Leadership & Experts

A multidisciplinary team combining leadership, pharmaceutical development expertise and deep experience in long-acting drug delivery, formulation, process development, manufacturing and commercialisation.

Laura Chirica, PhDChief Executive Officer

Laura Chirica, PhD, serves as Chief Executive Officer of Delsitech. She has more than 25 years of experience in executive roles in the life sciences industry, with a strong focus on company growth and commercialization in biotechnology, diagnostics, and bioprocessing.

Laura has a proven track record of leading companies from early R&D stage to successful commercialization of products, platforms and services in Europe, USA and Asia based on organic growth, M&A and financing. Prior to joining Delsitech, she served as CEO of Cellevate AB, where she built and advanced the company into the commercial stage and the global launch of its first nanofiber-based products for pharma manufacturing of vaccines, cell, and gene therapy.

Previously, Laura held senior commercial and business development leadership roles at global life science companies, including GE Healthcare (now part of Cytiva), Agilent Technologies (Dako), Sartorius, and Svar Life Science. She also served as Chief Commercial Officer at Immunovia AB, where she played a key role in building the company and the organization and bringing the company’s first product to the US market.

Education: Laura holds a PhD in Biochemistry from Umeå University, MSc in Food biotechnology and BSc in Biotechnology.

Despina Georgiadou HedinChief Financial Officer

Despina Georgiadou Hedin serves as Chief Financial Officer at DelSiTech. She has more than 20 years of experience in finance and executive leadership across listed and privately held companies within the life science, biotech, medtech, and technology sectors. Prior to joining DelSiTech, she served as CFO at Cellevate AB, OptiCept Technologies AB, and Ascelia Pharma AB (publ), as well as CFO and HR Manager at Bioglan AB. She brings extensive experience in corporate finance, financial reporting, IFRS, fundraising, investor relations, human resources, business transformation, and strategic financial management. Throughout her career, she has supported companies backed by venture capital, publicly listed companies, and manufacturing organizations through periods of growth, financing, and organizational development. Despina joined DelSiTech in 2026.

Education: Master of Science in Business and Economics, Linnaeus University, Sweden.

Mika Jokinen, PhDChief Scientific Officer

Mika Jokinen, PhD serves as Chief Scientific Officer at DelSiTech. Mika has over 30 years of experience in R&D, specializing in silica-based biomaterials. Before joining DelSiTech, Mika held a post-doc academic position as Special Scientist in a multidisciplinary research group at Turku Biomaterials Centre. He has also served parallelly with the position at DelSiTech as Principal Lecturer in chemical and biochemical engineering and Research Leader in New Materials & Processes Research Group at Turku University of Applied Sciences 2008-2022. Mika’s expertise lies in advancing biomaterial-based drug delivery solutions, and their processing. Mika joined DelSiTech in 2006.

Education: Doctor of Science in Technology, Åbo Akademi University; Adjunct Professor, Åbo Akademi University.

Sanna KankaanpääQuality Director

Sanna Kankaanpää serves as Quality Director at DelSiTech. Sanna has a strong background in leadership, quality management and biotechnology. She has over 20 years of experience in quality management systems globally. Before joining DelSiTech, Sanna worked in Hytest Ltd, a leading immunological reagent provider for the IVD industry, most recently as Chief Quality and Compliance Officer. Sanna’s core expertise includes building and implementing compliant quality management systems and helping the entire organization to improve its operations through effective implementation of the quality culture. Sanna joined DelSiTech in March 2026.

Education: Master of Engineering in Industrial Quality Management, Turku University of Applied Sciences; Bachelor of Engineering in Biotechnology, Turku University of Applied Sciences.

Salli LeimuHead of Process Development, Manufacturing and Formulation Development

Salli Leimu is Head of Process Development, Manufacturing and Formulation Development at DelSiTech. Over the past years, she has played a key role in advancing manufacturing readiness, first as Project Manager and later as Head of Pharmaceutical Development. She brings experience in formulation, process and manufacturing development, with a collaborative, people-oriented approach and a strong focus on teamwork, quality and safety. She holds a BSc in Biotechnology Engineering and has complemented her education with advanced studies in Process and Chemical Engineering at Åbo Akademi University.

Aarne MarttilaProcess Leader and Team Lead – Analytical Research & Development

Aarne has more than 10 years of experience in pharmaceutical product development at DelSiTech, where he specializes in analytics, with expertise in HPLC method development, optimization and troubleshooting. Over the course of his career, he has developed a comprehensive understanding of DelSiTech’s proprietary silica technology, spanning product characterization, analytical evaluation, formulation development, and detailed investigation of material and product performance. He holds a Master of Science in chemistry from the University of Turku, specializing in materials chemistry and chemical analysis. Aarne joined DelSiTech in 2015 and has since played a key role in the development and characterization of the company’s silica-based pharmaceutical technologies.

Education: Master of Science in Chemistry, University of Turku

Leila LukinExecutive Project Manager

Leila Lukin serves as Executive Project Manager at DelSiTech. She has over 10 years of experience in project management and drug development, with expertise in leading diverse programs and strategic partner collaborations. Prior to joining DelSiTech, she was a project management at a contract research organization, overseeing pharmaceutical research programs. Leila’s core strengths include cross-functional collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and driving complex development programs from strategy through execution. She joined DelSiTech in 2021.

Education: Master of Science in Technology (Biotechnology), University of Turku; Bachelor of Engineering (Biotechnology), Turku University of Applied Sciences

Ella Kujala, MScNonclinical Development Coordinator

Ella Kujala, MSc, serves as Nonclinical Development Coordinator at DelSiTech. She has 10 years of experience in planning, executing and reporting nonclinical studies. Prior to joining DelSiTech, Ella coordinated GLP studies in her role as a Study Director at the Central Animal Laboratory of the University of Turku. She holds a MSc in Drug Discovery and Development from the University of Turku and is currently pursuing her PhD in metabolic diseases and drug development. With a strong background in in vivo research and a practical, solution-oriented approach, Ella drives the advancement of nonclinical development programs at DelSiTech. Ella joined DelSiTech in 2024.

Education: Master of Science in Drug Discovery and Development, University of Turku

Milla Runsala, PhDBusiness Development Manager

Milla Runsala, PhD, serves as Business Development Manager at DelSiTech. Milla brings more than a decade of experience in life sciences, spanning scientific research, customer-facing roles, and business development within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. She focuses on identifying and advancing strategic partnerships, licensing opportunities, and collaborations related to DelSiTech’s Silica Matrix® technology platform.

Prior to joining DelSiTech in 2023, Milla held scientific and customer-focused positions at PerkinElmer and conducted doctoral research in immunology at the University of Turku. Throughout her career, she has worked at the interface of science and business, helping translate innovation into strategic partnership and commercial opportunities.

Education: Doctor of Philosophy in Molecular Medicine (Immunology), University of Turku; Master of Science in Biomedical Imaging, University of Turku

Mika Koskinen, MSc (Biochem)Senior Formulation Manager

Mika Koskinen serves as senior formulation manager at DelSiTech. Mika Koskinen has many years of experience in silica gel-based technology being one of the co-developers of DST’s silica technology. He started his research of silica in 1998 at Turku Biomaterials Centre by studying encapsulation of recombinant adenoviruses and large molecules in silica gel. Mika Koskinen joined DelSiTech in 2006. He later specialized in Spray-drying technologies, which has been taken as a primary tool for DelSiTech’s silica technology.

Education: MSc in Biochemistry, Biotechnology and Chemistry, University of Turku

Ari-Pekka ForsbackSenior Process Development Leader

Ari-Pekka “AP” Forsback is a Senior Process Development Leader at DelSiTech Ltd. with over 25 years of experience in biomaterials and drug delivery. Ari-Pekka has been one of the key developers of DelSiTech’s silica-based drug delivery technology, contributing to its development from early-stage research through formulation, process development, scale-up, and pharmaceutical applications.

Education M. Sc. in organic chemistry, University of Turku

Jesse Patrakka, M.Eng (Chem. Eng. & Biotech.)Strategic Portfolio & Business Operations Manager

Jesse Patrakka is Strategic Portfolio & Business Operations Manager at DelSiTech, where he supports the executive team in aligning the company’s project portfolio, budgets, and commercial priorities. Jesse joined DelSiTech in 2015 and has more than a decade of experience in drug development, specializing in silica-based long-acting injectables. Trained as a chemical engineer, he previously served as Senior Project Manager, which gave him first-hand insight into how project work translates into business outcomes. He also brings strong expertise in financial modeling and commercial analysis, and focuses on turning complex information into clear, well-founded decisions that support the company’s grow.

Education: Master of Engineering in Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Turku University of Applied Sciences.