Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (publ) (Sobi) has announced the appointments of two key pharma veterans – Hege Hellstrom and Rupert Haynes – to further strengthen its engagement in the rare disease sector. Both senior appointments will take up their roles over the course of the summer, as Sobi continues to build its presence in Europe and beyond.
Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (publ) (Sobi) has announced the appointments of two key pharma veterans – Hege Hellstrom and Rupert Haynes – to further strengthen its engagement in the rare disease sector. Both senior appointments will take up their roles over the course of the summer, as Sobi continues to build its presence in Europe and beyond.
Hege Hellstrom – a Norwegian national and a seasoned leader with more than 20 years of experience, including more than a decade at Baxter and 10 years at Genzyme – will take up the role of Vice President and Head of Commercial for Europe, Middle East & North Africa (EMENA). Hellstrom’s background encompasses experience in a variety of national and international roles including Country General Manager and Business Unit Vice President for Europe covering different speciality therapeutic areas.
Rupert Haynes, a British national, moves from UCB to take up responsibility for Sobi’s Inflammation business as Head of Global Commercial Operations, Therapeutic Area Inflammation. Haynes brings more than 20 years of experience from companies such as Pharmacia, BMS and, most recently, UCB where he was responsible for the company’s marketing excellence programme and played an instrumental role in securing patient access to Xyrem, part of UCB’s orphan portfolio.
“We are excited to welcome Hege and Rupert to Sobi”, says Alan Raffensperger, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “They both bring significant and extensive experience to their roles. Their individual and combined expertise will be great additions to our commercial capabilities as an organisation as we continue to build a sustainable company, able to deliver healthcare solutions to the rare disease communities.”
