Illum is a spin-off from the University of Copenhagen that translates a deep academic technology programme into an industrial platform for GPCR drug discovery.

Founder, CEO

Dimitrios Stamou, PhD

Dimitrios is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Copenhagen and Director of the Center for Geometrical Engineering of Cellular Systems. For the past 25 years his laboratory has been developing disruptive technologies that hold the potential to revolutionise the discovery process for transporters and GPCRs. He published numerous papers in top journals such as Science and Nature.

Advisory Board

Guido Koch, PhD

Guido brings more than 25 years of experience in pharma R&D, biotech leadership, and board service to Illum’s Advisory Board. He has held senior discovery chemistry and operational leadership roles at Novartis, contributed to two marketed drugs and seven clinical candidates, and is an inventor on nine patents. As co-founder and CEO of Amphilix and former COO of TOPADUR Pharma, he combines deep medicinal chemistry expertise with hands-on experience in company building, IP strategy, portfolio management, and external collaborations. His perspective supports Illum’s translation of innovative science into differentiated therapeutic and commercial opportunities.

Christoph Bieri, PhD

Christoph is a life-science entrepreneur, multiple Board member, Venture Investor and M&A and strategy advisor with more than 25 years of experience advising innovation-driven companies. Until 2019, he co-owned Kurmann Partners, a global M&A and strategy advisory firm specialising in BioPharma and MedTech that was acquired by EY. Prior to that, he co-founded and led Covalys Biosciences, commercialising SNAP-tag, after starting his career at The Boston Consulting Group. Christoph holds an MSc in Biochemistry from the Biocenter of Basel and a PhD from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne. His PhD thesis focused on GPCR/G-protein interactions, giving him a rare combination of scientific insight and transactional expertise to support Illum’s partnering, financing, and commercial development.

Georgios Skiniotis, PhD

Georgios is Endowed Chair in Structural Cell Biology and Director of the Centre of Excellence for Structural Cell Biology at St. Jude Children’s Hospital. His laboratory seeks to resolve structural and mechanistic questions underlying central biological processes in cellular physiology.

Marta Filizola, PhD

Marta is the Sharon & Frederick A. Klingenstein-Nathan G. Kase, MD Professor and the Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is a dedicated leader in computational biophysics of membrane proteins with over 20 years of experience applying methods of computational and theoretical chemistry to biochemical and biomedical problems, as well as to rational drug design. Filizola laboratory.