CEO Today Europe Awards

www.ceotodaymagazine.com 48 CEO Today Europe Awards 2018 spain JOAN PERELLÓ CEO of Sanifit FIRM PROFILE Sanifit is the leading company in the development of therapeutics for calcification related disorders. The company started operating in 2007 as a spin-off of the University of the Balearic Islands and expanded its activities in the USA in 2016 with the incorporation of a subsidiary with offices in San Diego. The lead compound, SNF472, is an experimental drug for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases linked to calcification in the End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) population undergoing haemodialysis. SNF472 has completed a phase II study in calcific uremic arteriolopathy (CUA) and is running a phase IIb trial in vascular calcification in End Stage Renal Disease (CV-ESRD). CUA, also called calciphylaxis, is a devastating rare disease which affects 1-4% of dialysis patients. It starts with a calcification of small peripheral vessels that quickly spreads. This represents the most severe form of cardiovascular calcification in dialysis patients. The natural course of the disease leads to painful necrotic skin ulcers as a consequence of the vessel calcification process. The disease has a 1-year mortality rate of 55%. There are no therapies approved for this indication. Calciphylaxis is a dramatic life-threatening condition which urgently requires new and effective treatments. CV-ESRD represents a real upside potential. Renal disease leads to a progressive loss of kidney function. In its last phase, called ESRD, kidney failure is permanent and irreversible. The patient requires renal replacement therapy through dialysis or a renal transplant. The etiology of ESRD is heterogeneous but the main causes of renal failure are diabetes and hypertension. There are more than 3 million ESRD patients worldwide; around 70% of them are treated with dialysis. ESRD patients suffer from accelerated cardiovascular calcification, which correlates with higher cardiovascular risk. The annual death rate in ESRD ranges from 20-30% and the annual cardiovascular event rate is around 20%. Half of the deaths in dialysis are due to cardiovascular mortality. Currently, no drugs are approved for this condition; patients are treated with calcimimetics and phosphate binders to control related risk factors such as hypercalcaemia and hyperphosphataemia. SNF472 has a unique and elegant mechanism of action, based on a simple physico-chemical interaction by which the compound prevents the formation and progression of calcium phosphate deposits within the artery walls. SNF472 represents a large, exciting, first-in-class and first-in-indication therapeutic option, with the potential to treat patients suffering from these severe, debilitating, life-threatening indications. ABOUT JOAN PERELLÓ Joan is CEO and co-founder of Sanifit. Driven by the vision and passion of developing solutions for calcification disorders Joan co-founded Sanifit, together with his friend Bernat Isern. Joan served as Chief Scientific Officer at Sanifit from 2004 to 2013, and from 2009 to 2013 he pioneered the international development of Sanifit’s lead candidate, SNF472, from academia to its clinical evaluation in patients suffering from calciphylaxis and ESRD. In 2013, Joan took over the CEO role and implemented several organizational improvements that streamlined and focused the development efforts at Sanifit. He spun out the Medtech division of Sanifit and licensed theOTCportfolio toGSK. Joan has led several financing rounds at Sanifit totaling >€42M / $50M, including most recently a series C round of €37M. In 2016, coinciding with the commencement of phase II clinical trials, he drove the incorporation of a US subsidiary, with offices in San Diego, growing a clinical and regulatory team of 12 people, who joined the other 12 team members that work from the office in Palma, Spain. Joan has always tried to attract people who, beyond being exceptional professionals, share the company’s values and the passion for the project, since he is convinced that good teams can make the impossible happen. Joan serves as Chairman at Numat Medtech and as Independent Board Member at CIRCE Crystal Engineering. He is President of the Balearic Cluster of Biotechnology and Biomedicine and Vice-Dean at the Official College of Chemists in the Balearic Islands, Spain. Joan has earned several research and innovation prizes, including the National Prize for the best Doctoral Thesis in Lithiasis, awarded by Ferrer Pharma in 2005. He is co-author of over 50 peer- reviewed international publications, co-inventor of 9 international patents, and has participated in over 30 research projects, half of which as Principal Investigator. Joan holds an MSc in Chemistry with first class honors, and earned his PhD from the University of the Balearic Islands, Spain, where he teaches Analytical and Clinical Chemistry as Adjunct Lecturer.