Company

Avilex Pharma is a clinical stage company supported by venture capital and national foundations, with experienced researchers and pharmaceutical veterans 

Achievements

(Awards, funding etc)

Winner of 'The Copenhagen Spin-out Award for most promising company’, 2013. Founded by seed funding from Novo Seeds. First Scandinvian company to obtain the Wellcome Translational Award. Recently obtained the prestigious Grand Solutions from the Danish Innovation fund, together with additional investments from Novo Seeds and the Danish Growth Fund.

Meet

our Team

Kristian Strømgaard, PhDCo-Founder & CEOProfessor, University of Copenhagen

Obtained an MSc degree in Chemical Research from University College London, and continued as a PhD student in medicinal chemistry, part-time at the Danish pharmaceutical company H. Lundbeck. He did a postdoc at Columbia University (New York), and was then appointed H. Lundbeck Professor at the age of 36 to establish research in Chemical Biology. He won the ‘Teacher of the Year’ award from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science (UCPH) in 2009. In 2012, he co-founded Avilex Pharma and has taken the lead compound into clinical development. In 2014, he was appointed Director of Center for Biopharmaceuticals. Recently, he was visiting professor at Harvard Medical School.

Mikael Thomsen, PhDChief Development OfficerExpert drug developer; Novartis, Novo Nordisk, US FDA;  seasoned biotech entrepreneur

He has more than 25 years of experience from the pharma/biotech industry, worked within different pharmaceutical companies including Novartis Pharma, Switzerland, Novo Nordisk, Denmark as well as at the FDA, US. He is co-founder of numerous international biotech companies. He has had roles as Head of Clinical Pharmacology, Chief Development and Scientific Officer. He has two MSc. degrees (Pharmacy and Human Biology; University of Copenhagen, Pharmaceutical and Medical Faculty) and has a PhD in Pharmacology/Toxicology (University of Copenhagen and FDA site, Arkansas, US) and a degree in Pharmaceutical Medicine (ECPM, Basel, Switzerland). He has authored or co-authored more than 50 publications/abstracts as well co-author of several patents.

Ian Laquian, M.Sc. MBAChief Business OfficerPharma industry veteran; Takeda CNS Program Lead, Business Developer; Novo Seeds EIR

Mr. Laquian is an active life science entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in building companies, franchises, portfolios and products. He has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry assuming senior roles within R&D, BD, and Marketing while at Nycomed/Takeda. His main area of focus is CNS disorders and was critical in developing Takeda Pharmaceuticals’ CNS therapeutic area strategy and portfolio; overseeing development of key assets in dementia, schizophrenia, and Parkinson's Disease, and directing R&D and commercial efforts for Takeda/Lundbeck’s marquee antidepressant Brintellix. Currently Mr. Laquian works as an Entrepreneur in Residence for Novo Holdings, Scandinavia’s largest venture fund, and holds board positions supporting CNS focused biotech companies. He holds a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Waterloo, and a M.Sc. in Biochemistry and MBA from the University of Ottawa.

Anders Bach, PhDCo-Founder & ConsultantAssociate Professor, Department of Drug Design & Pharmacology, KU

Anders Bach received his PhD in medicinal chemistry from Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen (UCPH) in 2009. He has developed several compounds against PDZ domains involved in protein-protein interactions in the CNS, in particularly dimeric peptidomimetic PSD-95 inhibitors. He did postdoc research first at UCPH and then at the Italian Institute of Technology, where he worked on covalent small-molecule inhibitors of enzymes involved in lipid metabolism and signalling. Anders now holds a position as associate professor and group leader at UCPH, where he uses fragment-based drug discovery to make small-molecule inhibitors of protein-protein interactions involved in oxidative stress and inflammation.

Charlotte VidebækClinical consultantBoard certified neurologist and former VP/R&DDivisional Director at H.Lundbeck

Charlotte Videbæk supports Avilex as a consultant on the clinical development. She comes with a background as MD, DMSc and neurologist with a long experience both from the clinical-, pharmaceutical- & biotech world. Her pharmaceutical experience is broad from biomarker research, clinical research, portfolio strategy, project management and leadership. Today Charlotte is occupied as an entrepreneur, board member and consultant

Board

of directors

Raymond HillChairmanPresident Emeritus at British Pharmacological Society;Executive Director, Neuroscience Research Merck/MSD

Morten Graugaard DøssingBoard MemberPartner at Novo Seeds; Board Member NMD, Hoba,Syndesi Tx, Camel-IDS; Corporate Strategy at H. Lundbeck

J. Mark TreherneNon-Executive Board MemberFormer Head of Neurodegeneration Pfizer; CEO of CambridgeDiscovery; CEO of Senexis; Chairman Talisman Tx

Lene GerlachBoard Observer10+ years of biotech & investment experiencePortfolio Manager, Borean Innovation

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