Naarden, The Netherlands, 4 September 2019 – NorthSea Therapeutics B.V., (‘NST’) a Dutch biotech company developing novel and innovative strategies for the treatment of NASH and other metabolic, inflammatory and fibrotic diseases, today announces the appointment of Mats Blom as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Mr Blom joined NorthSea Therapeutics on 3 September 2019, and brings significant experience, having worked in senior financial management roles for both public and private life sciences companies. He was CFO at Zealand Pharma for nine years, during which time, it listed on Nasdaq OMX Copenhagen and on Nasdaq Global Markets in New York. Prior to that, Mr Blom was CFO at Swedish Orphan International (now a part of SOBI). Mats has an MBA from IESE in Barcelona and holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Lund University.
Rob de Ree, CEO of NorthSea Therapeutics, commented:
“Mats has extensive experience as a CFO and a solid track record in both private and public funding, in both Europe and the US. I am confident that his experience will help us to further develop the Company and its promising SEFA pipeline.”
Mats Blom, CFO of NorthSea Therapeutics, commented:
“NorthSea Therapeutics is an ambitious company with a promising pipeline of first-in-class therapeutics for important indications of unmet medical need – as shown by it securing €25m of funding for its novel NASH drug, icosabutate. I am looking forward to joining such a strong team and contributing to the Company’s future success.”
-Ends-
For further information:
NorthSea Therapeutics B.V.
Rob de Ree (CEO)
E-mail: rob.deree@northseatherapeutics.com
Tel: +31 35 699 3000
Media Contact:
Instinctif Partners
Dr Christelle Kerouedan / Melanie Toyne-Sewell
E-mail: NorthSea@instinctif.com
Tel: +44 20 7457 2020
Notes to Editors
About NorthSea Therapeutics
NorthSea Therapeutics B.V.(NST) is a Dutch biotech company focused on developing structurally engineered fatty acids (‘SEFAs’) for the treatment of inflammatory, metabolic and liver diseases. NST licensed the rights to its lead compound icosabutate and a library of discovery- and pre-clinical-stage SEFAs from Pronova BioPharma Norge AS, who developed Omacor, a blockbuster cardiovascular drug. Icosabutate has been found safe and effective in two prior phase 2 clinical studies for treatment of hypertriglyceridemia and is currently in clinical development for NASH; a phase 2b study was commenced in July 2019 (ICONA) to study the efficacy of icosabutate in NASH. NST is a Dutch company, backed by Forbion Capital, Novo Seeds, BGV and NSV. Its employees are also based in the UK and Norway.
www.northseatherapeutics.com
About NASH
NASH is liver inflammation and damage caused by a buildup of fat in the liver. It is the advanced stage of a group of conditions called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which start with fatty liver and insulin resistance. Although a similar condition can occur in people who abuse alcohol, NASH occurs in those who drink little to no alcohol. It is frequently associated with insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and elevated BMI. An estimated 15-30% of the population suffers from NAFLD and 10-15% thereof may advance to NASH representing ~ 15-30 million patients in the six major markets. Further disease progression leads to fibrosis and cirrhosis with high risk for liver failure, hepatocellular cancer and need for liver transplantation.