GOTHENBURG, Sweden, May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Albireo, a pharmaceutical company focusing on the development of therapeutics for gastrointestinal diseases, announced today the appointment of Hans Graffner, M.D., Ph.D, as Chief Medical Officer (CMO).

Dr. Graffner will oversee the clinical development programs at Albireo with initial focus on the lead program A3309, a therapeutic with a novel mechanism of action targeting the treatment of patients with chronic constipation.

Dr. Graffner comes to Albireo with over 12 years experience of leading clinical development programs in the pharmaceutical industry. Most recently, Dr. Graffner was the Senior Medical Director at Merck Serono, leading clinical development of products mainly in the areas of autoimmune diseases, including inflammatory bowel diseases. Dr. Graffner has an impressive track record of success, bringing Entocort (budesonide) and Colazide (balsalazide) through registration and bringing Nexium to market at AstraZeneca.

Dr. David Chiswell, Executive Chairman of the Albireo Board of Directors, said: "We are delighted to have been able to attract Hans to Albireo as our CMO. His extensive and impressive experience in bringing products from early clinical development to the market within the gastrointestinal area will be of great value for the clinical development of our lead program A3309 as well as future development programs."

About Albireo

Albireo is a Swedish biotechnology company with broad experience in the GI area and a pipeline of programmes for underserved markets. Spun off from AstraZeneca in February 2008, the Albireo team has extensive links to industry and academia, as well as key scientific and clinical communities. Albireo is focused on developing novel therapies that address unmet medical needs in the GI area. Albireo is based in Gothenburg, Sweden. For more information please visit http://www.albireopharma.com

Albireo contact: Jan Mattsson, PhD, VP Operations, Albireo AB, Phone: +46-31-741-14-84 (direct), +46-768-08-35-04 (mobile)