“Sandra has been an invaluable member of the Oxcia team, combining scientific excellence with a deep understanding of inflammation as well as our development programs,” says Ulrika Bergman Warpman, CEO. “We are delighted to see her take on this leadership role as we finalize the pre-clinical program for OXC-201 and progress our earlier projects including follow up compounds to OXC-201.”

Sandra Ekstedt

Dr. Ekstedt brings more than a decade of scientific expertise in respiratory disease research. She has a PhD from Department of Clinical Science Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet.  Dr Ekstedt research focus on mechanisms that drive the progression and severity of chronic lung diseases. Her research has contributed to a deeper understanding of inflammation, airway hyper-responsiveness , tissue damage, and disease progression in respiratory disorders. She also contributed to improvements of the pre-clinical models for IPF (idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis).

For the past four years, Dr. Ekstedt has served as Senior Scientist at Oxcia, playing a key role, not least in the advancing of the pre-clinical development of Oxcia’s OXC-201. OXC-201 is a novel oral OGG1 inhibitor, developed as a ground-breaking new approach for the treatment of IPF. IPF is a progressive lung disease with dramatically reduced breathing capacity, eventually followed by complete lung failure. OXC-201 blocks the binding between damaged DNA and the enzyme OGG1. This hinders the onset of as well as the ongoing inflammation and fibrosis.

Dr. Ekstedt was instrumental in setting up the newly started collaboration with Associate Professor Jesper Säfholm, Karolinska institutet, Sweden to investigate how OXC-201 can improve IPF biomarkers and influence cough-related mechanisms using state-of-the art lung models. Present treatments for IPF do not improve lung function nor alleviate cough.

Dr. Ekstedt commented: “I am excited to take on the role of Preclinical Director at such an important stage in Oxcia’s development. I look forward to working with our talented team and Scientific Advisory Board to reach Oxcia’s overarching goal of “making life less short through clever management of oxidative stress and DNA damage and repair”.