Israeli biotech: Too many kitchens, not enough chefs

Hadass Geyfman, "Israeli biotech: Too many kitchens, not enough chefs" (22 December 2004, Globes Online)

Leading text: "Keryx chairman and CEO and new XTL director Michael Weiss: Israeli biotechnology has great potential, but is hampered by too many companies, a shortage of qualified executives, and short incubation periods for technology. At the end of November, Israeli biotechnology company XTL Biopharmaceuticals (LSE: XTL) notified the London Stock Exchange that Keryx Biopharmaceuticals chairman and CEO Michael Weiss was joining the XTL board of directors. This was not a routine announcement of a director’s appointment. Weiss was recruited by a group of investors that acquired a controlling interest in XTL in order to enable the company to achieve a breakthrough. The investor group, headed by Apex-Mutavim group joint co-owner Alex Rabinowitz, was aware that with his string of successes in biotechnology, Weiss was capable of contributing a great deal to XTL’s progress in both the biotechnology industry and the US capital market..." [Interview FullText]