Idogen appoints Åsa Schiött as new Chief Scientific Officer and Vicki Venizelos as Chief Regulatory Officer
Idogen AB (”Idogen”) announced today that the company, following a thorough recruitment process, has decided to appoint Åsa Schiött as the new Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) in connection with Hanne Risager Romedahl leaving her position for another external assignment. Ahead of the start of production of the company’s product to be used in the first clinical trial of the tolerogenic cell therapy IDO 8 in patients with hemophilia A, which is expected to commence in the spring of 2021, Vicki Venizelos has also joined the Management Group as the new Chief Regulatory Officer (CRO).
Hanne Risager Romedahl is leaving Idogen after two years in her role as CSO and moving on to new international assignments. She has played a valuable role during her time at the company and implemented crucial improvements to the processes for Idogen’s tolerogenic cell therapy. Under her leadership, development projects have reached a number of decisive milestones and have now successfully been passed on to Radboud University for manufacturing of the product ahead of clinical trials.
“I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Hanne Risager Romedahl, who has made significant contributions during her time at the company. The Board and I would like to wish her all the best with her new challenges moving forward. At the same time, I am happy to appoint Åsa Schiött as the successor in this role. Åsa will bring important knowledge and competence for the company’s continued product development. Ahead of the company’s upcoming clinical trials, we have also chosen to strengthen the company’s regulatory competence through the recruitment of Vicki Venizelos. All in all, we are well positioned ahead of several important milestones for both this year and future years,” says Anders Karlsson, CEO of Idogen.
The company has appointed Åsa Schiött as the successor in the CSO post. She carries a doctorate in immunology, a wealth of knowledge on Idogen’s main field of study, dendritic cells, as well as many years of experience within drug development. Most recently, Åsa Schiött worked at Hansa Biopharma, where she filled an important function in the company’s drug development programme as the Head of Immunology. During her five years at the company, she participated in several development projects, from pre-clinical research to the completion of a clinical phase II trial. As CSO, Åsa Schiött will lead the team and the continued development work of Idogen’s unique cell therapy treatments. She will take up her post on 30 September 2020 at the latest.
“I am extremely pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to the continued development of Idogen’s cell therapies, which have the potential to improve the lives of several large groups of patients who do not have access to well-functioning treatments today,” says Åsa Schiött, incoming CSO at Idogen.
As part of preparations ahead of the company’s first clinical trial involving patients with hemophilia A – which is expected to commence during the first half of 2021 – Vicki Venizelos has joined the Idogen Management Group as CRO. Vicki Venizelos has many years of experience within regulatory affairs in general, and within cell therapy. Since February this year, Vicki has worked as an expert consultant for Idogen within this area and has experience from both big pharma and smaller companies within cell therapy on her merit list.
“I look forward to contributing with my knowledge of regulatory processes and issues within cell therapy ahead of the company’s forthcoming clinical trial in hemophilia A patients,” says Vicki Venizelos, new CRO at Idogen.
For further information, please contact:
Anders Karlsson, CEO, Idogen AB
Tel: +46 70 918 00 10
E-mail: anders.karlsson@idogen.com
Certified Adviser
The company’s Certified Adviser is Erik Penser Bank AB.
Contact information: Erik Penser Bank AB, Box 7405, SE-103 91 Stockholm; tel: +46 (0)8-463 80 00, e-mail: certifiedadviser@penser.se.
Idogen (Nasdaq First North Growth Market: IDOGEN) develops tolerogenic cell therapies to prevent the patient’s immune system from attacking biological agents, transplanted organs or the body's own cells or tissues. The company’s most advanced project, IDO 8, is designed to restore the efficacy of hemophilia drugs in patients who have developed neutralising antibodies. The company’s second project, IDO T, is being developed to prevent kidney transplant rejection. In a third programme, IDO AID, Idogen is focused on the treatment of autoimmune diseases. The treatment for all indications is based on the patient's own cells and is expected to have a favourable safety profile and long-lasting effect. The potential for a short-term treatment to yield a long-term effect is a major advantage in health economics for both patients and divisions providing care.