PILA PHARMA

Hampus Darrell is joining with an extensive professional accounting tenure, and he will provide financial and accounting expertise to PILA PHARMA, thus securing a continuous high standard of financial management and reporting.

He graduated from Lund University, Sweden in 2001 with a Master of Science in Business and Economics. He became a Swedish Certified Public Accountant in 2005.

From 2001 to 2006, Hampus worked as an auditor at KPMG's Malmö office, Sweden, and between 2006 and 2012, he held various financial positions at energy firm E.ON, Sweden.

In 2012, he was appointed Senior Manager and Head of KPMG Malmö's Financial Services Team, Sweden, which was later acquired by Aspia in 2018.

From 2019 to 2024, Hampus served as CFO at one of Sweden's top law firms, Setterwalls Advokatbyrå, in Malmö, Sweden.

From September 2024, Hampus returned to Aspia as Office Leader in Malmö, while also undertaking various consulting assignments. This now includes the part-time CFO role in PILA PHARMA as of December 2024.

Throughout his career, Hampus Darrell has worked with a diverse range of companies in Sweden, from owner-led entrepreneurial ventures to large industrial corporations. He possesses deep expertise in accounting, which he has combined with practical experience in controlling and financial management. Over the past five years, he has been a member of executive management teams, reporting directly to boards and thus owners.

CEO Gustav H. Gram comments:

I'm pleased that Hampus Darrell has agreed to become the new Chief Financial Officer of PILA PHARMA. I look forward to welcoming Hampus to be part of the management team and assist us with all financial matters ranging from the on-going bookkeeping and financial reporting to further strengthening our clinical project budgeting and financial projecting. He is succeeding Elna Lembrér Åström who is retiring. We thank Elna for her services and contribution in helping us build and mature PILA PHARMA over the past 10 years.

For more information:
Gustav H. Gram, CEO
Mail: ghg@pilapharma.com

PILA PHARMA's share ticker PILA is subject to trade on Nasdaq First North Growth Market, Sweden with Aqurat Fondkommission AB as Certified Adviser. Contact: M: ca@aqurat.se, T: +46 (0)8 684 05 800

About PILA PHARMA AB (Publ)
PILA PHARMA is a Swedish biotech company based in Malmö, Sweden. The aim of the company is to develop TRPV1 antagonists as a novel treatment of type 2 diabetes and potentially of other diseases with an inflammatory background. The Company owns a TRPV1 asset with data and chemical entities including the development candidate XEN-D0501. Further, the Company owns use-patents covering the use of TRPV1-antagonists as treatment of obesity and diabetes and intends to submit further patents regarding the synthesis, formulation, or use of XEN-D0501 or back-up compounds. In July 2022, the Company was awarded orphan drug designation ("Orphan drug designation") for XEN-D0501 as a treatment for erythromelalgia. PILA PHARMA currently focuses on 3 projects within Type-2 Diabetes, Erythromelalgia, and Abdominal Aorta Aneurism.

About XEN-D0501 and TRPV1 antagonists
XEN-D0501 is a selective, synthetic potent small molecule TRPV1 antagonist that was in-licensed in 2016. TRPV1 antagonists that down-regulate neurogenic inflammation, has demonstrated applications across pain and inflammatory diseases and potentially plays a role in diabetes and potentially other metabolic disorders like obesity. Prior to in-licensing, XEN-D0501 had been found to have a good safety profile in other (non-diabetic) patient groups. PILA PHARMA has to date completed two phase 2a clinical trials (PP-CT01 and PP-CT02), that both demonstrated that XEN-D0501 is well tolerated by in people living with obesity and type 2 diabetes. Further, PP-CT02, demonstrated that XEN-D0501 (administered as 4 mg bi-daily for 28 days) - with statistical significance versus placebo - enhanced the endogenous insulin response to oral glucose. Furthermore, ANP, a cardiovascular biomarker for heart failure, was highly statistically significantly reduced. During 2023 the Company could report very good tolerability of XEN-D0501 following 13 weeks administration of very high doses in 2 animal species, and XEN-D0501 can thus progress into longer clinical trials. Currently, a scientific advice regarding the study design of the next clinical phase 2a trial, PP-CT03, is being prepared and will be followed by a clinical trial submission in the UK. The objective of the study is to identify the maximal tolerable dose of XEN-D0501 in people living with obesity and type 2 diabetes and to evaluate the safety profile following 3 months chronic treatment. In addition to the safety assessment, PP-CT03 will also include sufficient participants that should allow for efficacy readouts on reduction of body weight.

About Diabetes and Obesity
Diabetes is a globally spanning pandemic with a staggering estimated prevalence of more than 537 million people living with diabetes corresponding to approximately 8-10% of the global adult population. Among these, its estimated that more than approximately 90 % of all diabetics suffer from type-2 diabetes, whilst approximately less than 10% suffers from type-1 diabetes. Despite recent therapeutic advances, large and growing unmet needs exist both from efficacy, safety, and accessibility standpoints.
Obesity is an even larger pandemic with estimates of more than 1 billion people suffering from it in 2025. It is most often preceding the development of type 2 diabetes and is a serious risk-factor for not only developing type 2 diabetes but also co-morbidities resulting in "whole body dysfunction" and subsequent development of several diseases. The accumulated effect is a year-long reduction in quality of life for obese people with or without diabetes. Obesity leads to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease that eventually results in premature death and shortening of life duration. Recent advances by "Big Pharma" in the development of effective anti-obesity drugs, has proven that pharmacological weight management is possible and leads to obvious quality-of-life and longevity benefits for people living with obesity. Even long-term, public health costs are expected to be reduced if the clinically negative effects of the obesity pandemic are limited. This has sparked a general interest in future potential oral treatments that can meet the accessibility criteria needed to stimulate growing demand, and several acquisitions have been done in the obesity segment recently.

About Erythromelalgia
Erythromelalgia is a rare disease where neurogenic inflammation plays a role in the development of symptoms. The disease can cause near-constant or episodic pain (ranging from mild tingling to severe burning sensations), and redness to extremities. It most commonly affects the feet but may also occur in the hands, face, or other parts of the body with both nerves and blood vessels involved. Symptoms are frequently managed through avoidance of pain triggers. The disorder can be extremely debilitating, with a significant negative impact on quality of life and with potential to impact mortality rates among young people and the suicide rates among adults. Pila Pharma aims to conduct a small proof of concept study in persons with erythromelalgia to demonstrate an effect of XEN-D0501 on reducing perceived pain during "flare ups". There are no current treatments available to patients. PILA PHARMA has made a development plan for this project.

About Abdominal Aorta Aneurism
Abdominal Aorta Aneurism is a cardiovascular disease with 'ballooning' of the lower part of the main artery of the body, aorta. The cause is unknown, but risk factors are atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, cardiovascular inflammation and infection as well as trauma. It affects millions of people globally and accounts for the death of 1% of men over the age of 65. It develops gradually over several years up to a dilatation of more than 3mm in diameter when surgery to insert a stent to prevent rupture is then the only treatment option, which is both expensive and with possibility for complications. Currently no preventive treatment is available. In November 2023 a research collaboration was entered with Professor Dick Wågsäter from Uppsala University for investigating the effect of XEN-D0501 on Abdominal Aorta Aneurism growth in mice. In November 2024, PILA PHARMA decided to co-sponsor the mouse studies to ease the progression of the preclinical studies.