Calluna Pharma AS, a clinical stage biotechnology company pioneering first-in-class antibodies to treat inflammatory and fibrotic diseases, has appointed Mark Gaffney as Chief Executive Officer. Alongside this appointment, John Montana, who has been acting as the Company’s interim CEO, will return to his role as an Operating Partner at Forbion.

About Mark Gaffney, CEO

Gaffney brings over 20 years of experience in corporate strategy, business development, and operations in both private and public biotechnology companies, and will lead the team that defines and executes on the corporate strategy, particularly as its lead program is on pace to complete its Phase 1 program later this year.
 
Prior to Calluna, Gaffney was CEO of Oxular Limited, a company developing novel drug delivery and formulation technologies to treat retinal disorders, where he remains a strategic advisor and member of the Board. Before joining Oxular, he served as Chief Business Officer and later as Chief Operating Officer at Vedere Bio, a company focused on developing next-generation ocular gene therapies, which was acquired by Novartis in late 2020.
 
Gaffney has held corporate development and operational positions at Cyclerion Therapeutics and Ironwood Pharmaceuticals and holds a degree in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a Juris Doctor degree from Boston University.
 
Gaffney commented: “It has been a rapid and impressive start to our journey as Calluna Pharma following joining forces of Oxitope Pharma and Arxx Therapeutics, two key players in the innate immunology space. I am delighted to join the team at such an exciting stage with Calluna’s lead candidate, CAL101, completing its Phase 1 program this year, and with the other programs in our pipeline demonstrating such promise.”