Uppsala, February, 2025: Strike Pharma, (“Strike”) a Swedish biotech with a novel technology for antibody-drug conjugation, has announced the appointment of Dr Per Norlén, MD PhD, as new CEO. Dr Norlén brings more than 20 years of clinical and commercial experience from leading positions within big pharma and biotech.  

Strike Pharma’s proprietary Adaptable Drug Affinity Conjugate (ADAC) technology, based on research by Professor Sara Mangsbo at Uppsala University, was originally co-developed with the SciLifeLab’s Drug Discovery and Development Platform and Royal Institute of Technology. The technology is uniquely suitable for attachment of drug-containing nanoparticles to antibodies and is thought to have broad potential within multiple areas including cancer immunotherapy and targeted gene therapy. Dr Norlén’s background as MD, PhD and Associate Professor in Clinical Pharmacology and with extensive experience from drug discovery, clinical development and business development, and from being Chief Medical Officer and Chief Executive Officer in multiple biotech companies, will be highly valuable in the process of exploring some of the great opportunities within targeted drug delivery that the company is now pursuing.  

“I am really excited about joining Strike. The technology has huge potential and I am thrilled about the opportunity to explore its benefits within targeted therapy. The ability to attach gene-containing nanoparticles to antibodies may open ground-breaking new fields within drug development” says Dr Norlén. 

 “2024 has been a landmark year for Strike. Research on the technology has been published in Nature Medicine and important additional applications of the Strike platform have been further explored, demonstrating its unique potential. The recruitment of Dr Norlén is an important step on the journey”, says Magnus Persson, Managing Partner of Eir Ventures. 

 “I cannot think of a better successor”, says outgoing CEO Mårten Wing. “Strike Pharma is in extremely competent hands. It will be a true pleasure to follow the company’s progress from the side line.” 

Dr Norlén has more than 20 years of experience from clinical drug development and has held leadership positions at AstraZeneca and in numerous private and publicly listed biotechs including Alligator Bioscience, Targinta, Evaxion Biotech and most recently WntResearch.