Nordic Life Science 1
TOP STORIES BUSINESS Malte Kuhnemund, co-founder
and EVP of R&D, Cartana strategy, LEO Pharma aims to increase its focus on new innovative solutions for medical dermatology. The company is aiming to launch a new innovative treatment every 2–3 years, it states. To support its ambitions, the LEO Foundation, its owner, is considering changing the company’s ownership structure. The LEO Foundation was established in 1984 with the purpose of ensuring LEO Pharma’s future as an independent, researchbased pharmaceutical company. It is one of the largest commercial foundations in Denmark. In line with the new strategy, the company has sold a portfolio of four non-core products to Cheplapharm for EUR 300 million. The divested portfolio comprises four products within bone disorders/nephrology, dermatology and gynecology: One-Alpha, Locoid, Pimafucin, and Zineryt. The annual turnover of the portfolio in 2019 amounted to approximately EUR 110 million. for a total of $41.2 million, which includes a $7 million earnout. Cartana, which is currently located at Karolinska Institutet, will continue to be based in Stockholm. “Our team has been focused on developing in situ technologies for a number of years, starting with work at Stockholm University and Karolinska Institute,” says Malte Kuhnemund, co-founder and EVP of R&D at Cartana. “We are thrilled to join 10x and become a part of their Swedish research center in Stockholm as we continue to build and deliver products for scientists around the globe.” Cartana, founded in 2017, is developing a technology that maps the brain based on cell analysis and image data with a resolution all the way down to the single cell level. The product, called NeuroKit, is an optimized reagent kit that enables the mapping of hundreds of genes and cell types via in situ sequencing (ISS) in a single tissue section with high throughput and high sensitivity. The company was able to increase the pace of its neurology product development and, at the same time, launched their second product in oncology in 2020. Cartana originated from the work from Mats Nilsson’s SciLife Lab at Stockholm University. In connection with the acquisitions, George Church and Mats Nilsson will become scientific advisors to 10x Genomics. Anders Kronborg, CFO, LEO Pharma 14 NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG PHOTO © MARIE SPARRÉUS