Director

Dr. Ekman is an experienced global R&D executive and drug developer with over 30 years of experience in senior executive, scientific, and clinical functions. He is currently the Chairman of Amarin (AMRN), Prothena (PRTA), Afyx Therapeutics, and also serves on the board of Ultragenyx (RARE). 

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Prior to joining Sofinnova in 2008, Lars held the position of President of Research and Development at Elan. He joined Elan in January 2001, and he is credited with advancing Elan’s drug discovery pipeline and under his leadership, Elan received approval for four U.S. New Drug Applications, three European Marketing Approval Applications, and five Investigational New Drug Applications. These efforts resulted in advancing Elan’s immunotherapeutic approach into Phase III and bringing to market three innovative neuroscience-based products, including Tysabri for MS. Prior to joining Elan, he was Executive Vice President, Research and Development at Schwarz Pharma AG beginning in 1997. From 1984 to 1997, Dr. Ekman was employed in a variety of senior scientific and clinical functions at Pharmacia, now Pfizer.

 

Dr. Ekman is a board-certified surgeon with a PhD in Experimental Biology and has held several clinical and academic positions in both the United States and Europe.