Athera Biotechnologies AB

STOCKHOLM, May 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Betagenon AB, a Sweden-based company focused on development of AMPK activator compounds, today announced that James Hall BM, BCh, D.Phil has joined this month as CEO. Dr. Hall brings extensive senior healthcare and life science experience, including 12 years with AstraZeneca. While there, he held a number of commercial, R&D and Business Development roles, including VP Global Marketing for the CV/GI Therapy Area, Global Product VP for Crestor and VP Evaluation for the CV/Metabolism/Renal Therapy Area. Prior to this he was a member of the Pharmaceutical/Medical Products practice at McKinsey & Co. He has a BM, BCh in Clinical Medicine and a D.Phil in Cell Physiology from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar. Prof. Thomas Edlund, Ph.D., founder of Betagenon, will lead the ongoing scientific interrogation of the target as the Chief Scientific Officer, and joins the Board of Betagenon this month. "I am incredibly excited to join Betagenon as we build on the scientific leadership of Thomas and the team, and drive to clinical proof of concept and show what direct activation of AMPK can deliver to patients," said James. "Having known James professionally for a number of years, I am delighted that he has agreed to take the company and program forward in this next stage of development," said Thomas. Betagenon also announced that Dr. Gunnar Olsson, MD, Ph.D, has been elected as Chairman of the Board at the recent AGM. Dr. Olsson brings more than 30 years' experience in drug development, including 25 years at AstraZeneca. While at AstraZeneca Dr. Olsson held a number of senior roles in Global R&D including Senior VP and leader of the CV & GI Therapy Area. He certified in Cardiology and Internal Medicine in hospitals associated to Karolinska Institutet, where he was adjunct professor for 12 years. In recent years Dr Olsson has worked with innovative biotech companies in the Scandinavian region as board member or advisor. He is currently Chairman of the Board of IRLAB AB and Athera Biotechnologies AB and is a member of the Board of Gesynta AB. Dr. Olsson succeeds Andreas Nordberg as Chairman. Mr. Nordberg will continue as a member of the Board. Betagenon is a clinical stage company that develops its proprietary first in class AMPK activators as therapies for diseases and conditions associated with the global epidemic in metabolic disorders and an aging population. For more information, contact: James Hall, CEO Betagenon AB james.hall@betagenon.com This information was brought to you by Cision The following files are available for download: View original content: SOURCE Betagenon AB

Biotech company Athera announce the closing of new share issue, raising in total 55 million SEK from current major shareholders including Industrifonden and Östersjöstiftelsen, together with new shareholders from the Sciety network of investors. Biotech company Athera announce the closing of new share issue, raising in total 55 million SEK from current major shareholders including Industrifonden and Östersjöstiftelsen , together with new shareholders from the Sciety network of investors. The new capital will be used for a clinical Phase 2 study and Athera aims for partnering with a larger industry actor when the study is completed. Athera develops a candidate for indications within cardiovascular disease, where current treatment is insufficient. Following completion of three Phase 1 studies, the company has now raised the capital for completion of a clinical Proof-of-Concept Phase 2 study, with the aim to close an agreement with a larger pharmaceutical company once the study is complete. Eleven hospitals are participating in the Phase 2 study and the first patient was treated a couple of weeks ago. “Athera has a therapeutic antibody and now aims to generate Proof-of-Concept data in an indication with great medical need, through a mechanism reducing vascular inflammation.” said Athera Chairman Gunnar Olsson. ”Addressing inflammation following treatment for acute myocardial infarction in high risk patients could contribute to improved outcome by decreasing the risk for heart failure.”. In the issue of new shares to finance the study, current major shareholders Industrifonden, Linc AB och Östersjöstiftelsen participated. Sciety has supported the process to raise the capital and the introduction of new investors from the Sciety-network. ”Athera is in the frontline of this area and are well positioned for a partnering agreement with an industry actor within a couple of years and this is very attractive for us and our investment network”, says Andreas Lindblom, CEO at Sciety. ”Athera decided to work with Sciety for their effective process to raise capital combined with their competence in life sciences and a strong investor network. With the help of Sciety we could complete the new issue of shares in a short time. Both management and major shareholders are very pleased with the collaboration”, says Carina Schmidt, CEO at Athera. For more information, contact: Carina Schmidt, CEO, Athera Biotechnologies AB Phone: +46 (0)76 1938 190, email: c.schmidt@athera.se About Athera Biotechnologies AB The mission of Athera is to address the large unmet need for anti-inflammatory therapeutics in the treatment of cardiovascular disease, with focus on the therapeutic antibody ATH3G10. Major shareholders in Athera are Industrifonden, The Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies (Östersjöstiftelsen) and Linc AB. For more information: About Sciety AB Sciety is a specialized corporate finance firm that wants life science innovations to reach their full potential and create value. We review and select unlisted growth companies in the life science sector and make them available for investment from our member network. For more information:

November , 2014 By Jessica Wilson , BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff Athera Biotechnologies today announced that Boehringer Ingelheim would not exercise its option to license Athera ’s cardiovascular antibody, PC-mAb. In June 2013, Boehringer Ingelheim obtained an exclusive option to acquire Athera ’s entire new preclinical antibody program for an undisclosed sum. PC-mAb, a fully human monoclonal antibody intended to treat patients with cardiovascular disease, is the focus of the program. “ Athera ’s ongoing Phase I study with PC-mAb will proceed as planned and the co-financing of future development costs through the EU FP7 program CARDIMMUN is not affected by Boehringer Ingelheim ’s decision,” said Athera in a statement. The EU FP7 program, also known as the Seventh Framework Program for Research , awarded a €6 million (about $7.5 million) grant to the CARDIMMUN consortium, which includes Athera , Leiden University Medical Center ( LUMC ), Turku PET Center ( Turku University ), CTC Clinical Trial Consultants AB , and Smerud Medical Research , for the antibody program development. According to Athera , Boehringer Ingelheim ’s decision resulted from a “re-focus in its [BI’s] corporate R&D strategy.” A reporter from GEN , Alex Philippidis , spoke to Boehringer spokeswoman Julia Meyer-Kleinmann today about BI ’s cardiovascular therapeutic plans in general. Philippidis quoted Meyer-Kleinmann as saying , “We will not in any way cut down on our own R&D in cardiovascular.” Meyer-Kleinmann also said, “ BI regularly undergoes the evaluation of its R&D and pipeline activities. As a consequence of such refocusing, we have decided to not execute the option that we had for a potential partnership with Athera .” The timing of BI’s decision could be significant. Athera released information less than a month ago that it had dosed its first patients in the Phase I study of PC-mAb. The study is planned to include 48 healthy volunteers in a single ascending dose protocol with safety outcome measures and is being run by CTC Clinical Trial Consultants AB in Uppsala, Sweden. CEO Carina Schmidt acknowledged the benefits of the relationship with BI up to this point. “ Boehringer Ingelheim ’s vast experience and resources within the cardiovascular field has significantly contributed to the successful progress of PC-mAb into the clinical development stage,” Schmidt was quoted as saying in the press release. She continued by saying, “We will now pursue work within the EU FP7 project CARDIMMUN, aiming to generate proof-of-activity data, and Athera will initiate activities to secure a new strategic partner for the later phases of clinical development and commercialization.” var switchTo5x=true; stLight.options({publisher: "0341611e-38a4-415d-9e18-75e093ff27e0", doNotHash: false, doNotCopy: false, hashAddressBar: false});