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Mikael Oerum holds 40 years of executive and strategic experience in the pharmaceutical, biotech and finance sectors, including 25 years as CEO of therapeutic and diagnostic companies, and more than 20 years professional experience from boards as Chairman or Board Member. He has raised more than USD 300M in equity and soft funding into biotech companies in USA and Europe, has successfully negotiated multi-millions therapeutic, diagnostic and biochemical in- & out-licensing deals in USA, Europe and Asia as well as distributor and OEM product deals globally and regionally.

Mikael Oerum has orchestrated several IPOs and headed several commercial product launches. Companies include Exiqon (listed on Danish stock exchange and later acquired by Qiagen and delisted), RhoVac, Idogen and Coegin Pharma (all listed on a Swedish stock exchange), and Cureon later renamed Santaris Pharma, which he spun out from Exiqon (sold to Hoffmann-La Roche).

Mikael Oerum is founder of Ventac Partners with offices in USA, Europe and Asia focusing on building and managing life science companies from start to exit, and providing strategic and corporate development expertise to life science companies, as well as supporting fundraising and business development.

Mikael Oerum has over time served on several government committees. He has been strategic advisor to Hong Kong Government in their effort to build biotech industry, involving two major strategic projects covering the Hong Kong territory as well as the Southern China area. Furthermore, he has served as international expert in life science projects for Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey.

In academia, Mikael Oerum has served in Advisory Board roles at Virginia Tech’s Bioinformatics Institute, the Danish Technical University and its Institute of Nanotechnology. Furthermore, he served as Vice-Chairman for more than a decade on the Board of the Danish/Swedish life science cluster organization Medicon Valley Alliance.

Since 2005, he serves as external lecturer for the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in commercialization of biotech and medtech innovations.

He holds educations in banking, finance and law from Copenhagen Business School, Danish Bankers Academy, Copenhagen Business College and Copenhagen University. Furthermore, he has received military training and an officer’s education from the Royal Danish Guard/Danish National Guard. Vis-à-vis his civil career, he has served for a number of years as a staff officer and liaison officer in a Danish military command.