UNION therapeutics further strengthens management team with medical and business development profiles
- Dr. Per Cantor, MD, DMSci, appointed as new Chief Medical Officer
- Mr. Eckhard Niemeier appointed as Chief Business Officer
- Mr. Mads Jellingsø promoted to Chief Commercial Officer
Hellerup, Denmark, 31 May 2021 – UNION therapeutics A/S, a privately held, multi-asset, clinical stage, pharmaceutical company focusing on infectious and inflammatory diseases, announces onboarding of Dr. Per Cantor, MD, DMSci, as the Chief Medical Officer, effective as of 1 April 2021. Also, as of 1 June 2021, Mr. Eckhard Niemeier, MSc Biotechnology, will join UNION as Chief Business Officer. At the same time, Mr. Mads Jellingsø is promoted to Chief Commercial Officer from his current position as VP, Commercial and Medical Affairs.
Per Cantor provides significant drug development expertise to UNION
Dr. Cantor brings over 30 years of experience and several significant accomplishments from the life science industry to UNION, where he will assume overall responsibility for UNION’s development programs across infectious and inflammatory diseases. Dr. Cantor has served as SVP of Clinical and Preclinical R&D at Ferring from 2006-2020, the last two years as Chief Scientific Officer in China, where he expanded the Ferring R&D organization and in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences established the Ferring Institute of Reproductive Medicine in Beijing with more than 100 scientists. Prior to Ferring, Per Cantor was 15 years at Eli Lilly in both Europe and at the Lilly Research Laboratories in the US, leading major clinical development programs mainly within endocrinology and Women’s Health. With his experience from every step of the R&D process, all the way from drug discovery, pre-clinical and clinical development, regulatory approval, product launch, and Life Cycle Management, Dr. Cantor will play an important role in advancing the pipeline of UNION.
Per Cantor said: “UNION has a strong clinical pipeline with the potential to make a huge difference to patients in major therapeutic areas. I am impressed with the company’s capabilities within medical and pharmaceutical innovation, taking a holistic and innovative view on the molecules’ potential across therapeutic areas, and look forward to contributing with my own experience of bringing novel drugs all the way to the patient.”
Eckhard Niemeier to advance strategic partnerships
Working almost 20 years with all stages of business development in the life science industry, Mr. Niemeier will be focusing on bringing UNION’s portfolio management to the next level. Eckhard Niemeier will join UNION from a position as SVP, Head of Business Development & Portfolio Management at Pieris Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:PIRS), where he was responsible for all business and corporate development activities including establishing strategic partnerships with AstraZeneca, Roche/Genentech, Seagen and Servier. Prior to joining Pieris, Eckhard Niemeier held senior business development positions in Gruenenthal GmbH and MorphoSys AG and spent more than five years with McKinsey & Co.
Eckhard Niemeier said: “UNION’s pipeline has been significantly expanded and matured over the last couple of years, and I look forward to contributing to further advancing it towards the multiple potential near-term value inflection points lying ahead. I am excited to be joining the company at such an important time and also look forward to exploring partnerships and other portfolio opportunities as an integrated part of UNION’s strategy.”
Mads Jellingsø promoted to Chief Commercial Officer
In his role as Chief Commercial Officer, Mads Jellingsø will assume the broader commercial responsibility for UNION’s pipeline, including the development and execution of road maps for commercialization of lead drug candidates. Mads joined UNION in 2018 from Novo Nordisk.
UNION therapeutics A/S
Morten Boesen, Chief Financial Officer
+45 2381 5487
morten.boesen@uniontherapeutics.com
Media enquiries
Jørgen Fischer Ravn, Point Communications
+45 2030 3903
About UNION therapeutics A/S
UNION therapeutics A/S is a privately held, clinical stage, pharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of novel treatments for inflammatory and infectious diseases. The company is working on two complementary chemistry classes spanning immunology and microbiology with seven programs in clinical development. UNION is headquartered in Hellerup (Denmark) and managed by an international team combining biotech entrepreneurs and senior pharma executives with a track record of more than 15 marketed drugs. Read more at www.uniontherapeutics.com