Team - Arctic Therapeutics

Leadership

Our leadership team brings together a unique blend of expertise across life sciences, technology, marketing, and commercialization. We are scientists and company-builders, united by a shared mission to create breakthrough treatments that transform patient care.

Pipeline

Founder, Chairman & Chief Medical Advisor

Dr. Hakon Hakonarson founded ATx with the aim to bring his discoveries at the US-based Center for Applied Genomics (CAG) to market. He is a tenured professor of pediatrics with the Division of Human Genetics at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr Hakonarson founded CAG in 2006 and established it as the largest pediatric biobank and genomic database in the world. Before founding CAG, he held various leadership roles at deCODE genetics, including Head of Pharmacogenomics and Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Hakonarson is a considered a leading authority in the field of applied genomics and is ranked among „the world’s most influential scientific minds” by Thomson Reuters, with over 1000 publications and h-index of 171. He is a graduate of the University of Iceland, School of Medicine and performed his Ph.D. research the University of Pennsylvania.

Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer

Ivar Hakonarson co-founded ATx and joined the mission full-time in 2021, building the company’s clinical laboratory operations in Iceland and laying the foundation for the company’s future growth. Hakonarson was one of the early employees of IT startup Basis, which was sold to Iceland’s leading IT group Sensa and he joined the merged entity as a Vice President, responsible for product development, growth, and sales. He was instrumental in the following acquisition of Sensa by international IT giant Crayon Group. Hakonarson studied engineering and the Wharton School of Business, Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.

Co-founder & Chief Scientific Advisor

Dr. Charlly Kao joined ATx’s mission as co-founder. Dr. Kao is an immunologist and scientist by training, who has extensive experience in operational and project management roles at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Center for Applied Genomics. He has worked closely with Dr. Hakonarson for many years, playing a key role in the design and execution of the proof-of-concept studies that have advanced ATx’s wider drug portfolio. Dr. Kao graduated with a BSc. degree in biology and biochemistry from California State University in Los Angeles, obtained his Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Minnesota and completed his post-doc research at the University of Pennsylvania.

Chief Business Officer & General Counsel

Lisa DeMarco has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. She joined ATx from international pharma giant GlaxoSmithKlein (GSK) – where she held various leadership roles, focusing on R&D and commercial collaborations, licensing, M&A, equity investments and divestments. DeMarco is a lawyer by training, graduating with J.D. credentials from the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, and joined GSK from Philadelphia-based law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. DeMarco is responsible for ATx’s IP strategy – as well as the company’s commercial, out-licensing and co-development efforts.

Chief Information Officer

Asbjorn Kristbjornsson is responsible for building and maintaining the company’s in-house genotyping and sequencing operations, which are augmented by a nationwide genealogy database, comprising of all Icelanders from settlement, a biobank licensed by the Icelandic Ministry of Health, and partnerships with Iceland’s national hospitals, granting fully encrypted access to Electronic Health Records (EHR) database. He was instrumental in designing the software systems, underpinning the clinical genotyping and sequencing services at the Center for Applied Genomics. Kristbjornsson earned his BSc. degree in software engineering from The University of Iceland in 2006 and received his MSc. degree in software engineering from the same University in 2011.

Chief Strategy Officer

Gulli Arnason is an experienced media, marketing and venture-building veteran, strategist, investor and entrepreneur. He has over 20 years of experience of funding, positioning and scaling companies across various sectors. Arnason joined ATx from digital therapeutics leader Sidekick Health. Arnason is responsible for creating, communicating, executing, and sustaining ATx’s strategic and growth initiatives – including the company’s funding strategy, as well as the company’s overall marketing and communications efforts.

Advisors

Founder & CEO, NeuroScios.

Dr. Manfred Windisch is the Chief Executive Officer and founder of NeuroScios, a company he established in 2013 to provide expert consulting and research services for drug development in neurological disorders, particularly dementia and Alzheimer’s. He earned his Ph.D. in physiology and biochemistry from the University of Graz and later led a neurobiology research group focused on brain metabolism and animal model development. Dr. Windisch has been actively involved in global research collaborations, advisory boards, and scientific conferences, including serving as an executive organizer of the AD-PD Conference since 2007. He has authored approximately 100 peer-reviewed research articles and continues to contribute to advancing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. He is also the President of NSC Therapeutics, which is a boutique biotech focused on Alzheimer’s research. NeuroScios is a Sanos Group portfolio company, but Investcorp-backed Sanos is an investor in ATx.

Translational Neuroscience Lead, Cerebrum DAO.

Dr. Maryna Polyakova is a cognitive neuroscientist and psychiatrist with over a decade of experience in dementia research. Her experience includes clinical work with dementia patients, early diagnostics, imaging and fluid biomarkers at the Max Planck Institute, drug discovery for Alzheimer’s disease at the Medical University of Vienna, and identification of transformative neurotechnologies for the Foresight Institute. 

Currently, she leads the Translational Neuroscience group at Swiss-based Cerebrum DAO, where she focuses on translating research into preventative strategies and new treatments for dementia management and delaying cognitive decline. Cerebrum DAO is an investor in ATx.

Division of Human Genetics, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

Dr. Elizabeth J.K. Bhoj’s papers on genetic diseases have been widely published and her research consists of finding new genetic disorders, determining how they work, and developing targeted treatments for them. Bhoj is an attending physician with the Division of Human Genetics at CHOP. She is a graduate of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, earning not only her MD but a Ph.D. there as well. She is Associate Editor at the American Journal of Medical Genetics and is Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine.

CEO of Sanos Group & Board Director at Arctic Therapeutics.

Jeppe Ragnar Andersen is the Chief Executive Officer of the Sanos Group – a multi-niche CRO with a strong focus on dermatology and CNS disorders – and the parent company of NBCD, Sanos Clinic, Sanos Supply, Studies&Me and NeuroScios. Andersen holds an M.Sc. Pharm degree from Denmark’s University of Copenhagen and joined NBCD in 2007 as a CRA. In 2010 he became Head of Clinical Development in 2010, and in 2014 he transitioned into his position as the Chief Executive Officer of NBCD. With his history of success in building and growing organizations, his strong expertise from both CRO and investigator perspective, and his in-depth project leadership in clinical development, he has an ability to identify market trends and conceptualize strategies with an aim of innovation to improve work and business processes. Andersen is a member of the board of directors of ATx.