Dansk Biotek Magasinet nr. 1 2010

now and again, things just won’t get
done.”
Karolina is an almost impulsive multitasker
– and while we speak she’s continually
scribbling down notes, which
she says, is a habit she’s found invaluable
since starting as CEO of Thrombologic
last year. “Perhaps the biggest
issue for a virtual company is how to retain
knowledge. The people who work
for me are not tied to Thrombologic,
and if I’m not careful, the knowledge
they gain will leave the company once
the project is done. A lot of tasks entail
complex problems, and the problem
solving done by the consultant is sometimes
as or even more valuable than the
outcome. Therefore, regular contact is
pivotal and, in my case, a very friendly
and down-to-earth tone is important so
that the person I am collaborating with
feels ownership and motivation for the
task. When I do have these meetings or
telephone conferences, I keep track of
everything by writing it down in a note
book that I always carry with me. And
I learnt early on in the job that I need a
good contract with my consultants that
clearly states that all data belongs to
Thrombologic and will be transferred to
Thrombologic at the end of the project.”
One solution is to run all research and
clinical work through the same CRO.
A few years ago, CROs maintained
small back-office organisations in order
to keep costs down – and they were
used by large pharmaceuticals for the
same reason. But they’ve grown over
the years, and Karolina feels that they
are no longer designed for fast deci-
sion making. “The large CROs seem to
enjoy working with small companies like
Thrombologic, because we tend to do
things differently and they like the challenge.
But all the complex communications
lines in large CROs can slow things
down, and I find that I have to push
them to think outside the box, which is
not a good use of my time.”
A NETWORK OF DEDICATED
CONSULTANTS
Instead, Karolina prefers to make use
of her Board of Directors and network.
And, after working in London, Stockholm,
Copenhagen and New York,
she has a large network she can tap
into. “I need most biotech functions at
some point, and I much prefer working
with someone I know well, so I use old
colleagues and connections, some of
whom are now working in small consultancy
firms. These people like the short
communication lines that Thrombologic
offers, and I can use them as a sounding
board when I’m trying to solve a
problem. I take the time to tell them
about different aspects of the company,
not only the task they are hired to work
on. It helps me to discuss things, and it
keeps them interested in what I’m doing
with Thrombologic.”
Karolina was asked to head Thrombologic
by the seed investment companies
NovoSeeds and CATScience while she
was working at Genmab, and started as
CEO in December last year. As a oneperson
company, she finds the support
of her Board and investors extremely
ABout thromBoLogiC
Thrombologic is a small seed-capital
biotech company based in Denmark that’s
developing new discoveries from Rigshospitalet
(Copenhagen University Hospital) and
leading frontier investigators to develop
life-saving therapies for critically ill patients
suffering from sepsis and multiple organ
failure.
With the backing of seed investment
companies Novo Seeds and CATScience,
Thrombologic’s goal is to take its unique
and proprietary approach from theoretical
idea to experimental data – and produce
enough data to support a clinical proof of
concept study where both the effect and
the safety of the treatment can be thoroughly
tested.
important. “I have to make a lot of tough
decisions on my own – the kind of decisions
that it’s nice to talk through with
someone. I don’t have the luxury of
being able to turn to colleagues or ask
their opinion during a coffee break. But
most people are happy to sit down and
take the time to give me advice – not
just my Board, but also old colleagues
with experience in the pharmaceutical
and biotech industry.”
For the first four months of its short
life, Thrombologic was based in the
spare room of Karolina’s apartment in
Copenhagen. But she recently started
renting a space in Cobis, a dedicated biotechnology
science park in central Copenhagen.
“There are great advantages
to working at home, but it can be lonely.
There’s no-one to just chit-chat with: I
can’t just walk over to one of my consultants
and say ‘how was your weekend?’,
and I was holding most of my
meetings in cafes. I’m now surrounded
by people who work in the same industry,
and can pass the time with them
during coffee or lunch breaks. But I’m
still on my own, and I have to remember
that there’s no assistant for me to call if
I get to a meeting and discover I’ve forgotten
my PowerPoint presentation.”
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