The Stockholm-based company develops technologies to improve the design and production of next-generation antibody-based drugs. According to AAX Biotech, the appointment marks its transition from technology validation to commercial scale-up. Over the past year, the company’s proprietary platforms have been selected for evaluation by global pharmaceutical companies, including Daiichi Sankyo, and are offered to biotech and pharma companies through its partner evitria. The next step is to turn this momentum into partnerships, licensing deals, and business models that create long-term value.

Fredriksson brings more than two decades of leadership experience in life science. At Aqilion, she built the team behind a portfolio of four drug programs in immunology and inflammation (I&I), led the company’s Series A financing, and drove a business development strategy that resulted in both in-licensing deals and a significant preclinical out-licensing and research collaboration agreement. Before that, she founded Genovis, which provides enzyme-based tools for characterizing biologics, and served as its CEO for sixteen years, during which she took the company public on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. She holds a PhD in protein engineering from LTH, Lund University’s Faculty of Engineering, and is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA).

“In my previous roles, I worked closely with drug developers who were struggling to characterize and stabilize complex biologics, so I immediately recognized the problem that Opti-mAb solves,” says Sarah Fredriksson. “Unstable scFv fragments cause aggregation, low expression, and costly redesigns in bispecific antibodies and CAR-T therapies, and Opti-mAb tackles the problem at the design stage. The interest we’re seeing from global pharma companies creates clear opportunities for early partnership deals and new business models.”

“Being able to focus fully on taking Opti-mAb and Seqitope to the next level, while gaining a CEO with a proven ability to turn research into partnerships with global pharmaceutical companies, is exactly what the company needs right now,” says Daniel X Johansson.

“With Sarah, we gain a CEO who has already made the journey that lies ahead of us – from strong science to company building, financing, and licensing deals with global pharmaceutical companies. The appointment strengthens AAX Biotech at a critical stage and in our dialogue with investors,” says Svante Ahlmkvist, Chair of the Board, AAX Biotech.