbiota in health and disease: from pregnancy to childhood,” and “Immunological recognition of peptides in Medicine and Biology,” with CRC publishers.

About Raymond James Corporate Finance
Raymond James Corporate Finance advises privately held mid-market companies, corporations and private equity companies on cross-border transactions. The advisory offering includes mergers and acquisitions, financings, restructurings and secondaries. They exclusively represent the interests of their clients in all phases of the transaction process from defining strategic goals and negotiating financial terms and conditions through closing. The firm has dedicated teams in the following sectors: Technology & Services, Industrials, Health Care and Consumer & Retail. Raymond James Corporate Finance was established in June 2016 following the acquisition of Mummert & Company Corporate Finance GmbH by Raymond James Financial, Inc. The Munich- and Frankfurt-based advisory teams are part of the global Investment Banking business. With more than 360 M&A advisors, Raymond James Investment Banking is one of the market leaders in the USA and has received awards such as Investment Banking Firm of the Year by The M&A Advisor and USA Middle Market M&A Investment Bank of the Year by the Global M&A Network. For more information, please visit www.raymondjames-corporatefinance.eu. Disclosures for these awards can be found at raymondjames.com/corporations-and-institutions/accolades.

About Raymond James Investment Banking
Raymond James Investment Banking offers highly regarded capital formation and financial advisory services. Since 2015, Raymond James has participated in raising nearly $140 billion in capital for its corporate clients and completed more than 450 advisory assignments, including more than 390 M&A buy-side or sell-side advisory assignments.

About Raymond James Financial, Inc.
Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE: RJF) is a leading diversified financial services company providing private client group, capital markets, asset management, banking and other services to individuals, corporations and municipalities. The company has approximately 7,800 financial advisors throughout the United States, Canada and overseas. Total client assets are $753 billion. Public since 1983, the firm is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RJF. Additional information is available at www.raymondjames.com. Raymond James & Associates, Inc., member New York Stock Exchange/SIPC.