About us

Born 1952. Catharina Bäärnhielms has a long experience from a variety of senior positions in the pharmaceutical industry, e.g., as Vice President and Global Project Director at AstraZeneca. Her experience covers all phases of the drug development process, from idea to finished drug. Catharina Bäärnhielm has extensive knowledge in global research and development strategies for both small molecules and biologics in various disease areas and extensive experience of running collaborations between industry and academia. Catharina Bäärnhielm is a pharmacist and holds a Ph.D. in pharmacokinetics and drug metabolism from Uppsala University. Member of the Board of Råövind AB. Catharina Bäärnhielm is independent of the company, the company management and of major shareholders as defined by the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance.

Shareholding: 904 514 B shares and 333 333 warrants

Born 1953. Björn Dahlöf has extensive experience in cardiovascular research, pharmacology, drug development, and clinical trials (all phases) and has lectured in these areas internationally. Adviser to small and large pharmaceutical companies regarding drug development in all phases from preclinical development to larger lifecycle management studies after registration. Björn Dahlöf has initiated and led several major national and multinational mortality and morbidity studies that have had significance for guidelines in cardiovascular prevention and authored over 400 scientific publications. Björn Dahlöf is medical doctor from the University of Gothenburg, internal medicine physician and associate professor at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, University of Gothenburg. Member of the Board of PEXA AB, Goldwater Sweden AB. Chairman of the Board of BD Medical Consulting AB. Owner of BD Medical Consulting AB. Björn Dahlöf is dependent of the company, the company management and independent of major shareholders as defined by the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance.  

Shareholding: 1 008 079 B shares, 123 920 A shares and 444 444 warrants

Born 1954. Sverker Jern is one of the founders of Cereno Scientific AB. He is a physician and Professor of Cardiovascular Physiology at the University of Gothenburg. It is Sverker Jern’s research at the Wallenberg Laboratory for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research at the Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg, which discovered the molecular mechanisms that control the body's inherent protection against blood clots. These basic research findings are utilized in Cereno's development programs. Sverker Jern has also been in charge of ECG analysis in several of the largest international cardiovascular intervention studies. Sverker Jern holds a B.A., M.D., Ph.D., and is a Specialist in Clinical Physiology, Associate professor, Professor and a University Hospital Chief Physician at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, University of Gothenburg. Researcher at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg and CEO of Jern Medical AB and Jern Diagnostics AB. Sverker Jern is independent of the company, the company management and of major shareholders as defined by the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance.

Shareholding: 1 034 583 A shares, 232 760 B shares and 111 111 warrants

Born 1954. Lena Mårtensson Wernrud has been working in the Life Science area in different management level positions since 1984 and has also been a tutor of several doctoral candidates. Among her positions include Head of Preclinical Unit at Gambro AB, Director and Head of Clinical Operations at Perstorp Pharma, Global Director of Project Management at Pharmacia/Pfizer, Director & Head of Business Development Discovery Respiratory and Inflammation at AstraZeneca, as well as Senior Director and Head of Pipeline Sourcing at LEO Pharma. Lena Mårtensson Wernrud holds a Ph.D. and is associate professor at Lund University. Chairman of the board of Xinnate AB and Transient Pharma AB. Lena Mårtensson Wernrud is independent of the company, the company management and of major shareholders as defined by the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance.

Shareholding: 160 933 B shares and 111 111 warrants

Born in 1958. Rein Piir has many years of experience in business and acquisition analysis, capital market matters, investor relations and alliance management towards global companies. He is also an advisor to listed life science companies in business planning, strategy development, financing, and transactions and has been involved in the IPO of several Life Science companies. Previously, he has been Head of Analysis at Carnegie Investment Bank, CFO/Head of Investor Relations at listed Medivir and auditor at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Rein Piir holds a Bachelor of Economics from Uppsala University. Member of the Board of Piir & Partner AB. Member of the board of IRLAB Therapeutics AB. Member of the board of L. E. Svensson Snickeri Aktiebolag. Rein Piir is independent of the company, the company management and of major shareholders as defined by the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance.

Shareholding: 111 111 warrants

Born 1951. Anders Svensson is a licensed physician, medical doctor, and lecturer with over 20 years of experience in academic medicine; his scientific focus is cardiovascular diseases. He has extensive experience in international pharmaceutical development after almost 20 years in leading positions within the global pharmaceutical industry such as F. Hoffmann-LaRoche where he was responsible for the global clinical development of diabetes and cardiovascular. Prior to that he was working as Vice President and responsible for the clinical development of cardiovascular and later gastrointestinal drugs at AstraZeneca. Anders Svensson has almost 100 publications to his name. Anders Svensson holds a MD, Ph.D. from the University of Gothenburg. Member of the board of Tikomed AB. Founder of C Anders Svensson Consulting. Anders Svensson is independent of the company, the company management and of major shareholders as defined by the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance.

Shareholding: 180 990 B shares and 111 111 warrants

Born 1975. Klementina Österberg is the CEO of GU Ventures, the University of Gothenburg’s holding company that incubates and invests in new innovations, of which one is Cereno. Previous assignments include the business plan competition, Venture Cup, various Volvo companies, DaimlerChrysler, and Geveko Industries. Klementina Österberg holds a master’s degree in business administration pharmacist from the University of Gothenburg. Chairman of the Board of Aprit Biotech AB, MIVAC Development AB, GOKAP Invest AB and Vasa Angels I AB. Member of the Board of AB Svenska Stjärnor, Biomatcell AB, Destination Invest I Göteborg AB, GU Executive Education AB, and OnDosis AB. CEO of GU Ventures AB. Klementina Österberg is independent of the company, the company management and of major shareholders as defined by the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance.

Shareholding: 11 446 B shares

Born 1979. Niklas Bergh is Cereno’s Senior Advisor for the preclinical and clinical programs and works as a senior consultant at the department of cardiology at Sahlgrenska University Hospital and is an expert on the body's defense system against blood clots and advanced heartfailure/transplantation. He has extensive experience from experimental and clinical research with a primary focus on understanding and stimulating the body's own defense system against blood clots as well as heart failure. Niklas Bergh is one of the founders of Cereno Scientific AB. Niklas Bergh is specialist in internal medicine and cardiology and associate professor in experimental cardiology at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg Owner of Glasögonfyndet Fastighets AB, Johan Ringius KB, Glasögonnetto AB and Knippla Consulting AB. Niklas Bergh is independent of the company, the company management and of major shareholders as defined by the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance.

Shareholding: 986 788 B shares, 230 128 A shares and 111 111 warrants

Born 1977. Jonas Faijerson Säljö has a research background in the stroke area with wide-ranging experience in the commercialization of medical innovations. Faijerson Säljö has significant expertise in intellectual property and business development experience from a large number of companies in the life science area. He is currently employed as Senior IP Business Consultant and CEO of Synergon AB. Jonas Faijerson Säljö holds a Ph.D. in Neurobiology and is a licensed pharmacist from the University of Gothenburg. Member of the board of Synergon AB and Innovaurum AB. CEO of Synergon AB and founder of Innovaurum AB. Jonas Faijerson Säljö is dependent of the company, the company management and independent of major shareholders as defined by the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance.

Shareholding: 907 904 B shares och 135 440 A shares

Born 1959. Sten Sörensen has extensive experience from the pharmaceutical, biotech, and finance industries. Before working at Cereno he was Head of International Marketing Operations at Monsanto (GD Searle) and Global Marketing Director for Secondary Prevention Products, Cardiovasculars at AstraZeneca. Sten has previously initiated two groundbreaking preventive survival studies in heart failure: MERIT-HF and RALES and led them to global commercial success. Part of Cereno's management team. Sten R. Sörensen hold a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Lund University.

Shareholding: 273 440 B shares and 859 966 warrants

Born 1962. Jonas Fogelberg most recently worked as Interim CFO at FREEMELT AB. Before that he has held various interim roles in finance at several different companies, such as Volvo, Arjo and IMPLENIA. Part of Cereno's management team. Jonas Fogelberg holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Gothenburg and a Bachelor of Economics from Lund University.

Shareholding: -

Born 1964. Etienne Adriansen has more than 30 years of experience from the life science industry, working in various commercial roles with strategy, planning, portfolio management and all aspects of business development in Scandinavian companies such as Lundbeck, Nycomed and LEO Pharma. Part of Cereno's management team. Etienne Adriansen holds a M.Sc. in Business Administration and Commercial Law from the University of Aarhus, Denmark.

Shareholding: -

Born 1953. Björn Dahlöf is Cereno’s Chief Medical Officer since 2022 and has for many years been an adviser to small and large pharmaceutical companies regarding drug development in all phases from preclinical development to larger lifecycle management studies after registration. Björn Dahlöf has extensive experience in cardiovascular research, pharmacology, drug development, and clinical trials (all phases) and has lectured in these areas internationally. He has also initiated and led several major national and multinational mortality and morbidity studies that have had significance for guidelines in cardiovascular prevention and authored over 400 scientific publications. Part of Cereno's management team. Björn Dahlöf is medical doctor from the University of Gothenburg, internal medicine physician and is associate professor at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, University of Gothenburg.

Shareholding: 1 008 079 B shares, 123 920 A shares and 444 444 warrants

Born 1961. Nicholas Oakes has more than 20 years of experience working in the pharmaceutical industry with both efficacy and safety-related aspects of preclinical research to discover and develop new effective and safe medicines in metabolic, cardiovascular, and renal disease areas. Part of Cereno's management team. Nicholas Oakes holds a Ph.D. in cardiovascular and metabolic research from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

Shareholding: 333 333 warrants

Born 1979 Niklas Bergh is Cereno’s Senior Advisor for the preclinical and clinical programs and works as a senior consultant at the department of cardiology at Sahlgrenska University Hospital and is an expert on the body's defense system against blood clots and advanced heartfailure/transplantation. He has extensive experience from experimental and clinical research with a primary focus on understanding and stimulating the body's own defense system against blood clots as well as heart failure. Niklas Bergh is one of the founders of Cereno Scientific AB. Niklas Bergh is specialist in internal medicine and cardiology and associate professor in experimental cardiology at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg.

Shareholding: 986 788 B shares, 230 128 A shares and 111 111 warrants

Born 1977. Jonas Faijerson Säljö has a research background in the stroke area with wide-ranging experience in the commercialization of medical innovations. Faijerson Säljö has significant expertise in intellectual property and business development experience from a large number of companies in the life science area. He is currently employed as Senior IP Business Consultant and CEO of Synergon AB. Jonas Faijerson Säljö holds a Ph.D. in Neurobiology and is a licensed pharmacist from the University of Gothenburg.

Shareholding: 907 904 B shares och 135 440 A shares

Born 1973. Fredrik Frick has extensive experience in research and development and 17 years of combined experience from working at AstraZeneca with early- to late-stage drug development including preclinical target identification, clinical drug discovery, clinical study management and operations and global project management of late-stage projects. Fredrik Frick holds a Ph.D. in Medical Physiology/Endocrinology from the University of Gothenburg.

Shareholding: 333 333 warrants

Born 1956. Jan-Peter Idström has a long experience from a wide range of senior roles within pharma and MedTech, including AstraZeneca and Vitrolife. He has worked in all development phases, from idea to finished product and has extensive experience of R&D for gastrointestinal (e.g., Losec® and Nexium®) and thrombosis/hemostasis products. In addition, he has led Clinical Pharmacology and Experimental Medicine units at AstraZeneca. Most recently, he has advised Life Science start-up companies and worked to promote closer collaboration between industry, the health care sector and academia. Jan-Peter Idström holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Gothenburg.

Shareholding: 31 034 B shares

Born 1988. Tove Bergenholt is specialized in communications, IR and marketing activities in public biotech companies, headquartered in the Nordics. Previous experience in global healthcare PR for AstraZeneca, Merck KGaA and Bayer. Currently employed by MSC Nordics. Currently employed by MSC Nordics. Tove Bergenholt holds a M.Sc. in Digital Business Management from Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. Dual B.Sc. in Business Administration with specialization in Business Development and Accounting from the University of Borås.

Shareholding: -

Born 1972. Dr. Michael Holinstat is an Associate Professor in Pharmacology and leads the translational programs in drug development in Hemostasis and Thrombosis in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Michigan. Dr. Holinstat has built a "state of the art" laboratory to investigate the effects of different pharmacological principles on platelets and coagulation both in vitro and in vivo. Dr. Holinstat is primarily employed as an associate professor at the Department of Pharmacology, Internal Medicine (Division of Cardiovascular Medicine), and Vascular Surgery at University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. Holinstat holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Illinois, Chicago, and completed postdoctoral training at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Shareholding: 222 222 warrants

Born 1988. Megha Ranjan has more than 8 years of experience supporting global life sciences companies in defining their strategies using the comprehensive market insights, intelligence, and valuations. She has worked extensively in her role with commercial and scientific team including medical affairs and medical information. Her therapeutic specializations include cardiology, oncology, rare and orphan diseases, and immunology. Currently employed by MSC Nordics. Megha Ranjan holds a PGDM degree in Healthcare Management from IIHMR University, India.

Shareholding: -

Dr. Pitt is a Professor Emeritus in Medicine at the University of Michigan School of Medicine, US. Pitt assumed directorship of the division of Cardiology at the University of Michigan School of Medicine in 1977. Among his achievements, he has been awarded the James B Herrick award from the American Heart Association as well as life-time achievement awards from the Heart Failure Society of America and the European Heart Failure Society. He has served on the editorial boards of several cardiovascular journals and has published over 750 articles, chapters and books. Co-chairman, CVCT Global Forum.

Benza is currently Professor and Network Director of the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases at St. Francis Hospital and Heart Center Long Island New York. He has extensive clinical trial experience with involvement in just over 60 different clinical trials. Benza has also been involved in around 325 publications, and written 6 books of which 3 are focused on pulmonary hypertension.    

Dr. Deepak Bhatt was Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School between 2012-2022. He has been listed in Best Doctors in America from 2005 to 2020. Dr. Bhatt has authored or co-authored over 1900 publications and has been listed by the Web of Science Group as a Highly Cited Researcher from 2014 to 2022. He is the Editor of Cardiovascular Intervention: A Companion to Braunwald’s Heart Disease and of Opie's Cardiovascular Drugs: A Companion to Braunwald's Heart Disease.

Olsson is an MD, PhD in Medical Sciences at the Karolinska Institute. He was previously Adjunct Professor at the Karolinska Institute, and has extensive experience from leading R&D positions in the pharmaceutical industry. He has over 20 years of experience in different Global R&D management positions at AstraZeneca, and contributed to more than a dozen successful global product registrations for medicines in cardiovascular, vascular and gastrointestinal indications.

Dr. Williams is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School since 1981, and was the founder and Director of its Scholars in Clinical Science Program until 2008. A lifelong interest of Williams’ has been to understand the mechanisms by which aldosterone participates in cardiovascular diseases. He has published more than 600 original articles, reviews, chapters and books, including co-editing his seminal textbook “Clinical and Translational Science.”

Dr. Zannad is a Professor Emeritus of Therapeutics and Cardiology at Université de Lorraine, France. Zannad is involved in a number of major cardiovascular clinical trials, as a Principal Investigator and/or as a chair or member of several Steering Committees, Critical Event Committees and Data Safety and Monitoring Boards. Founder & chairman, CVCT Global Forum.