Pharmalink AB Announces the Appointment of a New Chief Executive Officer

STOCKHOLM, May 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Pharmalink AB, a specialty pharmaceutical company, announces the appointment of Renee Aguiar-Lucander as Chief Executive Officer.

Pharmalink has appointed Ms Aguiar-Lucander to lead the Company's expansion and strategic development, following the clinical success to date of Nefecon^®: a Phase 3 ready compound with orphan designation. Ms Aguiar-Lucander will, in conjunction with the Pharmalink team, pursue a range of initiatives, including raising private or public capital for the Phase 3 trial, expanding the Company's development platform, in-licensing of additional compounds as well as partnering. Pharmalink's current CEO, Dr Johan Häggblad, will take on the role of COO and will continue to lead clinical and product development.

Prior to joining Pharmalink Ms. Aguiar-Lucander was Partner and COO of Omega Fund Management, an international healthcare fund based in Boston. She was previously a Partner at the venture group of 3i Group plc, where she managed the European and US legacy healthcare and technology portfolios, and had responsibility for the group's public holdings.

Prior to this Ms. Aguiar-Lucander was European Group Head and Managing Director at a US based global investment bank. She has more than 12 years of corporate finance experience, including merger and acquisitions, corporate restructurings and raising private and public capital for growth companies in Europe and the US. She has held senior management positions in a technology growth company and has significant corporate board experience in both private and public companies. Ms Aguiar-Lucander holds a BA in Finance from Stockholm School of Economics and a MBA from INSEAD.

Lennart Hansson of Industrifonden, Pharmalink's lead investor representative, said: "We are delighted with the appointment of Renee as CEO at Pharmalink. Her appointment comes at a key time for the Company, now that it has completed its highly successful NEFIGAN Phase 2b clinical trial with Nefecon^® in patients with IgA nephropathy at risk of end stage renal disease. This is an exciting time for Pharmalink, as it prepares for the start of its Phase 3 study with Nefecon^®."

"I am excited to take up the CEO position at Pharmalink and join a team which has achieved truly exciting clinical results in the NEFIGAN trial. The company is well positioned to see accelerated growth and expansion through work with clinicians, KOLs and regulators to bring products to the market which address unmet medical needs, and make a true difference to patients and their families." said Renee Aguiar-Lucander. 

About Pharmalink AB 

Pharmalink is a specialty pharmaceutical company developing high value products for patients with significant unmet medical needs. With a highly experienced, dynamic management team, Pharmalink draws on its extensive experience of pharmaceutical development and marketing to efficiently identify and progress valuable and de-risked products. Visit www.pharmalink.se for further information.

About Nefecon^® 

Nefecon^® is an investigational treatment for patients with primary IgA nephropathy (primary IgAN) at risk of developing ESRD. Nefecon^® has successfully completed a randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2b study in 149 primary IgAN patients (full analysis set) at risk of developing ESRD, under standardized rigorous blood pressure control with an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) and/or angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB). A Phase 3 registration trial is being planned.

Nefecon^® is an oral, targeted-release and locally acting formulation of the potent corticosteroid, budesonide, that down-regulates the disease process in the kidney through suppression of the gastrointestinal immune system thus exploiting the pivotal role the gastrointestinal tract plays in the overall immune response. Promising results indicate that treatment with Nefecon^® may provide clinical benefits to primary IgAN patients at risk of progressing to ESRD, and provide an alternative to dialysis and transplantation. Nefecon^® has received orphan drug designation in primary IgAN by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

About IgA Nephropathy 

IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common form of glomerulonephritis (inflammation of the kidney glomeruli). The disease is characterized by deposits, predominantly containing polymeric IgA antibody, in the kidney that cause inflammation and renal damage.

IgAN can occur at any age, but the clinical onset is commonly during the second or third decades of life. It has been estimated that up to 40% of patients with primary IgAN progress to renal failure, often referred to as ESRD within 5-30 years following diagnosis. This patient population is estimated to at least 200,000 in major markets.

Patients suffering renal failure require dialysis or kidney transplantation. Primary IgAN accounts for 10% of renal transplants among patients with primary glomerulonephritis in the US and between 7-20% of patients in Europe and Australia in long-term dialysis and renal transplantation programs.

For further information, please contact:

Pharmalink AB:

Renee Aguiar-Lucander
Chief Executive Officer
+46-(0)-72-252-1006
Email: renee.lucander@pharmalink.se

Anders Hultman
Chief Financial Officer,
+46-(0)-76-629-6990
Email: anders.hultman@pharmalink.se

www.pharmalink.se

Citigate Dewe Rogerson (for Pharmalink):
Mark Swallow/ Pip Batty
+44-(0)-20-7638-9571
Email: pharmalink@citigatedr.co.uk