PILA PHARMA passes the start-up phase, prepares for efficacy trials and increases focus on ‘Effective and Affordable Medicine’ by electing the health economist Ulrikka Klarskov Kjær to the Board of Directors.
The company, founded in 2014, now counts +10 core members and has thus passed the “start-up” phase.
“We are about to move out of the Medeon Incubator in Malmö and have also established a Danish affiliate to handle the R&D activities in Denmark”, says Dorte X. Gram, CEO of PILA PHARMA.
Per Antonsson from Almi Invest has decided to step down from the Board of Directors in order to focus on new start-up projects in Almi’s portfolio.
“I was one of the very first to see the potential in PILA PHARMA and we were the first external investor to join almost 3 years ago. I have been delighted to be actively involved in the company’s lift-off as well as being a member of the Board of Directors. The company has now grown to a size and maturity where I consider it to be stable enough for me to scale down my day-to-day engagement. I would like to thank Dorte for her commitment and strong will to succeed, and, as the second-largest investor in the company, I will follow the company from the outside with continued interest,” he says.
“We have been privileged to have had access to Per’s experience and network. Per has played a crucial role in the company’s start-up phase shaping the company to allow for future growth. We consider his wish to step down from the Board, to be a statement of his positive thoughts on PILA PHARMA,” says Dorte X. Gram.
Erik Nerpin, Chairman of the Board, continues: “Per has been a very engaged member of the Board, and we will miss his contributions to the strategic decisions we make. In the search to find a suitable replacement to Per, it has been important to add new skills, and we have analysed the forthcoming challenges and opportunities for PILA PHARMA. The Board of Directors has identified positioning of XEN-D0501 as a better and cheaper drug-choice as very important. We therefore look forward to welcoming Ulrikka Klarskov Kjær and her unique competences within international health economics to the Board of Directors.”
Ulrikka Klarskov Kjær supplements: “The world, and in particular developing regions like Africa, need access to effective and affordable treatments of diabetes to tackle the healthrelated and economic consequences of the disease. Therefore, I’m delighted to join PILA PHARMA to help elucidating the potential health economic benefits of XEN-D0501 in treating diabetes and potentially obesity in the future.”
Ulrikka holds a double degree with an MSc in Health Economics as well as an MA in African Studies and has worked on multiple international projects. In addition, she has extensive specialist and managerial experience from Danish appointments at Novo Nordisk, Rambøll and Ledøje-Smørum Municipality, the latter as Director of Health and Social Affairs.
