Ian Laquian M.Sc. MBA – CEO
Mr. Laquian is an active life science entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in building companies, franchises, portfolios and products. He has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry assuming senior roles within R&D, Business Development, and Marketing while at Nycomed/Takeda. His main area of focus is CNS disorders and was critical in developing Takeda Pharmaceuticals’ CNS therapeutic area strategy and portfolio, overseeing the development of key assets in dementia, schizophrenia, and Parkinson’s Disease, and directing R&D and commercial efforts for Takeda/Lundbeck’s marquee antidepressant Brintellix. Currently Mr. Laquian works as an Executive-in-Residence at Novo Holdings, Scandinavia’s largest venture fund, providing operational, strategic, and board support for a number of CNS focused biotech companies.
Dr. Christian Hölscher PhD – CSO
Dr. Holscher is a professor of neuroscience at the Henan University of Chinese Medicine, China. His group is pioneering the development of novel drug treatments for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease, with specific focus on researching the interaction between diabetes and neurodegeneration, leading to the discovery of the neuroprotective properties of incretin analogues. A key opinion leader authoring over 180 scientific publications and two books, his research has been funded by the Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Cure Parkinson’s Trust, Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, and The Wellcome Trust. Dr. Holscher is a recent recipient of a Lundbeckfonden visiting professorship to Copenhagen University and is also a visiting professor at Shanxi Medical University in Taiyuan, China, where extensive research in animal models of neurodegeneration is ongoing.
Dr. Thomsen is an expert drug developer with extensive experience garnered from a successful career in large pharmaceutical companies and startup biotechs. Dr. Thomsen has held senior clinical pharmacology roles with Novo Nordisk and Novartis and his teams were some of the first ever to test GLP-1 analogues in humans. He has co-founded and directed a multitude of successful biotech companies, including Parkinson’s Disease focused Contera Pharma, acquired by Bukwang Pharma in 2014. Dr. Thomsen holds a PhD in Pharmacology & Toxicology from the University of Copenhagen, and a degree in Pharmaceutical Medicine (ECPM) from the University of Basel.