Newly appointed VP of Business Development and SVP of Clinical Development each bring to Sanifit over 20 years of industry experience
Palma, Spain and San Diego, USA, 01 June 2020 – Sanifit, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for calcification disorders, is delighted to announce two new appointments to its Executive leadership team, with immediate effect. Hans Christian Keller joins the Company as Vice President of Business Development, and Laura Williams as Senior Vice President of Clinical Development.
Hans Christian is a highly experienced executive with over 20 years of experience in business development and commercial roles within the global pharmaceutical industry. Hans Christian joins Sanifit from H. Lundbeck A/S, where he served as Senior Director of Global Business Development since 2015, following seven years in business development positions of increasing responsibility. During his time at Lundbeck, Hans Christian was involved in numerous transactions covering academic organizations and both small and large pharmaceutical and biotech companies, including in- and out-licensing, M&A, asset acquisition and equity deals for projects/products in development and at commercial stages. His notable deal experience includes working as lead negotiator on the acquisition of Alder Biopharmaceuticals by Lundbeck in 2019. Hans Christian obtained a Graduate Business Diploma (HD-O), at Copenhagen Business School following the completion of his MSc in Chemical Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark.
Laura joins Sanifit with over 20 years of experience in both early and late phase drug development across a broad range of therapeutic areas. In her previous role, Laura served as Senior Vice President and Head of Clinical Development and Biostatistics at AMAG Pharma since 2017. In this capacity Laura oversaw the clinical development strategy for numerous clinical compounds, including conducting ongoing due diligence on the development of several products, in addition to successfully obtaining FDA marketing approval for bremelanotide (Vyleesi) for hypoactive sexual desire disorder. Prior to joining AMAG Laura spent 18 years at AbbVie (formerly Abbott Laboratories) in roles of increasing responsibility, leading clinical development programs across multiple therapeutic areas that spanned all phases of drug development. Laura studied at the University of Iowa College of Medicine where she obtained her MD, before becoming a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology at the University of Washington where she also completed a fellowship in infectious diseases.
Joan Perelló, Chief Executive Officer of Sanifit, commented: “I am delighted to be welcoming Hans Christian and Laura to the Sanifit team. Their appointments bring extensive experience and expertise to greatly strengthen our business and clinical operations, as we progress the development of our calcification therapies. Hans Christian and Laura will be integral in guiding Sanifit forward as we move increasingly closer to bringing these life-changing treatments to patients, and we are excited to be working with them.”
For further enquiries:
Sanifit
Joan Perelló, CEO
Antonio Jiménez, VP Operations
For media enquiries:
Consilium Strategic Communications
Amber Fennell, Chris Welsh, Nicholas Brown, Sarah Wilson
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5700
Email: sanifit@consilum-comms.com
About Sanifit
Sanifit is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for calcification disorders. The company launched in 2007 as a spin-off from the University of the Balearic Islands and expanded its activities to the USA in 2016 with the incorporation of a subsidiary with offices in San Diego, CA. The company’s lead asset, SNF472, has successfully completed a Phase 2 proof of concept study in calciphylaxis, and showed a significant reduction in progression of coronary calcification in a Phase 2b study among hemodialysis patients. A Phase 3 pivotal study in calciphylaxis is currently underway. Sanifit has raised approximately $130M, including a 2019 Series D round of $61.8M (€55.2M) in mid-2019. For more information please visit http://www.sanifit.com.