Herantis appoints experienced drug development expert Dr Juha Savola as Chief Medical Officer
Brings more than 25 years of global drug development, regulatory and strategic leadership experience successfully guiding innovative therapies from clinical development through regulatory approval and commercialization
Espoo, Finland, 25 June 2026: Herantis Pharma Plc (“Herantis”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing disease-modifying therapies to stop the progression of Parkinson’s disease, today announces the appointment of Dr Juha Savola, MD, PhD as Chief Medical Officer (CMO).
Juha brings more than 25 years of global drug development, regulatory and executive leadership experience spanning neurology, gene therapy, and rare diseases. Throughout his career, he has played a key role in shaping development strategies for innovative therapies from early clinical development through to regulatory approval and commercialization, with extensive expertise in clinical and regulatory strategy, health authority engagement, program acceleration and strategic partnering.
Most recently, he served as Vice President, Clinical Development at Spark Therapeutics (Philadelphia, USA), where he led clinical development programmes across ophthalmology and neurology, including Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. He was responsible for global development strategy, execution of pivotal clinical programmes and regulatory engagement with the FDA and EMA, guiding innovative therapies through key development milestones while chairing multiple strategic development committees.
Prior to Spark, Juha held senior leadership positions at Teva Pharmaceuticals, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Santhera Pharmaceuticals, and Juvantia Pharma where he helped to shape global development strategies across neurodegenerative and neurological disorders, contributing to clinical development and regulatory programmes across the US, Europe and Asia.
In addition to his industry leadership experience, Juha is a physician-scientist with an MD and PhD from the University of Oulu. He has held academic appointments including Associate Professor at the University of Turku, and has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications covering neurodegenerative diseases, receptor pharmacology, clinical development and gene therapy.
Antti Vuolanto, CEO of Herantis Pharma, said: “We are delighted to welcome Juha as our Chief Medical Officer. He brings a rare combination of scientific, clinical and strategic leadership experience, with a proven track record of guiding innovative therapies through critical development and regulatory milestones. His leadership will be instrumental as we advance HER-096, evaluate strategic partnering opportunities, and work to bring a potential disease-modifying treatment to people living with Parkinson's disease.”
Dr Juha Savola, CMO of Herantis Pharma, said: “My professional mission is to advance meaningful therapeutic options for people living with Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Joining Herantis at this pivotal stage for HER-096 aligns directly with this commitment. Parkinson’s disease remains one of the largest unmet needs in neurology, and HER-096 has the potential to become a truly disease-modifying treatment capable of altering the course of the illness. Herantis has generated compelling clinical, biomarker and translational evidence that provides a strong foundation for the next phase of development. I look forward to working with the team to advance HER-096, strengthen its strategic positioning, and help bring a new treatment option to patients, their families, and the physicians who care for them.”
For more information, please contact:
Herantis Pharma Plc
Antti Vuolanto, CEO
Tel: +358407517329
Tone Kvåle, CFO
Tel: +47 915 19576
Email: ir@herantis.com
ICR Healthcare
Sarah Elton-Farr, Stephanie Cuthbert, Phillip Marriage
Tel: +44 20 3709 5700
Email: herantispharma@icrhealthcare.com
Certified Advisor:
UB Corporate Finance Ltd
Tel: +358 9 25 380 225
Email: ubcf@unitedbankers.fi
About Herantis Pharma Plc
Herantis Pharma Plc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing disease-modifying therapies for Parkinson’s disease. The Company’s lead product, HER-096, is a first-in-class small peptide that combines the neuroprotective mechanism of cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF), with the convenience of subcutaneous administration. In a Phase 1b clinical trial, HER 096 was shown to be generally safe and well tolerated in Parkinson’s disease patients. Herantis plans to advance HER-096 into a Phase 2 clinical trial in 2027 to evaluate efficacy, safety and tolerability in early-stage Parkinson’s patients.
Herantis is listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland.
Company website: www.herantis.com
Forward-looking statements
This release includes forward-looking statements which are not historical facts but statements regarding future expectations instead. These forward-looking statements include without limitation, those regarding Herantis’ future financial position and results of operations, the Company’s strategy, objectives, future developments in the markets in which the Company participates or is seeking to participate or anticipated regulatory changes in the markets in which the Company operates or intends to operate. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “guidance,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “projected,” “should” or “will” or the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are based on numerous assumptions. The Company’s actual results of operations, including the Company’s financial condition and liquidity and the development of the industry in which the Company operates, may differ materially from (and be more negative than) those made in, or suggested by, the forward-looking statements contained in this company release. Factors, including risks and uncertainties that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to risks associated with implementation of Herantis’ strategy, risks and uncertainties associated with the development and/or approval of Herantis’ drug candidates, ongoing and future clinical trials and expected trial results, the ability to commercialize drug candidates, technology changes and new products in Herantis’ potential market and industry, Herantis’ freedom to operate in respect of the products it develops (which freedom may be limited, e.g., by competitors’ patents), the ability to develop new products and enhance existing products, the impact of competition, changes in general economy and industry conditions, and legislative, regulatory and political factors. In addition, even if Herantis’ historical results of operations, including the Company’s financial condition and liquidity and the development of the industry in which the Company operates, are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this company release, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods.
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