Speakers

Find out more about the speakers, keynotes and panellists who spoke at the 17th Annual Anglonordic Life Science Conference, which was delivered digitally.

MATTIAS JOHANSSON

Director, Ezenze & Founder, Anglonordic Life Science Conference

Mattias is the Director of Ezenze and the Founder of the Anglonordic Life Science Conference now in it's 17th year.

HAKAN GOKER

Vice President, Healthcare, M Ventures & Conference Chair, Anglonordic Life Science Conference

Hakan Goker, PhD, currently Vice President in the Healthcare team, joined M Ventures in 2013. Previously, Hakan was a partner at Aescap Venture in Amsterdam which he joined in 2010. Prior to Aescap, he was at Atlas Venture in London until their cessation of European operations. He was instrumental in the creation and financing, in addition to, business and R&D strategy of various companies including Orphazyme-DK, f-Star NL, Protaffin- Austria/UK, Bicycle Therapeutics -UK, Nimbus Discovery -US, Lumavita -CH, Nitec now Horizon Pharma -CH/US, and Egalet -DK. In addition to the UK, US, Benelux and Switzerland, his global investment and deal flow experience includes the geographies of Scandinavia and Asia. Hakan received his Ph.D. in oncology from the Institute of Cancer Research/ University of London, UK and continued his scientific career with post doctoral work at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Centre/Royal Marsden Hospital. He gained his B.Sc. Hons, from University College London. Hakan is based in Amsterdam.

KATE BINGHAM

Managing Partner, SV Health Investors

In her 29 years at SV, Kate’s biotech investments have resulted in the launch of six drugs for the treatment of patients with inflammatory and autoimmune disease and cancer.
Kate co-leads biotech investments and activities and her investments include small-molecule, biotherapeutic and gene therapy drug discovery and development projects as well as drug discovery platforms in a broad range of clinical areas.

Kate played an active role in setting up the Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF), an SV managed fund, and serves on the DDF Investment Committee.

Prior to joining SV, Kate worked in business development for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company in Cambridge, MA and at Monitor Company, a strategy consulting firm.
Outside of SV, Kate won the Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the BioIndustry Association UK in January 2017.

She also serves on the Board of the Francis Crick Institute. At weekends Kate spends time in Wales where she rides horses and mountain bikes, grows vegetables and competes in bog snorkelling competitions.

In May 2020 Kate was appointed Chair of the UK Vaccine Taskforce reporting to the Prime Minster to lead UK efforts to find and manufacture a COVID-19 vaccine on a six month engagement stepping down as Chair in December 2020. On December 8th 2020 the UK started COVID-19 vaccinations - the first Western country to do so.

Academic credentials: First class degree, Biochemistry, University of Oxford; MBA, Harvard Business School (Baker Scholar).

JOERN-PETER HALLE

Senior Vice President, Global Head of Research, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany


Peter is leading the global discovery and research organization at Merck KGaA. He oversees the discovery and development technology platforms and the research and translational activities across Merck’s three focus areas of oncology, immune-oncology, and immunology. He is also responsible for external R&D and strategic innovation initiatives of the healthcare business and a member of the investment committee of M Ventures, Merck KGaA’s corporate VC.

He started his carrier in Merck KGaA in 2005 as a member of the development team. Prior to joining Merck KGaA, he co-founded a biotech company focusing on R&D in dermatology where he was responsible for IP, bioinformatics, and technology development and served as a Chief Business Officer.

Peter received his Ph.D. (Dr. rer. nat.) in molecular biology from the University of Konstanz.

MARY CLARK

Managing Director, Optimum Strategic Communications

Mary has a 20-year successful track record in providing strategic corporate and financial communications to both early- and late-stage healthcare companies.

She has run several high profile PR campaigns and has been instrumental in assisting companies with strategic positioning and fundraising rounds from seed and private financings through IPOs, reverse mergers, as well as numerous follow-on public financings.

Mary has worked with over 100 healthcare clients across Europe and the US including Teva Pharmaceutical, Bayer, Fresenius Medical Care, Kite Pharmaceuticals, UDG Healthcare, Evotec and BioNTech.

Mary has built and led healthcare businesses at several international PR&IR agencies. She started her career at BTG plc where she was involved in the Company’s IPO and the start-up of several new tech and biotech companies.

AMBER TONG

Editor, Endpoints News

Amber Tong is the senior editor at Endpoints News, where she reports on biopharma news and features. While she is particularly excited about drug development in China, her coverage on drug discovery and development has taken her to all corners of the world (mostly virtually). A graduate of Rice University, she has previously written for and edited the Rice Thresher, Houstonia Magazine, Governing Magazine and The Chautauquan Daily. Amber is based in Hong Kong after spending several years in Sheffield, UK.

NANNA LÜNEBORG

Partner, Novo Holdings

Nanna joined Novo Holdings in 2012, and spent four years with the Novo Seeds team, where she helped build a portfolio of seed and Series A stage companies, primarily in Scandinavia. She led the initial investments and served on the Boards of IO Biotech, MinervaX, Inthera and Glionova, and as an Observer with Forendo and Galecto.

Nanna joined the Ventures team in 2016, and currently serves on the Boards of Lava, NodThera, Reviral and Stargazer. Previous investments and board roles include NBE Therapeutics (acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim), Inventiva (IVA), Orphazyme (ORPHA) and ObsEva (OBSV).

From 2008-2012, Nanna was an Associate with Apposite Capital, a London-based venture fund, where she was part of the life science investment team and participated in both primary and secondary investments, with multiple portfolio companies leading to highly successful exits for the fund. Earlier in her career, she worked at Cancer Research UK as a research analyst, and as a consultant to various biotech and healthcare venture projects during her MBA.

Nanna received her PhD in Neuroscience from University College London as a Wellcome Trust Scholar. She holds an MBA with distinction from University of Cambridge, where she was a Sainsbury Scholar, and a 1st class BA from University of Oxford.

DEBBIE HARLAND

Venture Partner, SR ONE

Debbie is a Venture Partner in SR One’s London office and focuses on the discovery and development of novel medicines and therapeutic platforms. Debbie established the European operations of SR One in 2005 bringing over 17 years of experience from her accomplished career across a number of operational roles in the pharmaceutical industry. Leveraging her experience in clinical development, business development and licensing, Debbie has a track record of identifying, supporting and growing successful biotech companies. She is a respected and high profile member of the venture community in Europe with a wide ranging network to source, evaluate and shape innovative investments for SR One across multiple geographies. In addition to her Board roles for SR One portfolio companies, Debbie serves as an independent Director on the Board of Cancer Research Technology, the commercialization arm of Cancer Research UK and is a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Cambridge Maxwell Centre’s ‘Impulse’ program for young entrepreneurs.

STEPHAN CHRISTGAU

Founding Partner, EIR Ventures

Stephan Christgau is founding partner of the Nordic Life Science venture fund Eir Ventures launched in 2020. Prior to that Stephan was a founding member of Novo Seeds, the early stage investment arm of Novo Holdings and for more than 12 years has worked in life science venture capital as an active company creator and early investor. His investments have mainly focused on the Nordic area, where Stephan has led the creation and funding of more than 25 companies. Stephan holds a PhD in protein chemistry/immunology from UCSF/Technical University of Denmark

LUCIE ELLIS

Executive Editor, In Vivo

Lucie has been covering the ups and downs of the pharmaceutical industry since joining the Informa Pharma Intelligence team in 2012. Prior to being Executive Editor of In Vivo, she was a Senior Editor at Scrip and Pink Sheet.

NIALL MARTIN

CEO, Artios Pharma

Niall Martin has extensive experience in cancer therapeutics both in small companies and pharma. He is a world leading expert in DNA Damage Response (DDR) and played a key role in the discovery and development of Lynparza™ (olaparib), the first PARP to market and now a multi-billion dollar drug used to treat advanced cancers.

Prior to joining Artios Pharma, Niall was a co-founder and COO at MISSION Therapeutics, he helped establish the DUB inhibitor platform and raise more than £80 million in Series A and B financing. Prior to this, Niall worked as Head of KuDOS Pharmaceuticals (acquired by AstraZeneca) delivering a number of DDR projects into the AstraZeneca oncology pipeline, including ATR and ATM.


MARK O'CONNOR

Chief Scientist, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca

Mark is Chief Scientist in Oncology R&D at AstraZeneca (AZ), based in Cambridge UK, where he heads up the DNA Damage Response (DDR) strategic biology area. He earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Bristol University and carried out his postdoctoral research at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Singapore, working on the biology of human papillomavirus and the link to cervical cancer.

In 1999, Mark returned to the UK to become research team leader at the Cambridge start-up and DDR specialist biotech company KuDOS and was promoted to Chief Scientist there in 2009. Since 2006, when AstraZeneca acquired KuDOS, Mark has provided scientific leadership on olaparib (Lynparza), the first-in-class oral poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, through its transfer to AZ and approval in the United States and Europe in 2014. Mark has played a key role in the growth of DDR within AZ to an industry-leading portfolio comprising seven DDR agents in clinical development. Mark has also championed the in-licensing and development of the WEE1 inhibitor, adavosertib, now in Phase 3, to target cancers with high levels of replication stress. As well as being a named inventor on multiple patents, Mark has over 100 publications which together have over 10,000 citations. Mark’s 20 years in R&D, focussed on DDR, is driven by a commitment to translate this exciting area of science into new and effective medicines for cancer patients.

ANDREE BLAUKAT

Senior Vice President | Head Translational Innovation Platform Oncology & Immuno-Oncology Global Research | Healthcare, Merck KGaA

Dr. Andree Blaukat serves as Senior Vice President and Head of the Translational Innovation Platform Oncology & Immuno-Oncology at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany with responsibility for the Healthcare Oncology Research portfolio with more than 35 projects. In this role, Andree leads a team of about 180 scientists, research associates and support staff in Darmstadt, Germany, Billerica, US and Yavne, Israel. He is a core member of the Discovery Research Committee (DRC) overseeing all drug discovery projects across therapeutic areas, the Development Unit and the Franchise Leadership Teams with responsibility for the clinical development of oncology drug candidates and commercial oncology products. He is also a member of several joint steering committees for strategic external collaborations.

Andree has served in several other leadership roles in Oncology R&D during his 19-year tenure at Merck, focusing on drug discovery and translational research on oncology.

Prior to joining Merck, Andree was a Junior Group Leader and lecturer for pharmacology and toxicology at the Institute of Pharmacology at the Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg, Germany. Before this assignment he was Postdoctoral Fellow at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Uppsala, Sweden. He obtained his PhD in biochemistry from the Universities of Mainz & Darmstadt, Germany in 1997.

Andree is co-organizer of the “Perspective Lectures in Oncology” at the Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany, initiated in 2010. He has published more than 60 scientific manuscripts and book chapters as well as more than 30 patents.

SIMON BOULTON

Co-founder & VP Science Strategy, Artios Pharma Ltd, Senior Group Leader, The Francis Crick Institute, London.

Simon Boulton is a Senior Group Leader and Ambassador for Translation at the Francis Crick Institute. For 25 years, Simon’s research has focused on understanding DNA repair mechanisms, with emphasis on DNA double stand break (DSB) repair pathways and their utilization in meiosis, during DNA replication and at telomeres. His work using genetics, biochemistry and biophysical approaches has led to the discovery of novel DNA repair genes and provided molecular insights into human diseases, including cancer. Most notably, Simon’s work has played an instrumental role in shaping our understanding of the regulation and execution of homologous recombination (HR), a key DSB repair pathway frequently inactivated in cancer, and how the ends of chromosomes are protected from promiscuous repair. Simon is also Co-founder and VP Science Strategy of Artios Pharma Ltd, a biotech company that is developing small molecule DNA repair inhibitors to selectively kill cancer cells either as mono-therapies or in combination with existing treatments. Simon assist the executive team in the identification and evaluation of new pipeline opportunities from the global DNA repair network. Most recently, Simon was appointed the Director, City of London RadNet, a Cancer Research UK initiative to accelerate our understanding of radiobiology to improve radiation treatments for cancer patients. 

MAUREEN COLEMAN

Chairman

Maureen has over 30 years’ experience within the life science sector, mainly with GlaxoSmithKline finishing as VP Global R&D Strategy Development for GSK. Since 2007 she has been working with investor-backed companies across the life science sector in CEO, Chairman and NED roles and as an Angel Investor. 

She is a founding Director of MedInnovate Ltd, a technology consultancy spanning the healthcare industry. She is currently Chairman of CN Bio Innovations – the human organ-on-a-chip technology company whose human organ models are being well received as a disruptive route for NASH drug discovery, and ADME/ tox testing. She is also Chairman of Parafricta Ltd, a wound care specialist materials company, and PIR International a boutique Search and Interim placement company to the life science sector. She was a founding industry consulting partner at Kinapse Ltd.

Maureen brings a wealth of sector relevant knowledge, and contacts and is well versed in working with international investors from China, Europe & USA. 

PATRICK VINK

Non-Executive Director & Chair

Patrick Vink is an advisor to life science companies, an operating partner at Forbion and a non –executive Chairman and Board member of several publicly listed and privately held companies. Mr. Vink is currently the Chairman of the board of directors of NMD Pharma, Chairman of the board of directors of F2G Pharma and a director of Spero Therapeutics, Santhera AG and Amryt Pharma. Previously he also served as Chairman of Acacia Pharma and Targovax Oy. During these mandates he has been involved in many successful capital raises, public and private, creation of business collaborations and achieving significant product development and commercial milestones.

Previously, Mr. Vink spent over 4 years at Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc., where he joined in 2012 as Senior Vice-President and Head of International Business Operations, and subsequently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, until the acquisition by MSD in 2015. Prior to joining Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc., Mr. Vink served as Senior Vice-President, Head of Global hospital business at Mylan Inc.

Mr. Vink has held several leadership positions across the pharmaceutical industry, including head of global business franchise biopharmaceuticals for Novartis Sandoz; vice president for international business for Biogen Inc.; and head of worldwide marketing, cardiovascular and thrombosis for Sanofi-Synthelabo. Mr. Vink served as a member of the executive committee of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) between 2013 and 2015. Mr. Vink graduated as a medical doctor from the University of Leiden, Netherlands in 1988 and obtained his MBA in 1991 at the University of Rochester.

EVA-LOTTA ALLAN

Non-Executive Director & Chair

Eva-Lotta Allan, an independent director, has over 30 years of corporate, business development and operational experience from the biotechnology industry of private and public companies. She is a Non-Executive Chairman of C4X Discovery (C4XD.L), Non-Executive Director of Almirall (BME:ALM), Aleta BioTherapeutics, Crescendo Biologics and Targovax (TRVX). She was previously a board director of Isconova in Sweden. During her five years as Immunocore’s Chief Business Officer she raised $320 million in a Series A round, established significant strategic partnerships with top pharmaceutical companies and in 2016 she was elected to the Board of the BIA. Eva-Lotta was previously at Ablynx, where she served as CBO for seven years taking the company public and structured several complex partnerships with pharmaceutical companies. Eva-Lotta has also held a number of roles in biotech companies including as Senior Director of Business Development and Site Operations (Europe) at Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

She has a degree in microbiology from Stockholm University and started her career at the Tumour biology department at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

MELANIE LEE

CEO, LifeArc

Dr Melanie Lee, PhD, CBE, is CEO of LifeArc. Melanie has pursued a 30-year career in healthcare R&D and gained leadership experience both from the biopharmaceutical industry and from the medical research charity sector. Melanie’s previous roles have included Chief Scientific Officer at BTG PLC (most recently) as well as senior positions at GSK, Celltech and UCB. She has previously held Trustee appointments at Cancer Research Technology and Cancer Research UK and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Sanofi UK DRI Ltd.

EDWIN MOSES

Independent Director

Serial entrepreneur in life science companies. As a CEO for a total of almost 20 years, he built two businesses (Oxford Asymmetry International plc and Ablynx nv), led their successful IPOs on the LSE, EuroNext and NASDAQ and raised over €500M in equity and debt financing. He ran the sales process for each company generating values of £316M and €3.9Bn respectively. At Ablynx, Edwin ensured that the novel Nanobody technology platform was used to build a broad product pipeline, including Cablivi™ which was recently approved for use in both Europe and the USA. In addition, he helped secure pharmaceutical collaborations with a potential value of >€10Bn. Edwin has expertise in high value service provision to the pharmaceutical industry and in drug discovery and development, with more than 25 years of Board level experience in >20 companies. He is currently Chairman of Achilles Therapeutics Ltd, Avantium NV, LabGenius Ltd and Sensorion SA, as well as being an Operational Partner at Keensight Capital.

MIKE WARD

Global Head of Thought Leadership at Decision Resources Group, part of Clarivate

ROEL BULTHUIS

Managing Parnter & Head of Healthcare Investment, INKEF Capital

Roel Bulthuis is a Managing Partner and head of the Healthcare investment team at INKEF. Roel combines more than 15 years of experience across venture capital, pharma business development and investment banking. Prior to joining INKEF he served as an SVP and Managing Director of M-Ventures which he created and developed into a leading CVC fund. Prior to that, he served in senior positions in global business development at Merck Serono and in the investment banking team at Fortis Bank. Roel is a Kauffman Fellow and passionate about continuously challenging the status quo. Roel holds a Msc. in Biopharmaceutical Sciences from Leiden University and an MBA in Finance from the Helsinki
School of Economics.

STEVEN POWELL

CEO, eTheRNA immunotherapies

Steven has acquired broad experience in several life-science sectors in R&D, corporate finance and commercial roles. He started his career with Beecham Pharmaceuticals (now GSK) and subsequently held senior roles with both public and private biotechnology and healthcare companies in Europe and North America. He was also a partner with a European venture capital fund.

CATHERINE MOUKHEIBIR

Non-Executive Director

Ms. Moukheibir most recently served as chief executive officer of MedDay Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company that focused on nervous system disorders, from July 2019 to January 2021. She was also the chairman of the board of directors of MedDay from April 2016 to January 2021. Prior to that, Ms. Moukheibir served as the senior advisor for finance and a member of the executive board of directors at Innate Pharma SA, an oncology company, from 2011 to December 2016, and as the chief financial officer for Movetis N.V. from 2008 to 2010, when it was acquired.Ms. Moukheibir previously served as the director of capital markets for Zeltia Group S.A. from 2001 to 2007.

Ms. Moukheibir currently serves on the board of directors and chairs the audit committee of Orphazyme A/S, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals and CMR Surgical. She also held past directorships on the boards of directors of Ablynx NV, Cerenis Therapeutics SA, Creabilis S.A., GenKyoTex S.A., Kymab Group Ltd and Zealand Pharma A/S.

Ms. Moukheibir has an M.A. in economics and an M.B.A. from Yale University. Ms. Moukheibir’s long leadership career in the biopharmaceutical industry, as well as her deep background in international finance, provide her with valuable business and financial expertise in support of our corporate objectives.

RENEE AGUIAR-LUCANDER

CEO, Calliditas

Before joining Calliditas, Renée Aguiar-Lucander was a Partner and COO of Omega Fund Management, an international venture capital company focused on investments within the life science sector. Before that, she served as a Partner in the venture capital group 3i Group plc in London, where she managed the publicly quoted assets and was co-head of the global healthcare and technology portfolio. Prior to this, Renée Aguiar-Lucander was the European Group Head and Managing Director at a global investment bank and has more than 12 years’ experience in corporate finance. Prior to her career in investment banking, she was the Head of European Sales and Marketing in a company focused on the sale of software for financial services.

CATHERINE LONGWORTH

Web Editor, pharmaphorum

Catherine Longworth is the web editor for pharmaphorum media, leading healthcare features coverage. Based in London, Catherine has international experience and has reported from across Europe, U.S and Israel. Catherine previously worked for Informa’s Pharma Intelligence division where she covered the medical technology and digital health sectors. 

IAN BOLLAND

Editor, Med-Tech Innovation News

After receiving a Masters in Media & Politics from the University in Liverpool in 2018, Ian has worked across all of the Rapid Life Sciences brands - covering a range of subjects across digital health, medtech and pharma. In June 2020, Ian became editor of Med-Tech Innovation News in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has taken a keen interest in how technological trends have accelerated during this period.