CEO   CFO   CSO

VP Process Science & Manufacturing

VP Cell & Vector Biology

VP Business Development Services

Supervisory Board

ProBioGen has evolved over the last ten years from a research-based company into a fully grown, commercially successful organisation. Apart from its cutting-edge, market-driven technologies, its success lies also in the dedication of its staff and above all, the experience of its management team. The management team brings a wealth of experience in the different areas of day-to-day operation; an in-depth understanding of the trends and needs of the industry; and a well-founded, sound strategic vision for the company.

CEO
Michael Schlenk, MBA

CEO of ProBioGen since October 1, 2003. Michael Schlenk regards leading the company to long term profitability, further developing the business model while taking into account aspects of risk-management; and establishing the company and its subsidiary firms in international markets through strategic alliances as his pre-eminent tasks.

Looking back on fifteen years of "Big Pharma"-experience in over ten countries, Michael Schlenk was General Manager at Abbott in Austria and Brazil and held various executive positions in the areas of strategy/country management in Asia-Pacific countries, as well as Sales and Marketing at Sandoz Pharma (now Novartis). Early in his career, Michael Schlenk worked as a management consultant in the area of technology transfer after having completed his MSc (Econ) and MBA degree.

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CFO
Gertraud Unterrainer, PhD

Dr. Gertraud Unterrainer joined ProBioGen as Chief Financial Officer in October 2007.
Based on her extensive experience in financial transactions and M&A activities in the healthcare field, she is responsible for ProBioGen´s financial management and the company's relationships with the financial and business community.
She previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Biovertis AG, Vienna and Munich. Prior to that, she was investment manager of an Austrian seed fund focusing on life science investments and a consultant at McKinsey & Company.

She holds a degree in biochemistry and has earned her PhD at the Institute of Brain Research, Vienna.

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CSO
Uwe Marx, PhD

In 2000 Dr. Uwe Marx joined ProBioGen - a biotech company he founded in 1994 - as the Chief Scientific Officer. He is a co-founder of German biotech companies in the areas of tissue engineering, cord blood banking, plant expression and cytokines. From 1995–2000 his Department of Medical Biotechnology at the University in Leipzig was involved in pre-clinical and clinical development programmes for a modulating anti-CD4 antibody. Mammalian and plant expression systems were developed for the antibody and its fragments within that programme. From 1988–1995 Dr. Marx developed various human monoclonal antibodies and tissue engineering tools at the Institute of Medical Immunology at the Charité in Berlin , where he received his PhD after finishing medical studies. Being involved in biopharmaceutical research for over 20 years, he invented various antibody candidates and cell culture technologies, published numerous scientific papers and recently wrote and edited a book on in vitro drug testing. As an expert in the field, he contributed significantly to national German survey and development programmes on Tissue Engineering in the 90s and on Regenerative Medicine during the last years. Dr. Marx is chairman of the Working Party Cell Culture Techniques of the DECHEMA (Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology) and is engaged in the Advisory Board of Vita 34 AG.

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VP Process Science & Manufacturing
René Brecht, PhD

Dr. René Brecht joined ProBioGen in 2002 and is currently Vice President of Process Science and Manufacturing. René is responsible for both process development for recombinant proteins, antibodies and fusion proteins as well as cGMP manufacturing of clinical materials. His major process science focus is on product and process specific glycosylation issues and product consistency of sophisticated, continuous perfusion processes.
Prior to joining ProBioGen, he held a position as Research Scientist at University of Leipzig, where he was responsible for pre-clinical and GMP process development of monoclonal antibodies and antibody fragments for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes.
He received his PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Marburg on natural occurring anticancer compounds.

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VP Cell & Vector Biology
Volker Sandig, PhD

As Vice President of ProBioGen AG, Volker Sandig is responsible for the company's cell line development programme which he initiated in 2000. This business sector offers the development of high producer cell lines and customised design of new cell lines from primary sources. As Project Leader, he attracted and directed the Research and Development programme for Merck and Co Inc., which resulted in the creation of a new cell line with predefined features for Merck.

In his former position at the Merck Research Laboratories, USA , he was instrumental in the development of manufacturing systems for gutless adenoviruses. Using his knowledge in viral vectors, he also participated in Merck´s HIV vaccine programme. Earlier in his career, he designed experimental strategies for adenovirus-based tumour treatment and directed research projects in cell cycle regulation and artificial promoters at the Max Planck Society and Hepavec, a former Berlin-based biotech company. After finishing medical training, Volker Sandig received his PhD in Molecular Biology from the Humboldt University, Berlin.

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VP Business Development Services
Dr. Gabriele Schneider

Vice President Business Development Services at ProBioGen since July 2007. Gabriele Schneider is responsible for the marketing, sales and business development of the services of ProBioGen: Cell line, process and assay development, and manufacturing of biopharmaceutical substances for clinical development.

Gabriele Schneider holds a masters degree in political science from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, and a doctorate degree from the Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. In 2000 she joined the biotech industry, where she held different management positions before joining ProBioGen in 2003.

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Supervisory Board
Hubertus Leonhardt, CFA, Chairman of the Board

Since 1998, Hubertus Leonhardt has been Managing Partner of the venture capital company SHS www.shsvc.net in Tübingen, which is the lead-investor of ProBioGen. Until 1997, he was Project Leader of the Corporate Finance Department at Arthur Andersen in Frankfurt/Main. Mr. Leonhardt is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a graduate in business management with a diploma in tax consulting. He is also a member of the board of several biotechnology-companies.

Prof. Dr. med. Hans-Dieter Volk

Since 1994, Prof. Volk has been the Director of the Institute for Medical Immunology at the Medical Faculty (Charité) of Humboldt University, Berlin. He is on the editorial boards of several internationally renowned scientific magazines, such as the 'American Journal For Transplantation', 'Transplantation', 'Graft', and 'Genes & Immunity'.

Jürgen Vorlop, PhD

Associate Director in the Department of Manufacturing at Chiron-Behring in Marburg, Germany since the beginning of 2005. His responsibilities lie in the realisation of a production plant for the market supply production of a cell culture based Influenza vaccine. Dr. Vorlop was Head of Laboratory for Process Development with main focus on cell culture technology from 1996 to 2004 and has worked for Behringwerke AG in Marburg for seven years prior to the merger.
Dr. Vorlop is also a member of the DECHEMA committee on Cell Culture Technology and a member of ACTIP (Animal Cell Technology Industrial Platform) and ESACT (European Society for Animal Cell Technology). Dr Vorlop holds a PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering (subject area: Biological Process Engineering).

Dinnies Johannes von der Osten, PhD

Dr. von der Osten is CEO of IBG Beteiligungsgesellschaft Sachsen-Anhalt mbH www.ibg-vc.de since 1998, focusing on early stage financing of technology based companies, especially in the fields of life sciences including biotechnology, nanotechnology, advanced mechanical engineering and environmental technologies. Before joining IBG, he served as Managing Director of an investment- and trust administration company and an environmental technology company. Dr. von der Osten holds a PhD degree in economics.

Prof. Dr. Wiltrud Treffenfeldt

Dr. Wiltrud Treffenfeldt is Director of Bioprocess Development at The Dow Chemical Company, USA. Having joined Dow Germany in 2001 as Leader for Corporate Biotechnology R&D in Europe, Dr. Treffenfeldt became R&D Director for Biopharma in 2004. The main focus of her responsibilities is the development and implementation of strategies in the areas of human and animal health at Dow and Dow AgroSciences with the goal of creating sustainable value within the biotechnology sector.

An internationally renowned expert in red and white biotechnology, Dr. Treffenfeldt was a member of the Executive Board of the European Federation of Biotechnology from 2001-2002 and has been consultant to the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for five years. She also holds many advisory positions in research institutes.

Previously, Dr. Treffenfeldt worked for Degussa AG in its R&D center in Germany, completing her career as Director of Corporate Biochemical Process Technology. She received her Diploma in Biochemical Engineering at University of Berlin, Germany and a Doctorate from University of Dortmund under Prof. Dr. Ulfert Onken. Since 1987, she has held an adjunct appointment in Biochemical Engineering at the University of Hanover and received an honorary professorship there in 1995.

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