Jens Lindberg, CEO at Medivir, on The Biotech Rollercoaster - Medivir´s Previous Four Months (and Biotech Today in 2026)

In this episode, I talked with Jens Lindberg, CEO of Medivir AB, a Swedish biotech developing innovative therapies in liver cancer and rare disease. Jens brings over 30 years of late-stage development and commercialisation experience—including 25 years at AstraZeneca—where he worked on blockbuster drugs such as Tagrisso and Lynparza.

Jens opens up about the moment he was handed the global commercial lead role for what the company believed would be its next blockbuster—only to realise the asset was significantly overvalued. What followed was one of the hardest things you'll ever have to do professionally: telling senior leadership that the people who licensed the asset were wrong—without making them feel that way. We also get into Medivir's turbulent last few months: a forced pivot from a multi-country Phase 2b study, a round of layoffs, and then a dramatic reversal with new investors coming on board and two programs now moving forward at the same time.

For anyone trying to understand what fundraising truly looks like in today's biotech environment, Jens is direct about how completely his approach to investor relations has had to change since 2022. When he's not steering Medivir through the ups and downs of biotech, Jens is out on the cross-country ski trails—and has been for most of his life.

Here's What You're In For

• How Jens landed his first job as a sales rep at Astra—without fully knowing what the role was—and ended up staying 25 years
• The art of managing expectations upward when senior leadership doesn't want to hear the truth
• Why Jens now starts building investor relationships two years before he needs the money—and what investors actually want to see before they commit

Timestamps

02:04 – First job in pharma: starting as a sales rep at Astra and staying 25 years

03:25 – Career highlight: joining AZ Investor Relations and defending against Pfizer's hostile takeover bid

08:07 – Career low: being promoted to global commercial lead for a late-stage asset—then realising it was overvalued

10:29 – The challenge of managing senior leaders who in-licensed the asset themselves

13:07 – What Medivir is: history, liver cancer program, and osteogenesis imperfecta

14:45 – Medivir's recent rollercoaster: funding challenges, the pivot from Phase 2b, and layoffs

20:30 – How Jens describes Medivir's culture: agile, transparent, and built on helping each other

23:05 – How Jens integrates consultants into the company's culture as if they were permanent employees

26:32 – How Jens's approach to investor relations changed dramatically since joining in January 2022

32:34 – Perseverance in biotech: herd mentality in capital markets and why doing the right thing eventually pays off

About Jens

Jens Lindberg is the CEO of Medivir AB, a Swedish biotech focused on development of drugs in rare and orphan diseases with high unmet medical need. Jens brings over 30 years of late-stage development and commercialisation experience in pharma and biotech, including 25 years at AstraZeneca where he held roles spanning sales, commercial leadership, investor relations, and global brand strategy—working on blockbuster drugs including Tagrisso and Lynparza. He has also held roles at Sedana Medical.

Outside of work, Jens is an enthusiastic cross-country skier with over 30 years on the trails—which, given the pace he keeps professionally, is probably the only time he slows down.

Connect with Jens:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jens-lindberg-2585903/
• Medivir: https://www.medivir.com

About Charles

My name is Charles Spence and I lead Discera. After many years working in the life-science recruitment world, I decided to work for myself. Before doing recruitment I graduated with a biomedical degree, have worked in hospitals (including translation work in Seoul, South Korea), and also spent a year working in diabetes research in Stockholm. After doing research and travel, a career in business and science felt the most appropriate.

In 2023, I decided to launch my firm - Discera Search. A firm committed to solving the biggest talent needs of early clinical stage SME biotechs on the East Coast and DACH.

Connect with me:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-spence-clinical/
• Website: https://www.discera-search.com/

Opinions and comments expressed by the guest do not represent the company and are fully their own.