About us

Tenboron was founded in 2010 and started operation in late 2011. The inspiration came from the successful BNCT trials conducted at the Helsinki University Central Hospital and the VTT nuclear reactor facility FiR-1. Despite the good outcomes, it became clear that the boron carrier used in those trials was far from optimal.

All previous boron carrier development had taken place in academic research programs. There were no carriers that were approved by any regulatory authority. We wanted to develop approved and thus commercially available carriers.

The beginning was not easy. The decision to shut down the reactor was made in 2012, and the company providing BNCT treatment went bankrupt in the same year. Luckily, however, accelerator-based neutron sources had started to emerge, and now first ones are operational in Japan and China. There will be many more in the coming years.

People and partner network

Board and management

Dr. Timo Veromaa,
Chairman

Timo Veromaa is currently Professor of Practice in Drug Development at the University of Turku, Finland. He is the former CEO of BioTie Therapies Corp. Timo has an M.D. a Ph.D. (immunology), and an Executive MBA from the University of Turku.

Dr. Anu Muona,
Board Member

Anu Muona is a founding member and a long-time former CEO of Aranda Pharma Ltd. Anu has PhD in molecular biology and extensive background in both academic research and in industry leading drug development programs in oncology, neurology and dermatology.

Dr. Pekka Kallio,
Board Member

Pekka Kallio has 30 years of experience from academia, biotech, pharma and FIMEA/EMA. He has been Head and Director of Oncology Research at Orion Corporation and reviewed clinical trial applications at FIMEA/EMA, among other responsibilities. Pekka received his Ph.D. from the University of Helsinki and was a postdoctoral fellow at Karolinska Institute.

Dr. Seppo Pakkala,
Board Member and Chief Medical Officer

Seppo Pakkala has decades of experience in BNCT as the CEO of the Clinical Research Institute of HUCH, and Board Chairman of Boneca Corporation, a company which provided BNCT treatments. He has an M.D., a Ph.D., and is Specialist in Medicine.

Mr. Juha Jouhki,
Chief Executive Officer

M.Sc (Technology), M.Sc.(Biochemistry). Founding member and long-time chairman of BioTie Therapies Corp. and has served in the Boards of numerous SME’s. He was also the chairman of Tenboron before assuming the CEO position in 2015.

R&D and project management

Partner: Glykos Finland Ltd.

Clinical research

Quality assurance

Dr. Jari Helin,
Head of CMC

M.Sc. (Biochemistry), Ph.D. (Biochemistry), 58 articles in international peer-reviewed journals. Co-inventor of 24 patents and 91 patent applications

Dr. Jukka Hiltunen,
Project manager

Ph.D. (Physiological zoology), MBA more than 18 years of experience in patent portfolio and innovation management, Business intelligence and patent strategy implementation.

Mr. Tero Satomaa, Project manager

M.Sc. (Biochemistry), Co-Founder and Project Director at Glykos, over 25 years of experience in biotechnology research and development.

Dr. Özlem Ataman,
Radiation Oncology Advisor

Özlem Ataman is an MD, PhD who has 30 years of experience as a clinical oncologist in academia and in pharmaceutical medicine. Her expertise in clinical drug development is comprehensive including translational, clinical and regulatory aspects.

Ms. Sirkku Holttinen,
Quality Assurance Manager

M.Sc. (Biochemistry). Head of QA and VP of Operations, 1997-2006 and VP of Business Support and Supplier management, 2007, at Orion Diagnostica. Quality system and project consultant since 2008

MANUFACTURING

Partners: Biovian Ltd.
and Medfiles Ltd.

CLINICAL RESEARCH

Partner: Optimapharm Ltd.