People
Management
Mikael Lindstam
CEO & co-founder
Mikael has 20 years’ experience in the Swedish start-up industry, during which he has been instrumental in the founding and development of Galecto Biotech, Cyxone, Gabather, Aptahem and nanotechnology companies, Portendo, NM Spintronics and Serstech as founder. Mikael’s contributions have generated investments of over €70M from business, private and public capital. Mikael has solid experience as a manager and board member in public companies, including responsibilities in company management, IPR, fundraising, negotiations and business development activities. In 2008-2014, Mikael was co-managing a Governmental investment fund focusing on life science and drug projects with strong IPR backbone and market potential. There, Mikael managed over 100 different assets which were capitalized though spin-outs, out-licensing and acquisitions. Accequa AB and Accequa GmbH are two investment vehicles for early stage life science assets where Mikael is a founder. Mikael holds a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from Uppsala University and has Individual diplomas from programs in People Management, Coaching, Business and Project Development and Administration, Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Stock market ethics.
Luiza Jedlina
CSO & co-founder
As a former project leader in the Forskarpatent Fund, Luiza Jedlina was a key person in establishing the study that indicated the proposed drug candidates and the path for developing a commercial therapeutic product. In addition to her three years as a biotech consultant, Jedlina has 15 years of experience within cell biology, immunology, haematology, epidemiology and biochemistry, as well as in development of vaccines against parasites. She has worked as a visiting researcher and coordinator in several EU-funded research projects and has developed new methods for experimental and analytical biochemistry. She is also a co-inventor to two patents. Jedlina holds a PhD in molecular parasitology and immunology and a MSc in toxicology.
Maria Ekblad
COO
Maria Ekblad has a strong background in life science with more than 25 years of experience in drug discovery, preclinical, and clinical pharmaceutical development. She is an experienced leader with executive management positions in both line and project organizations. Some of her previous roles have included Director R&D at Follicum AB and Director of Pre-clinical development at Active Biotech AB. Maria holds a MSc in chemical engineering from Lund University.
Ola Skanung
CFO
Ola Skanung holds a B Sc in Business administration and Entrpreneurship and additional exams in financial law and change mangement. He has many years of experience as CFO and has worked with start-ups and growth projects within the private sector as well as state actors and regional development.
Ingela Hallberg
CMO
Ingela has more than 20 years experience from the pharmaceutical industry where she has held managing positions within clinical R&D and medical affairs in a number of companies, in both regional and global roles and in a number of different therapeutic areas. Since 2019, Ingela runs her own business with the aim to work with start-ups and mid/medium size life science companies with focus on clinical development, medical and commercial strategies and business development. She is a medical doctor and previously worked within the area of cardiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg.
Ulf Björklund
Senior Executive Advisor
Ulf Björklund has more than 30 years of experience working in drug development for both large and small companies. From 1983 to 2002, Björklund worked primarily with clinical research at Kabi Pharmacia AB / Pharmacia & Upjohn / Pharmacia, where he held various management positions. From 2002 to 2010, he was CEO of OxyPharma AB and between 2010 and 2016, CEO of Aprea AB. Today, Björklund runs his own consulting company with a focus on drug development and project management in Life Science. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board at Lipum AB, and board member at MedicaNatumin AB and TikoMed AB. Björklund holds a MSc in Pharmacy from Uppsala University.
Karin Aschan
Regulatory Affairs Director
Karin Aschan has more than 30 years of experience from working with Regulatory Affairs in various positions with companies of various sizes from start-up to big pharma. She has been responsible for regulatory affairs in several international projects and the work has included a lot of interactions with authorities, development partners and vendors. The work has covered EU and US projects in all clinical trial phases through registration and maintenance work in the post-marketing phase. She has also worked within Drug Safety in clinical trials and acted as EU Pharmacovigilance QP. Karin Aschan runs her own consultancy company focusing on Regulatory Affairs. Karin holds a MSc in Pharmacy from Uppsala University.
Suzanne Kilany
Clinical Research Director
Suzanne Kilany is a registered oncology nurse and has worked at Sahlgrenska University Hospital for many years. She has also over 30 years of experience from the pharma industry, where she has gained comprehensive knowledge and understanding of clinical trial research and processes across a broad range of different therapeutic areas. She has been responsible for Clinical Operations teams within the pharma industry and CROs (Clinical Research Organizations) and has managed projects across regions; Europe, Russia and the US. For the last 6 years Suzanne Kilany is a member of the Board of the Swedish Society for Clinical Trials (Swedish Pharmaceutical Society) and also part of the editorial staff and responsible for the member magazine, Prövningen. Suzanne Kilany runs her own consultancy business focusing on project management of clinical development. At Aptahem she will lead and coordinate the planning and preparation work for the clinical phase I program of Apta-1.
Thomas Rupp
CMC Director & Aptamer Expert
Thomas Rupp is a trained chemist and has worked with oligonucleotide manufacturing for more than 30 years, including development of “state-of-the-art” manufacturing processes for oligonucleotides. Rupp has a background as global application specialist at among others GE Healthcare, but is since 2013 offering independent consulting services in the field of therapeutic Nucleic Acids, hosts technical workshops on oligonucleotide manufacturing, assists with facility design for large scale GMP manufacturing and with process development and trouble shooting. Additionally, Rupp is a globally operating Subject Matter Expert (SME) for oligonucleotide manufacturing and is acknowledged as a “Global Pharma Key Opinion Leader” at Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI).
Oldriska Chutna Olin
Scientist
Oldriska Chutna Olin has several years of experience as a researcher in the field of biomedical science, specifically in neuroscience, cell and molecular biology. As a PhD student and scientist, she has been involved in several research projects both in Portugal and Sweden. As a former member of Wallenberg Neuroscience Center at Lund University Chutna Olin was offered and pursued a biotech industry career. She holds a MSc in Human Molecular Biology from Faculdade de Ciências at Lisbon University. At Aptahem, Chutna Olin is responsible for theoretical and experimental work as a Scientist adding support to the CSO.
Erika Medin
Programme Coordinator & Communication Specialist
Erika Medin has more than 20 years of experience from research-focused companies within the pharmaceutical industry, including Perstorp Pharma and AstraDraco/AstraZeneca. Over the years, Erika Medin has had various positions within administration, communication and project management. She has a BA from Lund University and a communications diploma from IHM Business School. Erika Medin runs her own consultancy business specializing in project management and communications with a focus on small research companies in Life Science.
Jessica Henning
OFFICE MANAGER, Clinical Trial Assistant & QA Admin
Jessica has over 20 years of experience in service, and many years in administration. She has a diploma in administration/HR.
At Aptahem, Jessica is responsible for office management.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Bert Junno
Chairman of the Board & Co-founder
Dr Junno has previous management and board level experience from several European and US based companies in fields of electronics, biotech and IT. He has also co-founded several life science companies, for example WntResearch AB (publ), Galecto Biotech AB, Gabather AB (publ), Aptahem AB (publ) and Cyxone AB (publ). He is also the Chairman of the Board of Cyxone AB (publ) and CombiGene AB (publ) and board member of Accequa AB and Accequa GmbH. Dr Junno holds a Ph.D. in Semiconductor Physics and Technology and a M.Sc. in Physics from Lund University. Dr Junno does not hold any shares in Aptahem.
Theresa Comiskey Olsen
Board Member
Theresa Comiskey Olsen, Attorney at Law (USA), is associated with Albaran, a Norwegian law firm. Over the past several years Comiskey Olsen has developed her law practice with particular focus on cross-border transactions in the Life Sciences/Biotech/Pharma/Medtech fields, with special emphasis on negotiating and drafting international licensing, distribution, supply, research and development, and clinical trial agreements. Prior to starting her practice in 2008, she was General Counsel of Nycomed, which has since been acquired by Takeda. Comiskey Olsen has her B.A. from University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.
Cristina Glad
BOARD MEMBER
Dr Glad has more than 25 years of experience in research and business development in biotechnology and pharmaceutical development. She has worked on projects that include the development of anti-body drugs and their production processes. Dr Glad has also been involved in research and development collaborations with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and the in-licensing and out-licensing of projects. In her role as CEO and Vice President of BioInvent International AB, she was involved in developing the company. Since December 2013, she has worked as a consultant in her own company. Dr Glad is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) and holds a PhD in biochemistry and an E*MBA.
Johan Lindh
BOARD MEMBER
With over 20 years in academia, Johan Lindh has worked as a molecular biologist and has held several positions in parasitology at the Infectious Diseases Institute (SMI) / Karolinska Institute. Identification and early indications of the anticoagulant properties of Aptahem’s drug candidate, and subsequent collaboration with Lund University, resulted in a patent application which forms the basis for drug development at Aptahem. Since January 2014, Johan Lindh has been an associate professor of microbiology at the Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Uppsala University.
Åsa Kornfeld
BOARD MEMBER
Åsa Kornfeld has more than 25 years’ international experience from strategic evaluation and development of drug candidates to maximize their value. She has been working with clinical trials, health economics, pricing and reimbursement strategies as well as contributed to in/out-licensing of products and portfolio management. She has broad experience from both large pharma companies, small biotech companies, medtech and consultancy business, and has long experience of leadership and organization. Åsa holds a B.Sc. in chemistry from Lund University and a M.Sc. in pharmaceuticals and health care products from Université de Bordeaux. Currently, Åsa holds the position as Market Access Lead at Recordati Rare Diseases in Paris.
