Management team

Kostas Alevizopoulos, PhD | Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Kostas Alevizopoulos brings more than 20 years of corporate expertise in the development and commercialization of therapeutic, diagnostic, medical device and OTC products. His personal track record combines investment, licensing and commercialization experience with significant research & development and regulatory expertise in both the preclinical and clinical space.

Before joining APIM Therapeutics, Kostas held various executive positions including: CSO of Gerolymatos International SA (GR), CEO of Medexis SA (GR), Head of Preclinical R & D of Biovista Inc. (US) and Head of R & D of Apotech SA (CH). Dr. Alevizopoulos consults for several biotech companies, academic institutes and government associations and is a co-founder of several biomedical companies. Finally, Kostas is also a partner of Ventac Partners, an international life science business development firm with affiliate offices in the US, Europe and Asia.

Dr. Alevizopoulos received his Biology degree from the University of Athens, Greece and his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. He has also conducted post-doctoral studies in the Swiss Institute of Experimental Cancer Research (Switzerland) and the Schering Plough Research Institute (USA) specializing in oncology research. He has published more than 30 peer review publications and he is co-inventor of several patent families. He is also trained in European Patent law (Strasbourg, France).

Marit Otterlei, PhD | Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Marit Otterlei is a Professor at the Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Prof. Otterlei’s main focus in research is on proper function of biological processes, including DNA replication and repair. Prof. Otterlei has more than 75 peer reviewed international papers within the field including several review papers. She is a member of the Royal Norwegian Society of Science and Letter, 2006.

Dr. Otterlei received her M.Sc. in Chemistry in 1988 at the Norwegian Institute of Technology followed by a PhD degree in 1993 at the Institute of Cancer Research at the University of Trondheim. Dr. Otterlei was visiting scientist at Trancel Corporation, Santa Ana and Pancreas Transplant research, in Los Angeles, California, from 1990 through 1991. This position was followed by a Post.doc post at the Unigen Center for Molecular Biology at NTNU from 1994 through 1997. Dr. Otterlei became researcher and assistant professor at the institute of Cancer Research and Molecular Biology at NTNU in 1999, and stayed in this position until 2001, when she became visiting scientist at the Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, National Institute of Aging, NIH, USA. Dr. Otterlei became Professor in medicine (molecular biology/molecular medicine) at the Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine at NTNU in 2003.

Prof. Otterlei is a frequent presenter at international conferences. Besides the status as primary inventor of APIM, she brings extensive experience in the field of molecular understanding within the area to the company's board. Prof. Otterlei is a frequent presenter at international conferences. Besides the status as primary inventor of APIM, she brings extensive experience in the field of molecular understanding within the area to the company's board. For more information on Prf. Otterlei’s activities, please see her Publications.

Jens-Peter Marschner, MD | Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Jens-Peter Marschner joined APIM in June 2020 as Chief Medical Officer. He has more than 25 years of professional experience in clinical development with a focus on oncology. Working in several pharmaceutical companies, he has been responsible for early and late stage development, primarily of anti-cancer drugs.

At Merck Serono, Dr. Marschner led the clinical development team of cetuximab (Erbitux), a monoclonal antibody targeting EGFR, which was successfully launched in 2004. Since then he hold several global leading positions, including Vice President Global Medical Affairs and Vice President Early Development ImmunoOncology. In 2013 Dr. Marschner became CMO of Affimed, a German biotech company developing bispecific antibodies, where he contributed significantly to the company’s shift from a platform company to a clinical development company. In addition, he actively supported the successful IPO in the US (NASAQ). Following Affimed, Jens-Peter led Medical Affairs Oncology in Western Europe and Canada at Abbvie before he joined Zelluna as CMO, a Norwegian biotech company focusing on cellular therapies in the field of ImmunoOncology.

Jens-Peter studied medicine at the University in Jena, Germany, and became a board certified Clinical Pharmacologist at the University Hospital in Frankfurt/Main, Germany.

Hans Olav Minsås, MBA. | Chief Financial Officer

Hans Olav Minsås is a business executive with more than 12 years experience in the financial sector. With an expertise on investment appraisal, financial analysis, accounting and financial management, Mr. Minsås fulfills the role of Chief Financial Officer within APIM Therapeutics advising the company on various financial matters. Prior to his employment in APIM Therapeutics, Hans Olav Minsås served as an Analyst at Impello, Spare Bank 1 and an Auditor, Financial Services at KPMG.

Hans Olav Minsås is a graduate and holder of a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the Norwegian School of Economics.