Avanzanite Bioscience Expands UK Presence and Appoints Sarah O’Connell as Country Manager

Avanzanite Bioscience B.V., a European pharmaceutical company focused on rare diseases, today announced the expansion of its United Kingdom (UK) presence and the appointment of Sarah O’Connell as UK Country Manager. The move strengthens Avanzanite’s long-term commitment to the UK and its ability to help eligible patients access innovative rare disease medicines.

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“The UK is essential to our ambition of building Avanzanite into a European rare disease champion. We feel a deep and lasting connection to this market and there is no European reach without the UK,” said Adam Plich, co-founder and CEO, Avanzanite Bioscience. “At a time when parts of the life sciences sector are reassessing their investment and presence in the UK, we are choosing to commit and build for the long term. With Sarah’s extensive rare disease, market access and commercial leadership experience, we are strengthening the local capabilities and execution needed to ensure no patient in need is left behind.”

Sarah’s pharmaceutical career spans more than 25 years, including senior strategic roles at Amicus Therapeutics and Chiesi. At Amicus, she led a small, nimble team that achieved market leadership within the treatable population just eight months after launch.

“Scientific innovation is only the beginning; patient impact is the goal,” said Sarah O’Connell, UK Country Manager, Avanzanite Bioscience. “The UK combines exceptional scientific expertise with a health system capable of delivering innovation at scale, but turning that potential into patient impact requires partnership, innovative thinking, and disciplined Champions League-level execution. I am excited to build an agile UK organisation and work closely with the NHS, clinicians, and patient communities to help innovative rare disease medicines reach the people who need them.”

The UK expansion builds on Avanzanite’s existing team of 13 UK-based employees, including three executives. It is the latest step in Avanzanite’s rapid development of an integrated pan-European platform designed to turn Europe’s complexity into commercial opportunity. With Sarah’s appointment, Avanzanite’s “Champions League” team now includes more than 100 employees operating across 32 countries, including the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the UK. Together, these dedicated country teams and integrated capabilities support Avanzanite’s partners reach eligible patients, including in countries with challenging access landscapes as well as those in smaller and underserved markets.

About Avanzanite Bioscience

Avanzanite is a next-generation pharmaceutical company purpose-built to unlock the full potential of rare disease medicines across Europe. Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Avanzanite was created around a belief that scientific innovation creates patient impact only when medicines reach those who can benefit from them. Through tailored partnerships, biopharma innovators entrust Avanzanite with the European future of their medicines. Avanzanite combines pan-European expertise, bold commercial and access strategy, together with high-performance execution, to transform Europe's complexity into opportunity, ensuring no patient is left behind and creating lasting long-term value for partners.

For more information, visit www.avanzanite.com.

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