I have spent my entire career in Stockholm’s vibrant Life Science innovation space, with renowned universities, great scientists, and companies. After attaining a PhD in Biochemistry from Karolinska Institutet, I have held various positions within R&D and corporate development at Astra Zeneca and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (Sobi), such as Vice President of External Innovation at Sobi.
My primary focus has always been on R&D innovation and strategies to manage projects and product portfolios. Along the way, I also got the opportunity to pursue an executive MBA from Stockholm University, which gave me the tools to really understand pharmaceutical business and drug development from a strategic and commercial point of view.
Biopharmaceutical innovation is a uniquely challenging area, characterized by high complexity, high risk, high cost, and low probability of success – but those factors are exactly what makes it intriguing and stimulating, and why I have devoted my entire career to this important area.
Entrepreneurship matters deeply to me because it drives innovation forward. Without the willingness to take risks and challenge established norms, many breakthrough ideas would remain locked in labs. In biopharmaceutical innovation, you need to have conviction and continuity, and without strong champions and stewards, drug development programs do not stand a fighting chance for success.
For the last four years, I have been the CEO at AnaCardio, a startup developing novel drugs to treat heart failure, with a lead program in phase 2 development. AnaCardio was founded on Professor Lars Lund’s groundbreaking research and discovery of a novel mechanism to improve contractility of the heart muscle.
Many existing treatments focus on managing symptoms rather than addressing the root causes. Our work developing a ghrelin receptor agonist to safely improve heart contractility challenges decades of convention, and that requires vision and conviction. Now, the key is to harness the hundreds of years of collective experience within our dedicated team, which I strongly believe will be a key factor in progressing the company towards success.
