Bielefeld, Germany - Leading contract manufacturer and service provider for plasmid and minicircle DNA - PlasmidFactory - announces today the appointment of two board members, Berthold Hackl and Dr. Eduard Ayuso as chairman and member of the board, respectively.
The two industry experts are joining PlasmidFactory’s board to further support the strategic development and positioning of the company; their vast industrial and scientific insight will contribute significantly to PlasmidFactory’s growth acceleration.
“We are pleased to welcome Berthold and Eduard to the PlasmidFactory Board," said Dr. Martin Schleef, CEO of PlasmidFactory. "Berthold’s extensive business and transaction experience, and Eduard’s deep scientific knowledge in life science will be invaluable to PlasmidFactory as we pursue our growth and expansion in the continuously evolving mRNA and C> industries where plasmid and minicircle DNA manufacturing play a key role."
PlasmidFactory opened a new HQ (High Quality) production facility that is generating high quality, cutting-edge plasmids as well as minicircles in large scale, and since partnering with global healthcare-focused private equity firm ARCHIMED in September 2022, has been working actively to build a GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices)-compliant facility to continue meeting the needs of the client base.
This carefully planned capacity expansion will allow PlasmidFactory to further establish and leverage its unrivaled reputation as provider of exceptionally high quality and reliable starting materials for gene and cell therapy as well as RNA vaccines.
Both industry experts were recruited through ARCHIMED’s MedTalents®, a global network of associated senior healthcare executives who identify, facilitate and advise on deals and counsel portfolio companies.
Berthold Hackl is a successful executive, advisor and board member in the life sciences across VC, PE and public environments and at various life sciences related companies. He brings with him over thirty years of industrial experience in Europe and the US in the areas of equity raising, buy-and-build, exits and the development of new markets.
Berthold Hackl has extensive supervisory board experience in biopharma, medtech and diagnostics companies. As General Manager Europe for Eurofins he grew the company’s biopharma and medtech platforms through M&A and organic growth initiatives. Mr. Hackl previously worked for a number of companies in biopharma and medtech, including a role as CEO of invendo medical (now AMBU), strategic players Synthes (now J&J) and Biacore (now Danaher).
“When I first encountered plasmids as necessary parts of sequencing projects in the 80ies, I would have never dreamt about the pivotal place they now occupy at the forefront of therapeutic and vaccine development. But even at that time, the University of Bielefeld was already a phenomenal breeding ground for molecular biology, and PlasmidFactory, who has been around for over 22 years, has ever since been one of its pioneering offsprings” said Berthold Hackl, now Chairman of PlasmidFactory. “I am very excited and deeply motivated to support the further development and move into GMP of this recognized leader in the field.”
Dr. Eduard Ayuso brings to PlasmidFactory an extensive experience in the use of plasmids as starting materials for manufacturing ATMPs, molecular knowledge on the design of AAV helper plasmids and an international network of industry and academic experts in the field of gene therapies. He is currently the Chief Technology Officer at DiNAQOR (Zürich, Switzerland), a genetic medicine platform company focused on addressing severe inherited cardiac and kidney diseases and CEO of DINAMIQS (Zurich, Switzerland) a CDMO providing a comprehensive range of manufacturing services, process development, quality control and analytics solutions to support and optimize the most promising gene therapy projects.
“I know Martin Schleef and PlasmidFactory for almost two decades and have been using their products in a variety of projects. I have been always impressed by the quality and the scientific knowledge of the team; PlasmidFactory is a true industry pioneer in the field and I am honored and excited to contribute to the next phase of the company growth by teaming up with ARCHIMED” said Dr Ayuso, a newly appointed Board Member of PlasmidFactory. Dr. Ayuso has also served as Head of Innovative Vectorology at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), and as the Scientific Director of the Translational Vector Core unit at University of Nantes. From 2018 to 2022, he has served as Vice President of the French Society for Gene and Cell Therapy. He is the chairman of the Manufacturing committee of the European Society for Gene and Cell Therapy and member of the Translational Science committee of the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy.
PlasmidFactory.com
PlasmidFactory GmbH | Meisenstraße 96 | 33607 Bielefeld | Germany | Fon +49 521 2997350
Contact: presse@plasmidfactory.com
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