Walter (Wally) Klemp

Walter (Wally) Klemp is the Chairman and CEO of Moleculin Biotech, Inc., a Nasdaq-listed (Nasdaq: MBRX) drug development company based in Houston, Texas.

Mr. Klemp helped facilitate an initiative similar to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 in the country of Poland. This was called “Vision 2020,” and it’ objective was to help diversify Poland’s economy by establishing Poland as a hub for new technology, with an emphasis on biotechnology, throughout Eastern Europe. Specifically, Moleculin, which had been developing technologies discovered at MD Anderson Cancer Center (the world’s largest cancer research center), sublicensed cutting edge cancer drug technologies to development companies in Poland (including rights to surrounding territories) in exchange for access to grant funding intended for their Vision 2020. This led directly to the expansion of clinical trial activity in Poland.

As a comparison, Saudi Arabia and Poland are both similar in population, have well-established medical infrastructures and are geographically positioned to provide leadership throughout their respective regions. In contrast, however, today there are approximately 4 times as many clinical trials just in the city of Warsaw as there are in the entirety of Saudi Arabia. Mr. Klemp proposes to help Saudi Arabia facilitate its Vision 2030 in much the same way as Poland, through the dramatic expansion of clinical trial activity by jump-starting Saudi Arabia’s access to new technologies through in-licensing activities.

Mr. Klemp is the Founder and Chairman of two current Nasdaq-listed biotech companies (MBRX, SOLY), one in cancer drug development and one in medical devices. With 17 years in the biotechnology industry, he has been responsible for numerous clinical trials, as well as regulatory approvals of both drugs and devices and out-licenses to EU and Asian drug companies. He has raised over $.75 billion in development stage funding for his companies, including 7 public securities issuances and 4 Nasdaq IPOs. Mr. Klemp’s first company became #1 on the INC 500 List of America’s Fastest Growing Companies, as well as earning the American Marketing Association’s Gold Edison Award. He was invited to serve as an Advisor to the White House Conference on Small Business and has delivered numerous lectures on the development of the biotechnology sectors.