The Team

Our vision – To support patients facing infertility to achieve successful treatment outcomes

Management

John Lempert

Chief Executive Officer

John Lempert studied law at Lund University and is by the National Board of Health and Welfare a certified dental technician. John has among other worked for Johnson & Johnson Scandinavia, also in international position and in smaller entrepreneurial companies being responsible for developing new patented dental materials from product development, through regulatory affairs and manufacturing to completed market entry and build-up.

John has also had assignments for the World Bank and has more than 35 years of experience from business development in the medtech industry.

Employee since: 2020
Other current assignments: ABD Nordic AB, board member. PC Medicus AB, board member.

Shares: 150 808 direct
Options: 162 000 direct

Kushagr Punyani

Chief Scientific Officer

Kushagr Punyani is founder and CSO for Spermosens AB. Kushagr holds a licentiate degree in engineering, microfluidic technology, from Lund University. From his studies in India together with Professor Sudha Srivastava, Punyani laid the foundation for Spermosens’ technology. Kushagr has also been involved in founding a number of companies that develop new technologies in medtech / pharmaceuticals.

Employee since: 2018
Other current assignments: Diagonal Pharma AB, board member. Punyani Labs AB, board member.

Shares: 1 578 240 direct
Options: None

Ulrik Nilsson

Chief Financial Officer

Ulrik Nilsson holds a Diploma in Management, Business Administration and Management, at Henley Business School, Master of Science in International Business Administration and Economics from the School of Economics and Management, Lund University and technical college graduate in energy technology.

Ulrik has more than 20 years of experience from leading positions within finance in multi-national global medical technology companies, such as Gambro and Baxter International Inc, working with all parts of the business. Ulrik joined from Precise Biometrics AB, where he was CFO. In addition to finance, Ulrik has been responsible for Investor Relations, IT and HR in previous roles.

Employee since: 2021
Shares: 53 500
Options: 190 000 direct

COWORKERS

Jaime Castillo-León

Head of Product Design & Development

Jaime Castillo-León studied chemistry at the Universidad Industrial de Santander. Jaime holds a Ph.D. in electrochemistry from Lund University. He has more than 15 years of industrial and academic experience designing and fabricating electrochemical and optical biosensors, besides solar energy devices. He has held Director and Managerial offices in two Swedish SMEs in the fields of biomedical and solar energy, as well as the position of Associate Professor at DTU Nanotech, Technical University of Denmark.

Rita Cabrita

Principal Scientist

Rita Cabrita studied Molecular Biology and Genetics at the University of Lisbon. Rita holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from Lund University. She is a trained academic researcher in Cancer Biology and published in reputable journals such as Nature and Cell Press. She has over 8 years of academic experience developing scientific projects and collaborating with international partners in large European consortiums.

Chemutai Beatrice

Project Manager

Chemutai holds a Master of Science in International Development & Management from Lund University. She has over 5 years of experience working with Lean and Agile Project Management Methodologies and has been actively involved in planning and executing innovative project management solutions for companies in retail and information technology industries. Her project management experience spans across B2B and D2C business models, localization, customer experience, user-centred design strategy and growth marketing.

Thabitha Carlsson

RA Manager

Thabitha, a licenced Pharmacist, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from University of the North and Uppsala University, studies in Pharmacovigilance and Clinical Trials, Uppsala and Gothenburg Universities and a Master in Business Administration, MANCOSA.

Thabitha has 13 years quality management experience both in Sweden and South Africa, within the pharmacy sector. She has had roles as a Responsible Pharmacist and worked with Regulatory issues in the hospital and medical device sectors.

Callum Parker

QA Manager

Callum holds a Masters in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Leeds and has worked in pharmaceutical and medtech industries for over 6 years. Callum has acquired extensive experience in manufacturing, supply and QA/RA and held a number of exciting and challenging positions including as a Global Project Lead for GSK.

More recently, he worked as Head of QA/RA at a UK start up where he implemented an ISO 13485 certified QMS, led various aspects of the manufacturing and supply operations and played an integral part of taking a product through development into the market.

Jingyuan Zhu

Senior Scientist

Jingyuan Zhu studied materials science and engineering at Nanjing University. Jingyuan holds a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Queen Mary University of London. He is a trained researcher in designing and fabricating nanomaterials and nanodevices for molecular studies. He has published in high-impact journals such as JACS and Small. He has held the position of postdoc researcher at Lund University and participated in large international research projects under the European Horizon 2020 Funding Frame.

Board of Directors

Eva Nilsagård

Chairman of the board

Board member since: 2020
Born: 1964
Main occupation: Board professional

Shares: 30 000 direct
Options: 81 000 direct

Eva Nilsagård is currently the founder and CEO of Nilsagård Consulting AB. Eva holds an executive MBA in business management and organization as well as a master’s degree in accounting and finance from the Gothenburg School of Economics. Eva has been CFO at OptiGroup, Vitrolife and Plastal, SVP Strategy & Business development at Volvo Group and held senior positions in finance and business development at Volvo, AstraZeneca and SKF. Eva has a long experience of listed companies and over 10 years of experience as a mentor for young female managers.

Other current assignments: Chairman of the board of Diagonal Bio AB. Board member and chairman of the audit committee in Nimbus Group AB, Hansa Biopharma AB, Xbrane Biopharma AB, Aktiebolaget Svensk Exportkredit (Swedish Export Credit corporation), IRRAS AB, Addlife AB, Bufab AB, Nanexa AB, and board member of eEducation Albert AB. Nilsagård Consulting AB, Chairman of the board and CEO.

Independent in relation to the company and company management and in relation to the company’s major shareholders.

Ingela Liljeqvist Soltić

Board member

Board member since: 2019
Born: 1967
Main occupation: Embryologist and Unit Manager, Laboratory, Reproductive Medicine Centre, Skåne University Hospital

Shares: None
Options: None

Ingela Liljeqvist Soltić, PhD currently works as an embryologist and unit manager for laboratory and tissue establishment at the Center for Reproductive Medicine (RMC) at Skåne University Hospital. Ingela has a BSc in Biomedical Laboratory Technology from Lund University and a PhD in Biomedical Science.Ingela has previously worked as an embryologist at IVF Clinic Cura Öresund and at the pharmaceutical company Merck. Ingela has extensive experience from IVF and fertility issues.

Independent in relation to the company and company management and in relation to the company’s major shareholders.

Christina Östberg-Lloyd

Board member

Board member since: 2022
Main occupation: Senior Vice President och Global Head, Reproductive Medicine Maternal Health, RMMH, Ferring Pharmaceuticals A/S.

Shares: 0
Options: 0

Christina Östberg Lloyd currently holds a globally leading position at Ferring Pharmaceuticals A / S as Senior Vice President and Global Head, Reproductive Medicine Maternal Health, RMMH. Christina is M.D. and specializes in gynecology and obstetrics with a focus on reproductive medicine, regarding both male and female infertility.

Other current assignments: Part owner of Care & Communication AB, Senior medical advisor Pharmiva AB.

Independent in relation to the company and company management and in relation to the company’s major shareholders.

Sören Melsing Frederiksen

Board member

Board member since: 2020
Born: 1976
Main occupation: VP Product Development & Commercial Rx, Orifarm Healthcare

Shares: 220 132 via company
Options: 27 000 direct

Sören Melsing Frederiksen currently holds the position of Vice President, Product Development and Commercial Rx, ORIFARM GROUP A/S. Søren holds a B.A.Sc in Applied Science and a master´s degree in drug development. Previsouly, Søren held a position as VP Sales & Marketing in Galenica AB and before that held several positions within LEO Pharma and a role in Aspen Pharma Nordic. Søren has extensive experience in marketing and sales as well as the entire value chain in the pharmaceutical industry.

Other current assignments: VBM Ejendomsselskabet af 2007 Aps, board member. StenoCare A/S, board member. SML Holding ApS, board member and CEO.

Independent in relation to the company and company management and in relation to the company’s major shareholders.

Kushagr Punyani

Board member

Board member since: 2018
Born: 1991
Main occupation: CSO Spermosens AB

Shares: 1 578 240 direct
Options: None

Other current assignments: Diagonal Pharma AB, board member. Punyani Labs AB, board member. Nested Bio AB, board member.

Member of company management and major shareholder.

Development Partners

Zimmer & Peacock

Z&P is a valued partner in Spermosens Development Team on the development of single-use cassettes for the rapid assessment of male fertility based on Spermosens’ IP around the direct measurement of spermatozoa within the semen, and prediction of the fusion capacity to the oocyte (egg cell).

Z&P has deep knowledge in, and experience from, the development of electrochemical biosensors, and these capabilities are being leveraged by Spermosens to deliver a product to the market, in an investment efficient manner, leveraging capital insertion with ROI.

Spermosens understanding of the fertility market, and the patent pending platform technology will supply the answer to solving problems within the IVF market. Spermosens male-fertility diagnostic products are expected to lead to fewer cycles performed to fertilisation and conception.

…we are thrilled to be selected as a trusted development partner with Spermosens and delighted to be guided by Spermosens mission . We are impressed by Spermosens break-through technology and their go-to-market strategy.

– Z&P CEO Mr. Even Zimmer

IP Management

HØIBERG

Stefan has a broad interdisciplinary background from his undergraduate studies at the nanoengineering program, and subsequent PhD studies in Physics at Lund University, Sweden. Throughout his PhD he focused on the application of nano and microstructures for the analysis of particles, for the investigation of biological samples. In addition Stefan has an extensive knowledge about miniaturization of diagnostic devices for lab-on-chip applications.

The profound technical background has been a perfect match for Spermosens, and has been an instrumental component when Stefan and his colleagues at the renowned patent law firm HØIBERG, have developed a viable IP strategy on behalf of Spermosens. The Spermosens and HØIBERG teams work closely together to maintain and develop the patent portfolio of Spermosens.

Peter Holm is a European Patent Attorney, Partner and Country Manager for Sweden at the patent law firm HØIBERG. Together with Stefan Holm Nygaard, Peter is acting as Spermosens’ strategic IP advisor. Peter has a PhDin Biochemistry and Biophysics from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden and has been working as a patent attorney at HØIBERG since 2006, assisting startup companies and individual researchers within the lifescience field, with the development of their IP strategy.