About
OUR MISSION
2N Pharma was founded in 2019 to build on a decade of research undertaken by our co-founder and CSO Dr. John Nieland and his associates. While the challenge ahead is immense, our aim is clear: we want to cure ALS.
We make this bold statement well knowing that brilliant scientists have had very limited success in developing disease modifying drugs, despite many decades of research. But we believe our novel approach to treating neurological disorders will be the departure from conventional neuroscience that is required to finally make significant progress towards a cure for ALS.
Board of Directors
Matthias Wulf
Board Observer
Matthias is a Principal at the BioInnovation Institute in Copenhagen where he anchors several therapeutics and women’s health companies. Prior to joining BII, Matthias worked as an investment analyst at the corporate VC, M Ventures, in Amsterdam, as a pharmacist in Germany, and research scientist in Hawaii. He is a trained pharmacist with an MSc in neuroscience and Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences from Copenhagen University.
Preben Bruun-Nyzell
Director
Preben is 2N Pharma’s co-founder and CEO and brings broad business and finance experience from an international career spanning nine countries over 25 years. He is co-founder of clinical-stage vaccine company 2A Pharma, and chairman of Apoglyx, a Swedish biotech focused on aquaporins. Earlier in his career, he worked for Roche in Basel and PwC in London. Previously, Preben was CFO of a company in the Middle East with 1,200 employees and sales of $1bn.
John Nieland, PhD
Director
John is 2N Pharma’s co-founder and CSO and brings broad management experience and in-depth research background. He was previously director of research at Medigene AG and is co-founder of the clinical-stage vaccine company 2A Pharma and two other biotech companies. In addition to his duties at 2N Pharma, John is also Associate Professor and Head of the Molecular Pharmacology Department at Aalborg University, Denmark.
Team Members
Preben Bruun-Nyzell
CEO and Co-Founder
Preben is 2N Pharma’s co-founder and CEO and brings broad business and finance experience from an international career spanning nine countries over 25 years. He is co-founder of clinical-stage vaccine company 2A Pharma, and chairman of Apoglyx, a Swedish biotech focused on aquaporins. Earlier in his career, he worked for Roche in Basel and PwC in London. Previously, Preben was CFO of a company in the Middle East with 1,200 employees and sales of $1bn.
John Nieland, PhD
CSO and Co-Founder
John is 2N Pharma’s co-founder and CSO and brings broad management experience and a strong scientific background. He was previously director of research at Medigene AG. Next, he is co-founder of the clinical-stage vaccine company 2A Pharma. In addition to his duties at 2N Pharma, John is also Associate Professor and Head of the Molecular Pharmacology Department at Aalborg University, Denmark.
Angelique Corthals, MD, PhD
Scientific Co-Founder
Angelique is a biological/biomedical and forensic anthropologist and biomedical researcher who studies the link between neurodegeneration, pathogens and metabolism as well as the histomorphology of trauma. She is associate professor at City University of New York, USA and holds a DPhil (PhD) from the University of Oxford. In addition to Angelique's academic work and 2N Pharma activities, she is a diagnostic consultant for Doctors Without Borders. In 2024, Angelique was awarded the Belgian Order of the Crown at the rank of Knight (Chevalier) in recognition of her service to science and public health.
Anne Skøttrup Mørkholt, PhD
Head of Operations and Co-Founder
Anne completed her doctorate at the Laboratory of Metabolism Modifying Medicine, Aalborg University. She researched the connection between dysfunction of the lipid metabolism and CNS diseases, including multiple sclerosis and depression.
Steinunn Sara Helgudóttir, PhD
Head of Biology and Co-Founder
Steinunn completed her doctorate at the Neurobiology Research and Drug Delivery Group at Aalborg University. She conducted research on targeted drug delivery through the blood-brain barrier.
Viktória Reháková
Industrial PhD Student
Viktória successfully completed her master's degree in Neuroscience from the University of Copenhagen. Her research primarily revolved around exploring neuronal excitability, examining structural changes in excitable domains of motoneurons, and investigating environment-gene interactions in the context of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Advisors
Alasdair Naylor, PhD
Drug Discovery
Alasdair Naylor is a pharmacologist with over 30 years of experience. He gained his expertise at Pfizer and Solace Pharmaceuticals. More, he is the founder of a new start-up pain company, Sevenless Therapeutics. In addition to holding senior positions in these companies, Alasdair Naylor has consulted widely in the biotech and venture sector. He advised on target validation, translational research, and incorporating this knowledge into robust research plans for implementation. Alasdair has led multiple drug discovery and early clinical development teams. This has led to numerous positive proof of concepts in Urology, neuroscience, and inflammation. Further, he published 50+ scientific papers. Besides that, he is an author on Pfizer and Sevenless Therapeutics patents.
Gavin Kilpatrick, PhD
Drug Discovery/Neuroscience
Gavin Kilpatrick Ph.D. is a pharmacologist with over 30 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors. He has held senior management positions at GSK, CeNeS, Paion, Roche, and Takeda. Moreover, he was a founder of the biotechnology company TheraSci Ltd. Gavin is a Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society, has authored or co-authored more than 80 academic publications, and contributed to the discovery and development of three drugs that have reached the market, most recently, remimazolam.
Thomas Brimert, PhD
Head of Medicinal Chemistry
Co-founder of Red Glead Discovery – a pre-clinical drug discovery CRO. Thomas Brimert is a skilled organic and medicinal chemist with over 20 years of experience. After a post-doc at the University of Odense in Denmark, he joined AstraZeneca R&D Lund as a Senior Research Scientist (2000-2011). Since 2011 he has had leading roles at Red Glead Discovery. He has contributed to successful deliveries of clinical candidates both at AstraZeneca and Red Glead Discovery.
Michael Sloth Trabjerg, MD, PhD
Scientific Advisor
Dr. Michael Sloth Trabjerg is a Medical Doctor and completed his PhD at the Laboratory of Metabolism Modifying Medicine, Aalborg University with research into CPT1 as a potential target to restore dysregulated metabolism in neurodegenerative diseases.