Press Release
Andrew Hotchkiss joins Draupnir Bio as Chief Executive Officer
Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark, 23 June 2021 – Draupnir Bio (“Draupnir”), a biotechnology company developing small molecule modulators of PCSK9 to transform the treatment of heart disease, today announces the appointment of Andrew Hotchkiss as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Andrew brings more than 30 years of global experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. He joins Draupnir from Dermira, a dermatology-focused biopharmaceutical company now wholly-owned by Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly), where he served as CEO and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). Before leading Dermira, Andrew was CCO and Interim CEO at Immunocore, a biotechnology company developing T cell receptor bispecific immunotherapies.
Andrew spent over three decades in a succession of global leadership positions at Lilly where he managed key geographies (US, Europe, Australia, Canada) and cross-functional units spanning a broad range of therapeutic areas including diabetes, immunology, dermatology, oncology, neuroscience and infectious diseases. During his career he has served on various industry trade association boards, including as Chairman of the European Markets Committee at the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) and, most recently, as a board member of the UK BioIndustry Association (BIA).
Eva-Lotta Allan, Chair of Draupnir Bio, said: “Andrew is an exceptional leader and the ideal candidate to head Draupnir. With his decades-strong track record of biopharmaceutical leadership and the successful execution of corporate and commercial strategies across multiple therapies, his insights and expertise will be critical as we build Draupnir.
“Andrew’s appointment as CEO, together with the appointment of Rob Scott MD to the Board, signals our determination to leverage the Company’s novel approach and deliver on our ambitious mission to transform the treatment of heart disease. Rob is the former Chief Medical Officer of AbbVie and former Head of Cardiovascular Development at Amgen, where he developed and launched the first therapeutic antibody against PCSK9 in 2015.
“On behalf of the Board I would like to recognise our co-founders Simon Glerup PhD and Camilla Gustafsen PhD, and the management team for the progress Draupnir has made since it was formed in 2017. Particular thanks go to Simon who has successfully steered the Company until now as Draupnir’s CEO. In his new role as Chief Scientific Officer and Board Director, Simon will lead Draupnir’s preclinical research organisation to create and advance an innovative pipeline.”
Andrew Hotchkiss commented: “Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in developed and underdeveloped countries, and there is a need for novel therapeutics to go beyond the existing standards of care and transform the treatment of heart disease for a wide range of patients. I am excited to be leading a company with this mission and look forward to working with the talented team at Draupnir to achieve success.”
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For more information, please contact:
Draupnir Bio
Andrew Hotchkiss, Chief Executive Officer
info@draupnir.bio
Consilium Strategic Communications
David Daley, Genevieve Wilson, Alexander Bridge
Phone: +44 (0)20 3709 5700
Email: draupnirbio@consilium-comms.com
Notes to editors
About Draupnir Bio
Draupnir Bio is a Danish biotechnology company developing small molecule therapeutics to transform the treatment of heart disease, based on proprietary structural insights and the biology of Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin Kexin Type 9 (PCSK9), a protein that enables a key step in the control of plasma low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) levels. The company was founded in 2017 as a spin-out from Aarhus University, Denmark, and the Max Planck Society, Germany. Backed by a syndicate of leading European investors, in 2019 Draupnir Bio completed a Series A funding round, raising €30 million Euros with participation from Gilde Healthcare Partners, Inkef Capital, Novo Seeds and High-Tech Gründerfonds. The company is headquartered in Copenhagen, with research operations centered in Aarhus, Denmark.
For more, visit our website at draupnir.bio and follow us on LinkedIn.