Marie W Lindholm, PhD

Marie has more than 12 years’ experience with oligonucleotide therapeutics. Marie transitioned to industry research positions after an international academic career in experimental cardiovascular medicine. Academic focus was to identify causality between dyslipidemia and cardiometabolic disease and included dyslipidemia-induced changes in epigenetic parameters, innate immunity response, liver lipid droplets, and risk for cardiovascular events after plaque destabilization.

Over the years, Marie has assembled biotechnology, big pharma, and academic experience, from hands-on method development for novel model system and analysis methods, to how to make an efficacious “elevator pitch” scientific presentations to bio-investors in Europe and the US.

Starting out with a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry at Uppsala University, Marie did a post-doc with Pr. Trudy Forte at the Donner Laboratory, Berkely, and then moved to a research position at Royal Free Hospital, London, before returning to Sweden and and associate professor position at Lund University. In 2007 Marie changed pace and started at Santaris Pharma, a biotechnology company developing RNA-targeting drugs using locked nucleic acid (LNA) technology, where Marie established a well-equipped lipid analysis laboratory. Projects included LNA oligonucleotide drug development from molecule design through in vitro screening, in vivo activity and metabolism studies, and finally a role as lipid metabolism expert when the apoB, PCSK9, and miR-122 targeting programs reached the stage of clinical development. Marie was also scientific coordinator for the LNA work in two large EU-funded FP7 programs (AtheroBCell and AtheroFlux).

September 2014 Santaris was acquired by Roche and Marie was appointed Expert Scientist in Discovery Technology and Head of Targeted Delivery of oligonucleotide conjugates. In that role Marie headed interdisciplinary teams across Roche sites, led collaborations with academia, and frequently participated in evaluations of outside opportunities for targeted delivery, including setting up PoC study criteria of targeting moieties such as aptamers, antibodies, and small molecule conjugates.

December 2017 Marie returned to the fast-paced biotechnology environment when she was recruited to Silence Therapeutics as Head of Innovation Technology (now renamed Molecular Design) where she leads a skilled team focusing on fine-tuning design of GalNAc-conjugated siRNA and exploring siRNA delivery outside the hepatocyte.