Ilya Pharma, a clinical stage gene therapy company, has announced Sylvia McBrinn has joined the Board, while Oskar Lund has been appointed Chief Financial Officer. Both join at a pivotal stage in the company’s development, it says. Recent positive results from the first-in-human trial of its lead candidate ILP100 for treating difficult and chronic wounds point to a superior alternative to the only two other pharmaceuticals currently approved for this indication.
McBrinn is a recognised commercialisation expert with more 30 years of experience in the BioPharma industry for companies including Pfizer and Vernalis. Most recently she co-founded Axerion Therapeutics (now ReNetX Bio) and led the company as CEO and Board Director to a successful deal with MedImmune. McBrinn also mentored and advised the Rebiotix team through late-stage clinical developments and acquisition by Ferring in 2018. Her therapeutic experience spans neurology, inflammation and rheumatology, pain, infectious diseases, microbiome and urology.
Lund comes to Ilya from Disruptive Materials, a Swedish nanotech start up, bringing a strong track record of fund raising combined with financial management and strategic business development experience in the private, corporate and public sectors, including Paribas and JP Morgan.
“We are delighted to have attracted such high caliber people to these senior positions,” said Evelina Vågesjö, Ilya Pharma’s CEO. “Following the recently released FIH data, we have now already stepped up a gear. Sylvia will help us set priorities for the multiple exciting opportunities lying ahead, while Oskar will be able to direct our major upcoming financing rounds.”