Exonate appoints Olav Hellebø as Chief Executive Officer
Exonate Ltd., a biotechnology company developing novel, non-invasive, small-molecule therapeutics for patients with retinal vascular diseases, today announced the appointment of Olav Hellebø as Chief Executive Officer. Olav will lead the company as it strengthens its executive team and advances toward key clinical and corporate milestones, including initiating a Phase IIb clinical trial of lead candidate EXN407 for diabetic eye disease.
Olav brings extensive business and scientific leadership experience across the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, with a distinguished track record in ophthalmology, immunology and oncology. As Chief Executive Officer of ReNeuron Group plc, he in-licensed a Retinitis Pigmentosa programme from the Schepens Eye Research Institute, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and completed equity financings totalling $125 million.
Olav has held senior commercial and development roles across the United States and Europe. Notably, he served as Executive Vice President at Schering-Plough (now Merck), leading the US Biotech and Oncology business unit, Chief Operating Officer of Novartis UK and a member of the Novartis Global Pharmaceutical Executive Committee, and President of Immunology at UCB where he built and led the Immunology Division following the company’s acquisition of Celltech plc. Olav has been a member of the board of several biotech companies, and currently serves as Director at Oncoinvent and Cytovation, and as Chair at Blue Cell Therapeutics and ION Therapeutics. He graduated Summa Cum Laude in International Business Studies from Hofstra University and holds an MBA from IESE Business School.
