Zelluna is led by a management team of biotech entrepreneurs with deep experience in discovery through to clinical development of immunotherapies, TCR and cell-based therapies including marketed products. The team is based in Oslo, Norway
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- Board of directors
Management
Namir Hassan
Chief Executive Officer
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Namir Hassan joined Zelluna Immunotherapy in August 2018 to serve as Chief Scientific Officer and subsequently as Chief Executive Officer from 2019. He has over 15 years of biotech and pharma industry experience spanning target validation through to early phase clinical trials with most of that spent on Immunotherapies. Prior to joining Zelluna, Namir was a VP at Immunocore, responsible for creating and growing the infectious disease unit and pipeline as well as helping to secure up to $40M of funding for the organisation. During his tenure with the company, Namir was also responsible for overseeing and strategically expanding biology, preclinical, biomarkers and development for the Oncology portfolio as well as successfully leading, the first in human study with KIMMTRAK, the first ever T Cell Receptor (TCR) bispecific subsequently approved for the treatment of uveal melanoma.
Hans Vassgård Eid
Chief Financial Officer
About Hans Close
20+ years of experience within business development and venture- and private equity investments across multiple industries. Senior management positions within business development, most recently at PHARMAQ, the global leader within aquatic animal health. Consulting experience from McKinsey & Company.
Jens Bjørheim
Chief Medical Officer
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MD PhD with clinical oncology experience and scientific merits within immunology and cancer genetics. 15 years of experience from pharmaceutical industry in Headquarter, Nordic and Baltic positions in Pronova Biopharma (BASF), Novartis, Clavis Pharma and AstraZeneca.
Anders Holm
Chief Operating Officer and Head of Business Development
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Anders Holm joined Zelluna Immunotherapy in May 2017 and serves as Chief Operating Officer and Head of Business Development. He brings a combination of scientific knowledge and interest in immunology and immunotherapies with experience in licensing, IP strategy and financing. Prior to joining Zelluna, Anders was Technology Strategy Manager at Inven2 (technology transfer office of the Oslo University Hospital), where he built and led the scientific and commercial development of a large portfolio of early-stage drug development projects within immunology and immuno-oncology. Anders previously worked for 8 years as a scientist at the Institute of Immunology, Oslo University Hospital, primarily within the fields of autoimmunity and cancer. Anders received his PhD in analytical chemistry from the University of Oslo in 2004.
Luise Weigand
Head of Research
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Luise Weigand joined Zelluna Immunotherapy in January 2021 and serves as Head of Research. Prior to joining Zelluna, Luise was Associate Director Translational Medicine at Autolus, setting up and delivering clinical biomarker analysis for a couple of clinical trials. She was also responsible for leading two projects, which were in early stage clinical trials at cross functional level when joining Autolus. Luise previously spent over 7 years at Immunocore Ltd, where she built and led scientific teams from TCR discovery, through preclinical to early development. Luise received her PhD from the Technical University of Munich/Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen in cancer immunotherapy in 2011.
Emilie Gauthy
Head of Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls
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Emilie Gauthy joined Zelluna Immunotherapy in November 2022 and serves as Head of CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls). Prior to joining Zelluna, Emilie was Development and Validation Director at Celyad Oncology, leading the development of allogeneic CAR-T cell therapies from research to clinical manufacturing. During her 5 years at Celyad Oncology, she worked on several successful clinical trial applications in the EU and the US and was responsible for CDMO oversight and material selection. Emilie’s previous experiences encompass roles such as Quality Assurance for GSK vaccines development, and Project Management and Quality Control for contract manufacturers. Emilie obtained her PhD from the catholic University of Louvain/de Duve Institute in Brussels in 2013.
Øivind Foss
Head of Clinical Operations
About Øivind Close
15+ years of experience within clinical research and development from AstraZeneca, Clavis Pharma and Pharmalink Oncology (Calliditas Therapeutics AB). Previous Director of Clinical Operations at Pharmalink Oncology. Øivind Foss holds a Dr Scient degree in sport physiology from the Norwegian University of Sport and Physical Education.
Julia Ino
Head of Project Management
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Julia Ino joined Zelluna Immunotherapy in April 2018 and serves as Head of Project Management. Her experience includes diverse support roles in the cell therapy industry, in project and intellectual property management and in business development. Prior to joining Zelluna, Julia was product team leader at Bone Therapeutics (Belgium) where she was instrumental in drug development and overall strategy to deliver a cell therapy product. Julia received her PhD from Paris XIII/Inserm in regenerative medicine in 2012.
Board of directors
Anders Tuv
Chair of the New Board of Directors, co-founder
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Anders Tuv is the Managing Director of Radforsk Invest, a life science investment company with a focus on cutting edge immunotherapies and precision medicines. A seasoned entrepreneur and investment expert in the life sciences, Anders has driven strategic growth and value through operations,management, business development, global licensing, M&A, IPOs, trade sales and research collaborations. Anders is a co-founder of Zelluna and was the company`s first Chairperson. His leadership extends to previously chairing the boards of Nykode Therapeutics and Oncoimmunity and currently serving on the boards of ARTBIOAS,Nextera AS, OnDosisAB and ClexBio AS
Bent Jakobsen
Board member
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Bent Jakobsen is a pioneer of T cell receptor therapy for cancer with over two decades’ experience of establishing and providing scientific direction to leading T cell receptor companies such as Adaptimmune Therapeutics and Immunocore (both now listed on NASDAQ). In his academic career, Bent was Head of the Immune Receptor Group at the Oxford Institute of Molecular Medicine (1993 to 2000) and prior to this worked for the Danish Natural Research Council and at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of the Medical Research Council in Cambridge.
Bent is a visiting professor at University of Oxford, has authored numerous scientific papers and is considered a world expert in the field of T cell receptor immunology. In 2015, he was recognised for his contribution to medical science with an election to the Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences.
Eva-Lotta Allan
Board memeber
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Eva-Lotta has >30 years of cooperate, business development and operational experience from the biotechnology industry. During her five years as Immunocores CBO she raised $320 million in a series A round and established significant partnerships with top pharmaceutical companies. She was previously at Ablynx, as CBO for seven years participating in taking the company public and completed several strategic partnerships. Before that she was Senior Director Business Development and Site Operations (Europe) at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Eva-Lotta is currently Non-Executive Chair of Draupnir Bio and Maxion Therapeutics and Non-Executive Director of Almirall (and Chair of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee) and Crescendo Biologics. Previous board appointments include BIA, Aleta Biotherapeutics, Targovax, C4X Discovery, Immunocore, Isconova and Vertex Ltd.
Hans Ivar Robinson
Board member, co-founder
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Hans Ivar Robinson has 30 years professional experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry including more than 10 years with capital investments in the life science sector. He has held several leading international positions in AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Pronova Biopharma and several board positions in biotech companies, including being co-founder and chairman of Zelluna Immunotherapy and Nextera. His experience covers a broad range in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. This experience includes top management, commercial operations, business development, and broad experience in foundation and development of biotech companies from early nonclinical to clinical stages. He has extensive experience working with investors and investment banks including capital raising, private placements, mergers, and IPOs. Hans Ivar is the founder and CEO of Birk Venture and holds a M.Sc. from Norwegian School of Economics (NHH).
Charlotte Sofie Bergsagel Berg-Svendsen
Board member
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Charlotte Berg-Svendsen has broad professional experience across the life science industry from start-ups and Big Corporates within the biotech, medtech and pharmaceutical sectors. She has held leading international roles and board 2 / 2 positions in life science companies such as Pronova Biopharma ASA, BASF SE and Kappa Biosciences AS, including Chief Legal Officer and VP of Strategic Innovation and IP Management at Pronova and BASF, and Chief Commercial Officer in PreDiagnostics AS. She is currently CEO of Cruda AS and non-executive director at Vitux AS. Charlotte Berg-Svendsen holds a Master of Law (LLM) from the University of Oslo and an MBA from the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH).