Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (Sobi) has appointed two key pharma veterans – Hege Hellstrom and Rupert Haynes – to strengthen its position in the rare disease sector.Hellstrom, a Norwegian national and a 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).
Haynes, a Briton, moves from UCB to take up responsibility for Sobi's Inflammation business as Head of Global Commercial Operations, Therapeutic Area Inflammation. Haynes also brings more than 20 years of experience to the firm, in his case from companies such as Pharmacia, BMS and, most recently, UCB where he was responsible for the company's marketing programme.
‘We are excited to welcome Hege and Rupert to Sobi,’ said Alan Raffensperger, Sobi’s Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. ‘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.’
