BioArctic CEO Gunilla Osswald is Alumnus of the Year

“Of course the time I spent at the University was a very important phase of my life, so it really had a big influence on who I am today. I had a tremendous time in Uppsala,” says Gunilla Oswald when we meet her at BioArctic’s office in Stockholm.

When she first arrived in Uppsala, she knew no one in the city. But that soon changed, living with other students in Flogsta, and then at Snerikes student nation. Her involvement in the Pharmaceutical Student Union and its cultural committee further widened her social network.

“We organised all sorts of fun things, from cultural trips to Stockholm, theatre and music subscriptions to wine tasting – quite a mixed bag. It was an enjoyable way to get to know people and have fun in your spare time too,” she recalls.

First year was overwhelming

Much of what Gunilla Osswald learned during her time in Uppsala has served her well throughout her life.

“I developed enormously. I didn’t have much study experience from school when I came to university. The first year was rather overwhelming. I learned an incredible amount. The further I got in the programme, the more interesting I found it. I really wanted to work in the pharmaceutical industry or possibly the Swedish Food Agency or the Swedish Medical Products Agency,” Osswald reflects.

The subjects she found most absorbing were pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and biopharmacy, in other words, what drugs do to the body, what happens to drugs in the body and how they should be dosed for the best effect. Osswald saw the benefit to patients.

“I’ve always been very focused on wanting to help and do good,” she says.

Doctoral degree at Uppsala University

After graduating, Osswald stayed on for an extra semester at the Department of Pharmacy to do research. After that, she set off into the world of work, eventually ending up at pharmaceutical giant Astra where she stayed for 28 years. Alongside working on drug development, she obtained her PhD from Uppsala University in 1994.

“Then I continued teaching at the University and kept up the connection. I lectured there roughly once a semester for many years,” says Osswald.

Three projects have gone all the way

In drug development, her main focus has always been on brain diseases. In the vast majority of cases, developing new medicines is a complicated process and most drug candidates are stopped before they reach the market.

“I have been fortunate to have three projects that have gone all the way. The first was a schizophrenia drug. Unfortunately, it was withdrawn from the market due to side effects. But it was a revolutionary medicine in its day. Then there was a virus medicine that was used in connection with AIDS for many years. The last one is Lecanemab, the big flagship drug against Alzheimer’s disease that we are working on now,” says Osswald.

Lecanemab is the reason why she now works at the pharmaceutical company BioArctic. It was set up by Lars Lannfelt and Pär Gellerfors in 2003 to develop a drug from the antibody against Alzheimer’s disease that Lannfelt had discovered in his research at Uppsala University. Osswald joined the management team in 2013 and became CEO of the company the following year. Since then, the company has grown significantly, both in terms of turnover and number of employees. This is of course due to the success of Lecanemab.

Available in countries in Europe

It was approved in 2023 in the United States and since then nearly 50 countries have approved it for the treatment of early Alzheimer’s disease. In mid-August this year, it also became available in the first countries on the European market.

“Naturally it feels very important to get it to patients in Europe and then in the Nordic countries and Sweden, given that it started out as a Swedish invention from Uppsala,” says Osswald.

However, there is much more to be done for these patients, says Osswald, who continues to work with her colleagues to develop new medicines.

“We have now come up with the first Alzheimer’s disease-modifying treatment. But more is needed and we are working on the next generation of treatments that will perhaps help patients even better. And then we have Parkinson’s disease and ALS, where there are enormous medical needs. We’re also looking at other diseases so as to help more patients,” she concludes.

Åsa Malmberg