Sobi Continues the R&D Transformation – Anders Ullman Appointed New Head of R&D

Anders Ullman, M.D., Ph.D., currently a member of the Board of Directors of Sobi, will become Head of R&D and Chief Medical Officer and replace Ravi Rao, M.D., Ph.D. Dr Ullman brings extensive experience and knowledge from the global pharmaceutical industry having previously led R&D organisations and change processes in other companies, including Bayer, Nycomed and Baxter. In support of the transformation, Dr Ullman will be based in Basel, Switzerland, report to CEO Guido Oelkers and become a member of the Sobi Executive Committee.

Guido Oelkers: “We welcome Anders in his new capacity having served in 2021 on the Sobi Board of Directors. Anders has an extensive experience from the pharmaceutical industry, including knowledge of rare diseases from at least two companies and late-stage development of a number of successful medicines and will be a great addition to the team here.

We would also like to thank Ravi for his contributions over the past years and wish him all the best in his future endeavours. Since starting in Sobi, Ravi has initiated a transformation of both the R&D pipeline and organisation with a focus on life cycle teams leading the development of our important medicines and innovative pipeline which will serve Sobi well in the future.”

It is anticipated that the change in R&D leadership will be fully implemented in early 2022 following a handover process which will initiate by mid-December 2021. Dr Ullman will leave the Sobi Board of Directors as a result of the management appointment.

With main R&D presence in Stockholm, Sweden and Basel, Switzerland and satellite R&D offices in Durham, North Carolina, US and Tokyo, Japan, Sobi R&D employs approximately 220 colleagues in functions spanning bioanalytics and biostatistics, translational science, clinical science and late-stage programme development, clinical operations, medical writing, regulatory affairs, pharmacovigilance and portfolio management. More information about the Sobi pipeline here.