Mats Holmquist

PhD, Assoc Prof

Strategic R&D leadership for the next stage of growth

Mats brings more than 30 years of experience in research and development leadership, including 18 years at BioArctic. During that time, he served on the management team and scientific board, contributing to the company’s development from an agile start-up into a profitable Nasdaq Stockholm-listed organisation with approximately 200 employees.

His experience includes the development journey of Leqembi® (lecanemab), from early discovery through clinical development to patients worldwide. This gives Mats a rare perspective on the scientific, technical, regulatory and organisational work required to build a programme—and a company—over the long term. Alongside his extensive industry experience, Mats also bring a solid understanding of the academic research landscapes and conditions, as an affiliated associate professor at the Biotechnology Research Intitute of Technology in Stockholm for more than 25 years.

Today, he advises start-up, early-stage and growing life-science companies as they prepare for critical development milestones, technical scale-up and organizational growth. He helps leadership teams make robust decisions in areas where scientific opportunity, operational capability and business value need to align. The aim is not simply to add processes, meetings or impressive-looking arrows to a slide; it is to create the right level of structure for progress.

Mats is known for combining scientific depth with clear strategic thinking and a pragmatic leadership style. He supports teams in addressing both the immediate decision in front of them and the capabilities they will need for the next stage of growth.

Areas of support

• Strategic R&D leadership and scale-up of teams and organisations

• Preclinical and clinical development strategy

• Biotechnology, CMC and technical development assessment

• CMC strategy, GMP readiness and external manufacturing partnerships

• Scientific, regulatory and technical due diligence

• Non-dilutive funding, grant strategy and application review

• Board, investor and partner communication

• Building practical decision-making structures for growing R&D organisations

#BiotechStartup #PharmaConsulting #DrugDevelopment #BiotechFounder #BioArctic #CMC #LifeSciences

Erik Rollman Waara

PhD

Turns scientific opportunities into focused, executable development strategies

Erik has more than 25 years of experience in life-science research and 18 years in drug development, spanning early research, preclinical development and clinical-stage biotech. He has worked in both entrepreneurial and established settings, giving him a practical understanding of the trade-offs teams face when ambition, timelines and budgets all compete for attention.

His strength is connecting the science with the development path: identifying what evidence is needed, where the important risks sit and how a programme can progress in a focused and value-creating way. He works closely with founders, management teams and scientific leaders to turn complex opportunities into clear strategies, credible plans and practical next steps.

Erik brings an analytical, collaborative and hands-on approach. He is equally comfortable discussing the details of a development programme, challenging assumptions constructively and helping coordinate the work required to keep it moving. In short: thoughtful strategy, practical execution and a healthy respect for the calendar.

Areas of support

• R&D strategy, asset positioning and development planning

• Preclinical development, study design and
   data interpretation

• Translational strategy and transition to first in human studies

• Early clinical strategy, programme
   coordination and execution

• Outsourcing strategy, CRO selection and partner management

• Pharma collaborations, scientific
  partnerships and due diligence

• R&D organisation, capability building and
  digital ways of workin

• Scientific communication for boards,
   investors and external stakeholders

#BiotechConsulting #DrugDevelopment #R&D #PreclinicalDevelopment #ClinicalDevelopment
#LifeSciences #r #Pharma #ClinicalTrials