Company
![desentum-staff](https://desentum.fi/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/desentum-staff.jpg)
Allergy is a worldwide problem that causes significant social and economic burden. Approximately one billion people are affected by different allergic diseases. There is no known cure for allergies, and the current treatment options are not sufficient for all patients.
Desentum is a research-oriented, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specialized in developing novel types of allergen immunotherapy products that are based on switching the immune system’s response to allergens from hypersensitivity to tolerance. The goal is to provide long-term relief for patients suffering from allergic symptoms. Desentum’s product development targets both aeroallergens and food allergens.
Desentum was founded in 2011 as a spin-off from VTT technical Research Centre of Finland, following scientific discoveries made by research groups at the University of Eastern Finland and VTT about the mechanism triggering allergic reactions. These two research groups are still Desentum’s main R&D collaborators. Desentum has created several promising hypoallergen candidates for immunotherapeutic treatment of different allergies and developed a novel formulation for controlled release of the active substance after injection.
The lead asset, DM-101PX targeted against birch pollen allergy, is currently in early clinical development. Hypoallergens for grass pollen and peanut allergies are in preclinical development.
Desentum has received funding from Business Finland, European Innovation Council, and private investors.
Board Of Directors
![Hans Söderlund](https://desentum.fi/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/8d63900d7c959b34b35fc2ddf9b132ac.png)
Hans Söderlund
Chairman of the Board
Introduction
Hans Söderlund is one of the founders of Desentum and a member of the board. He has a long experience in molecular biology and biotechnology.
After 10 years in academia Hans moved to a Finnish health care company Orion Pharma to set up a biotechnology unit for drug discovery and molecular diagnostics. In 1991 he joined the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT), first to act as a professor in genetic engineering, and later the vice president, strategic research. Currently, he is the chairman of the board of the University of Oulu, and a board member in Paras Biopharmaceuticals, a Finnish biotech company specialized in production technologies for peptide hormones.
Hans holds a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Helsinki.
![Dirk-Jan Opstelten](https://desentum.fi/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1cf38a70af5a170402b22278a4442d9a.png)
Dirk-Jan Opstelten
Member of the Board
Introduction
Dirk-Jan Holds a Ph.D. degree in virology from the Utrecht University.
![Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber](https://desentum.fi/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/bd42ea292bd3c0714e8f6ba1529f1dd5.png)
Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber
Member of the Board
Introduction
![Adriaan Hart de Ruijter](https://desentum.fi/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/864c14429914f71abc14341c9b7c8c31.png)
Adriaan Hart de Ruijter
Member of the board; Managing Director, Cascara Ventures
Introduction
Adriaan co-founded MSOURCE, the CRO for the medical device, biotech and pharmaceutical industry in 1994. In his role as managing director he worked together with many teams to provide accurate and efficient development programs for drugs, devices and vaccines. MSOURCE was sold to TUV-SUD in 2008. Adriaan presently serves on the board of many life science companies.
Adriaan holds an M.D. degree from the University of Leiden and an MBA of the Erasmus University of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
![Juha Rouvinen](https://desentum.fi/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/6d34d7df7e3225f4ef14788f0479a772.png)
Juha Rouvinen
Member of the Board
Introduction
Juha Rouvinen is one of the founders of Desentum. He holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of Joensuu. He started his career at the University of Uppsala, determining the first three-dimensional crystal structure of cellulase. Since 1990 he has held positions at the University of Joensuu and the Academy of Finland until 2001 when he was appointed professor in organic chemistry, especially structural studies of biomolecules, at the University of Joensuu. He has published approximately 100 papers in refereed scientific journals.
Juha’s research area is structural biology, especially protein crystallography. His group has solved a number of protein crystal structures important for different biotechnological applications as well as for biomedicine. In 2008 his group published the structure of allergen-IgE/(Fab) immunocomplex, being the first group in the world to show a complete IgE epitope for an allergen.
In 2007-2009 Juha was a dean of the Faculty of the Science, University of Joensuu. Now he is a vice head of the department of Chemistry at University of Eastern Finland and a member of board, Finnish Union of University Professors.
Our team
![Pekka Mattila](https://desentum.fi/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/818a8e60631ab0ba82f4a5e372fe2366.png)
Pekka Mattila
CEO, Desentum
Introduction
Pekka co-founded Desentum in 2011 and has acted as the chief executive officer since then. Pekka has an extensive experience of managing biotech companies. Prior to founding Desentum, he was the co-founder of a Finnish biotech company Finnzymes Ltd and acted as its CEO for 25 years until 2010, when the company was acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Pekka is currently a board member in several biotech and pharmaceutical companies including TILT Biotherapeutics Oy, Aiforia Oy and Oy Medix Biochemica Ab. He has also been in the boards of Herantis Pharma Oyj and Mobidiag Oy.
Pekka holds a M.Sc. degree from Helsinki University of Technology in biochemistry, biotechnology and microbiology.
![Kristiina Takkinen](https://desentum.fi/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/b326984af240bb3e55728c0d2613ee34.png)
Kristiina Takkinen
Senior Principal Scientist, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland
Introduction
Kristiina started her career in the recombinant DNA laboratory at the University of Helsinki. Since 1988 she has been working at VTT as a principal scientist and team leader for the immunotechnology group. In 2005–2013 she held the position of research professor in bioanalytics at VTT and the University of Oulu. Currently, Kristiina is a senior principal scientist at VTT, developing new methods in bioanalytics and allergy therapy.
Kristiina has published over 40 papers in refereed scientific journals. She has 6 patents and 9 patent applications.
![Juha Rouvinen](https://desentum.fi/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/6d34d7df7e3225f4ef14788f0479a772.png)
Juha Rouvinen
Professor, University of Eastern Finland, Department of Chemistry
Introduction
Juha is one of the founders of Desentum. He holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of Joensuu. He started his career at the University of Uppsala, determining the first three-dimensional crystal structure of cellulase. Since 1990 he has held positions at the University of Joensuu and the Academy of Finland until 2001 when he was appointed professor in organic chemistry, especially structural studies of biomolecules, at the University of Joensuu. He has published approximately 100 papers in refereed scientific journals.
Juha’s research area is structural biology, especially protein crystallography. His group has solved a number of protein crystal structures important for different biotechnological applications as well as for biomedicine. In 2008 his group published the structure of allergen-IgE/(Fab) immunocomplex, being the first group in the world to show a complete IgE epitope for an allergen.
In 2007-2009 Juha was a dean of the Faculty of the Science, University of Joensuu. Now he is a vice head of the department of Chemistry at University of Eastern Finland and a member of board, Finnish Union of University Professors.
![Janne Jänis](https://desentum.fi/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/d129aa96371e79d076774e2ff6dbab56.png)
Janne Jänis
Professor, University of Eastern Finland, Department of Chemistry
Introduction
Janne’s main research area is mass spectrometry of biomolecules, especially proteins and peptides. He was among the first ones in Finland to employ high-resolution mass spectrometry for structural characterization of proteins, and pioneered the use of native mass spectrometry technique for protein interaction studies. His main research interests include intact protein characterization by top-down mass spectrometry, analysis of protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions as well as structure and redox-chemistry of metalloproteins. His group also utilizes high-resolution mass spectrometry for complex mixture analysis, especially chemical fingerprinting of biomass based bio-oils.
Janne is currently a head of mass spectrometry and bioanalytical chemistry research group at UEF Chemistry. Apart from research, he teaches organic chemistry and mass spectrometry at the undergraduate and graduate student levels. He has been a frequent invited speaker in scientific conferences and training schools in Finland and abroad. He has been active and held several administrative duties in scientific societies, including Chemist Association of Eastern Finland (board member 2000-2002; chairman 2003) and Finnish Mass Spectrometry Society (board member 2003-2004; chairman 2005-2008). He is also a vice representative for Biocenter Kuopio in Biocenter Finland structural biology network.
![Jaana Haka](https://desentum.fi/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/60558fae53ecc4fc9f64c7b30b3795b8.png)
Jaana Haka
Head of CMC Development, Desentum
Introduction
![Anna Nilson](https://desentum.fi/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/457ecbb4bd66c98e9a21acc1f97ea118.png)
Anna Nilson
Head of Clinical Operations, Desentum
Introduction
Anna holds an MSc degree in biology in the University of Turku.
![Kati Sallinen](https://desentum.fi/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/bbb83a5e13810625bbfb297f1d9fdc6c.png)
Kati Sallinen
Director, Strategy & Communications, Desentum
Introduction
![Silja Halme](https://desentum.fi/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/443a3b1ecd00d7909d9e08983e249789.png)
Silja Halme
Head of Quality & Regulatory Affairs, Desentum
Introduction
Silja holds a M.Sc. degree in biochemistry from the University of Oulu. In her early career, she has worked several years at the National Public Health Institute in research group studying cell-mediated immunity. After that, she has gained several years of experience in R&D and nearly 20 years of experience in quality management, especially in IVD area, in several companies such as Ani Labsystems, DHR Finland and Thermo Fisher Scientific. Before joining Desentum in 2020, Silja was leading the quality assurance and regulatory affairs department at Thermo Fisher Scientific in Finland. In her current role, she is responsible for Desentum’s quality system and regulatory compliance.
![Heidi Heiniluoto](https://desentum.fi/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/052e212cef12fd88dcbd2646fa8f443a.png)
Heidi Heiniluoto
Senior R&D Technician, Desentum
Introduction
Collaborations
VTT Technical Research Center of Finland Ltd
Desentum is a spin-off company of VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, which is one of the leading research organisations in Europe. Research groups at VTT and the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) are behind the original discoveries that are the basis of Desentum’s allergen immunotherapeutic products. The genetic modification, formulation development and research-scale production, purification, and characterisation of Desentum’s new product candidates is performed in VTT.
University of Eastern Finland
The Department of Chemistry at UEF has world-class expertise in advanced mass spectrometry. The department is a home to a state-of-the-art high-resolution FT-ICR mass spectrometer that is one of the few of its kind in Europe. This technology is very valuable in determining the correct folding and structure of Desentum’s product candidates as well as providing information on allergen-IgE complexes.
RefLab ApS, Denmark
RefLab is a private laboratory specialized in allergy diagnostics. It has developed a histamine release assay (HRA) that is the first line in evaluating Desentum’s candidate molecules’ potential as immunotherapeutic products.
Medical University of Vienna, Austria
The Medical University of Vienna is one of the most traditional medical training and research facilities in Europe. The immunogenicity, safety and efficacy of Desentum’s hypoallergen formulations is studied in a mouse model in the Institute of Pathophysiology and Allergy.
Biovian Oy, Finland
Biovian is a one-stop-shop in GMP contract manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals covering services from early development to finished vial. The GMP manufacturing of Desentum’s recombinant hypoallergens is optimized and carried out at Biovian.
Careers
Clinical Trial Manager
Desentum is a small biotech company developing innovative allergen immunotherapies for respiratory and food allergies. Our first product candidate is in clinical development and more candidates are getting close to the clinical stage. The company is mainly operating using external vendors and most of the clinical activities are outsourced.
We are looking for an enthusiastic Clinical Trial Manager (CTM) to join our team as a colleague for our Head of Clinical Operations.
Main responsibilities:
- Implementing and managing new and ongoing clinical trials conducted by CROs
- Coordinating and overseeing day-to-day clinical activities and driving study timelines
- Monitoring study progress to ensure compliance with and adherence to the study plan and to identify, evaluate and rectify problems.
- Creating and overseeing the trial budget
- Managing clinical study teams
- Coordination and supervision of clinical trial monitoring activities
- Preparing and reviewing protocols, case forms and clinical study reports, and finalizing monitoring and data management options
- Coordinating applications and possible amendments to ethical and regulatory bodies
- Shipment of materials for clinical trials
- Leading the creation and maintenance of all study files, including Trial Master File, and oversight of these files
- Assuring that the clinical trials are carried out according to the trial protocol, in compliance with ICH, CFR, and GCP guidelines as well as SOPs and local regulations, as applicable.
- Preparation and updating of the SOPs for clinical trials
We offer a key role in the clinical development of biomedical next-generation allergy treatments, a place in a highly motivated, agile, and low-hierarchy team, and an independent job with an option to work remotely or at the office in Espoo. The position offers an excellent opportunity to be involved in all aspects of the clinical development including planning, implementation and reporting of the clinical trials. There is also room in the Job Description to be tailored according to your skills and specific interests.
As a CTM you must have the ability to work independently as well as communicate well with other professionals. You must also have strong written and verbal communication abilities and highly effective interpersonal skills. Excellent organizational skills and ability to focus on detail are also essential. A CTM must also possess effective leadership abilities. Ideally you should have the following background and skill set:
- Master’s degree in life sciences
- 3+ years of work experience as CTM in a pharmaceutical company
- Good knowledge of ICH/GCP guidelines and other relevant regulations and guidance documents concerning clinical trials
- Outstanding communication skills, both verbal and written
- Ability to work independently and prioritize duties
- Well-organised working style
- Ability to focus and attention to detail
- Proficient with Microsoft Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint
- Language proficiency: English is essential, Finnish is an advantage
- Willingness to travel occasionally
To apply for this job, please send your CV and cover letter by email to info@desentum.fi by Jun 10, 2024.