Kjell Inge Rokke's krill harvesting and processing company Aker Biomarine has appointed a new senior vice president for business development and strategy to lead the group’s entry into the pharmaceutical segment.
Based out of the United States, biotechnology and pharmaceutical executive Douglas Hicks will take on the role of developing new product segments for Aker BioMarine’s Lysoveta, a new krill-based LPC-EPA/DHA delivery platform.
Hicks comes to Aker BioMarine with over 20 years of experience in corporate development and business strategy execution within the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and venture capital segments.
He most recently served as chief business officer for Travecta Therapeutics. Before that he was senior vice president of business development and strategy at iBio. He began his career at Bristol-Myers Squibb and Clearview Projects.
“We are still in the early days of our Lysoveta project, and we needed a senior executive from the biotech and pharma space to support us on this journey,” said Matts Johansen, CEO of Aker BioMarine.
Launched in late 2020, Lysoveta is a new delivery platform based on LPC-bound EPA and DHA and is the first commercially available LPC product in the market. It has promising new opportunities within brain, eye and other health areas, said Aker BioMarine.
The company is currently partnering with researchers and academic institutions to gain a better understanding of its impact on human health.
Earlier this year, Aker Biomarine listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange's main market, nearly 15 years after the group first went public on the exchange before lackluster financial performance forced it to de-list.
Aker Biomarine made the move to the mainboard after listing on the lower cap Euronext Growth Market (formerly the Merkur Market) last summer.
