Lovisa Afzelius is an origination partner at Flagship Pioneering and the former SVP of Strategy & Operations at Flagship-founded Cogen Immune Medicines, now known as Repertoire Immune Medicines. A computational scientist by training, she has two decades of leadership experience and a passion for data-driven drug discovery, from early inception to clinical development across multiple therapeutic areas.

Previously, Lovisa built and led Pfizer’s systems immunology function and served as executive director of clinical programs. In this role, she launched several Phase II studies across autoimmune indications and as a member of the Inflammation & Immunology Research Unit leadership team, Lovisa co-managed the portfolio from early target discovery to Phase II clinical trials across all immunological assets. In addition, she served on Pfizer’s Worldwide R&D Data Strategy Committee.

In 2017, Lovisa co-founded Elsa.science, a digital health company in the rheumatoid arthritis space where she serves as chairman of the board. She also serves on the board of the Swedish New England Chamber of Commerce. Before moving to the US in 2013, Lovisa was CEO of BioChromix Pharma.

Lovisa began her career at AstraZeneca as Project Director, Global In Vitro Metabolism Leader and Computational Chemist across cardiovascular, metabolic, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Lovisa has received numerous accolades for her work: she was included in the top 100 ​“most influential persons under age 40 in Sweden” by Affärsvärlden, and ​“scientist of tomorrow” at the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations’ 30th anniversary. Lovisa received the Rosenön Award for best thesis of the year within the field of pharmacodynamics/​pharmacokinetics in Sweden.

Lovisa holds a Ph.D. in computational chemistry from Uppsala University, a Master of Science in integrative pharmacology from Gothenburg University as well as an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Theonie is a principal at Flagship Pioneering where she conceives, builds and grows the science, intellectual property and business strategy that form the foundation of Flagship’s next breakthrough startups. She co-founded Alltrna and serves as its chief innovation officer. 

Prior to joining Flagship, Theonie completed her graduate studies in cell and molecular biology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focused on replication fork dynamics in the context of cancer development and therapeutics. Theonie has received several awards and has been granted multiple fellowships for her academic work, including an NIH NRSA Predoctoral Fellowship. During her graduate studies, Theonie held multiple leadership positions on Executive and Curriculum Committees. She also completed a Wharton Business Foundations Specialization and was a mentor at the yearly Larta Institute NIH CAP FeedForward Sessions. 

Theonie is a Business Advisory Board member of the Harvard Institute for RNA Medicine and a member of the Bioscience & Investor Inclusion Group (BIIG) Diverse Talent Network Group. Theonie’s work has resulted in multiple pending patents and publications, including articles in Nature Biotechnology, Molecular Cell and Journal of Biological Chemistry.

91. tRNA therapies, Lovisa Afzelius, Founding CEO, Theonie Anastassiadis, Co-founder & CIO, Alltrna

Synopsis: 

In this episode of Biotech 2050, Alex Martin, CEO of Abcuro, sits down with host Rahul Chaturvedi to share his inspiring journey from aspiring actor to biotech trailblazer. Alex reveals how his unique background shaped his leadership approach as he drives Abcuro’s groundbreaking work on Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM), a rare muscle disease with no current treatments. He offers valuable insights for biotech CEOs on navigating the complexities of fundraising, building mission-driven teams, and fostering productive relationships with boards. Tune in to discover how Alex is leading Abcuro to the forefront of biotech innovation and making a profound impact on patient lives.

Biography:

Alex Martin brings over 30 years of experience building companies and closing transactions in the biopharmaceutical industry. He was most recently Chief Executive Officer of Palladio Biosciences, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company which was acquired by Centessa Pharmaceuticals (CNTA), and previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Realm Therapeutics (RLM) which was acquired by ESSA Pharma (EPIX). He was also Chief Operating Officer of Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT), and Chief Finance Officer of BioXell (BXLN) which was acquired by Cosmo Pharmaceuticals (COPN). He began his career at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals where he held roles of increasing responsibility in marketing and business development and later joined Novartis as Vice President, Global Business Development & Licensing. Alex is an active coach and mentor to other senior executives, and a guest lecturer at Wharton and Columbia Business School on biotech, entrepreneurship, and raising capital. He holds a BA from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard.

Inside the Journey of Abcuro: CEO Alex Martin on Leadership, IBM, and the Future of Biotech

Biotech2050 Podcast is a think tank chronicling the disruptions changing the biotech industry over the next 50 years.

Inside the Journey of Abcuro: CEO Alex Martin on Leadership, IBM, and the Future of Biotech

Biotech2050 Podcast

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