At Lipum’s Annual General Meeting on May 10, Carl-Johan Spak was elected as a new board member of Lipum. Carl-Johan is a senior advisor at Flerie Invest and will contribute with useful knowledge, his experience from the pharmaceutical industry and previous board assignments. BioStock talked to Carl-Johan Spak about his professional background and his expectations for the role in Lipum.

Lipum develops the drug candidate SOL-116, a monoclonal antibody that blocks Bile-Salt Stimulated Lipase (BSSL), which can inhibit inflammation in chronic inflammatory diseases. The candidate’s safety and tolerability are currently being evaluated in a phase I study on healthy volunteers and patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

According to Lipum’s Q1 report, the clinical study is progressing as planned. Dosing in the last dose group will be initiated shortly and the safety evaluations between the previous dose groups show that the candidate is safe and well tolerated. In the next stage, subjects will receive repeated doses of SOL-116.

Addition to the Board from Flerie Invest

In addition to advancement in the clinical study, Lipum has also strengthened the organisation by electing Carl-Johan Spak to the Board. Carl-Johan Spak is a senior advisor at Flerie Invest, the single largest shareholder in Lipum, with almost a third of the share capital.

Carl-Johan has previously held senior positions at Recipharm, Meda and Recip and is currently engaged as a board member in several life science companies, such as Xspray Pharma and EpiEndo. He also has an education as a dentist and a PhD in cariology and pharmacology from Karolinska Institutet.

Interview with Carl-Johan Spak

BioStock contacted Carl-Johan Spak to learn more about his previous experiences and his view of Lipum.

First of all, why is Lipum’s drug development interesting according to you?

– Lipum has a unique and innovative concept for the development of a new treatment in a very large therapeutic area. Imagine being involved in contributing to the development of a new and effective treatment for chronic inflammatory diseases! Although it will take a number of years to develop the new product, and a lot can happen along the way, you have to be positive that this particular project will succeed and that lots of patients can receive better treatment.

»Lipum has a unique and innovative concept for the development of a new treatment in a very large therapeutic area. Imagine being involved in contributing to the development of a new and effective treatment for chronic inflammatory diseases«

Which of your skills and experience do you hope can be useful on Lipum’s board?

– I hope to be able to contribute with experience from my board work in both listed and unlisted companies, several of which are in clinical phase. I usually say that I am a generalist who knows quite a lot about many different areas, everything from CMC to finance. I know that drug development is complicated and that it takes time. It is important to set relevant sub-goals, but at the same time, it must be clear even in the early development phase that the end goal is to launch a new drug that can provide better treatment.

»I hope to be able to contribute with experience from my board work in both listed and unlisted companies, several of which are in clinical phase. I usually say that I am a generalist who knows quite a lot about many different areas, everything from CMC to finance«

What milestones are you looking forward to Lipum achieving?

– I am really looking forward to seeing the phase I study end with good results. The next step will be a phase II study which will require new financing, according to the CEO’s statement from the Q1 report. I think most people know that the financing climate is still tough, but I believe that Lipum has a good foundation for being successful with this. I would also like to see the ownership base further strengthened with more knowledgeable and long-term owners.

Prenumerera på BioStocks nyhetsbrev