[Hørsholm, September 6, 2024] – Contera Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage biotech company developing innovative therapies to treat neurological disorders, is pleased to announce key changes to its leadership team. These strategic appointments underscore the company’s commitment to advancing clinical excellence, financial integrity, and scientific innovation.
Contera Pharma has welcomed Dr. Anne Birk Østerskov as Chief Medical Officer to enhance its clinical development efforts, promoted Kathrine Baisgaard Bjerno to Chief Financial Officer to drive Contera Pharma’s financial strategy and ensure seamless investor relations, and advanced Søren Rasmussen to Chief Scientific Officer to drive the discovery of groundbreaking therapies for neurological diseases.
Anne Birk Østerskov brings over a decade of experience from Novo Nordisk, LEO Pharma, and Hedia. Anne has an extensive background in clinical drug development, having led global clinical programs and played a pivotal role in establishing a Medical & Science Hub in the U.S. Her expertise in clinical development, regulatory strategy, and strategic leadership will be instrumental in driving Contera Pharma’s pipeline towards commercialization and improving patient care.
Kathrine Baisgaard Bjerno joined Contera Pharma earlier in 2024 as VP – Finance following more than a decade at H. Lundbeck A/S in positions across Finance, Executive Management support and Business Development. Leveraging her experience from finance, M&A valuations and from leading company-wide strategy projects, Kathrine will drive Contera Pharma’s financial strategy, ensure robust financial planning to support critical milestones and facilitate seamless investor relations.
Søren Vestergaard Rasmussen served as Vice President and Head of Research Technology & Innovation at Contera, where he has been instrumental in establishing Contera Pharma’s preclinical project portfolio within CNS drug discovery. His previous tenure at Roche included roles as Senior Principal Scientist and Technology Officer, where he advanced Roche’s antisense technology platforms within CNS and as technical project lead progressed antisense oligonucleotides to clinical development. Søren’s innovative mindset and leadership in drug discovery will drive Contera Pharma’s scientific strategy and development of novel treatments.
Anders Brandt Elvang continues in his current role as COO & Head of Business Development.
“We are thrilled to bring together our new leadership team, which brings decades of expertise. We have assembled a dynamic team with a strong ambition to advance our mission of developing transformative treatments for neurological disorders”, said Thomas Sager, CEO, Contera Pharma. “The new management team will stay focused on our key deliverables on progressing our advanced pipeline while further consolidating our RNA technology platform and the unique projects we have – while doing this we will continue our search for additional business partners”.
About Contera Pharma A/S
Contera Pharma A/S is focused on developing new treatments for people suffering from neurological disorders. Contera Pharma’s science is based on a precision medicine approach integrating external and internal data sources to support rational selection of human disease-validated drug discovery targets to identify novel pipeline opportunities within neurological disorders. The company’s lead assets, CP-012, is currently approaching Phase Ib clinical testing for Parkinson’s disease nocturnal immobility and morning akinesia. Contera Pharma was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Hørsholm, Denmark.
