Your Reliable and Agile Partner for Top Results

ProBioGen AG is a renowned Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) and technology provider. We perform cell line engineering, process development, and GMP manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals for clients in biotech and pharma. We offer proprietary innovative technologies for optimized biopharmaceutical manufacturing and analysis. ProBioGen also provides process development services and manufacturing technologies for viral vaccines.

Our additional new building houses 1000 L single-use bioreactor capacity to keep up with the ever-increasing demand from our clients. A second 1000 L single-use bioreactor is coming soon.

With over 25 years of experience in animal cell culture, combined with innovative scientific excellence and a strong intellectual property base, we cover the drug development value chain up to clinical phase III.

Our History

1994 – ProBioGen founded as a diagnostic company

2000 – Strategic shift towards therapeutic protein contract development and GMP manufacturing

2001 – Cell line development platform established

2002 – Manufacturing authorization granted, using single-use bioreactors right from the beginning

2003 – First client designer cell line developed

2005 – More than 15 patent families granted

2008 – First commercial license for AGE1.CR duck cell line

2010 – Strategic Investor: Minapharm Pharmaceuticals

2011 – First commercial license given for GlymaxX® ADCC enhancement technology

2013 – First product produced with ProBioGen CHO cell line entered the market

2016 – First product produced on AGE1.CR® duck cell line entered the market

2017 – More than 400 stable cell lines developed

2019 – Two facilities in Berlin-Weissensee

2019 – Launch of ProBioGen's DirectedLuck™ Transposase

2020 – Capacity increase with 1000L single-use bioreactor

2021 – Incorporation of the subsidiary MiGenTra GmbH

2022 – Three locations in Berlin-Weissensee

 

One-Stop-Shop

 

Global Customer Base

We are the partner of choice for biopharmaceutical companies relying on high quality cell line development and manufacturing capabilities. Our partners value our outstanding service quality, combined with variable project and deal structures, our quick responses and our flexibility.

Our clients benefit from custom-tailored projects designed to minimize development risks and ensure a successful outcome. Our experienced and flexible team of scientists, engineers, and technicians draws its motivation from the success of our clients’ projects. We are a reliable and agile partner in developing our clients’ products to the benefit of patients worldwide.

Our new building was recently refurbished to house 1000L single-use bioreactor lines to keep up with the ever-increasing demand from our clients.


"Because of ProBioGen's continuous support and always providing valuable information not only on technical challenges but also urgent issues associated with the project, our teams were able to bring a product from their facility into the clinic as scheduled, within several months here in Japan."

Director, CMC Development
Chiome Bioscience Inc.

"In ProBioGen, we see a company that values scientific contribution and enables high quality drug development for customers, which ultimately benefits the patients we all serve."

Senior Director, Biologics Development
Celgene Corporation

"In the midst of an escalating pandemic, ProBioGen successfully managed safety, staffing and procurement to maintain aggressive timelines for Pionyr's two first-in-class TME directed afucosylated monoclonal antibodies."

SVP, Technical Operations
Pionyr Immunotherapeutics, Inc.

Executive Team

Since its foundation in 1994, ProBioGen has evolved from a research-based company into a fully grown, commercially successful biopharmaceutical organization. Apart from its cutting-edge, market-driven technologies, its success also lies in the dedication of its staff and, above all, the experience of its management team that brings a wealth of knowledge in the different areas of our day-to-day operations and an in-depth understanding of the trends and needs of the industry.

 

Dr. Lutz Hilbrich, Chief Executive Officer & Senator, Senate of Economy Europe
Dr. Lutz Hilbrich, Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Lutz Hilbrich, Senator at Senate of Economy Europe, holds a Medical Degree from the Julius-Maximilians-University, Würzburg, Germany and an Executive MBA from Stern School of Business at NYU, USA. Before joining ProBioGen in June 2020 he was the Head of the Biosimilars Platform China for Sanofi and was previously second in command for the Biosimilars Business Unit at Boehriger Ingelheim GmbH, Germany. He is experienced in the end-to-end development and commercialization of Biologics, particularly Biosimilars, in Europe, North-America, Asia and Africa. Besides serving on a couple of organizational committees for international conferences on Biologics and Biosimilars, he sits on the Biosimilar Advisory Board of the American Conference Institute (ACI). In 2021 he incorporated ProBioGen’s first spin-off, MiGenTra GmbH. Lutz is member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Novel 351k, a US company.

Dr. Gabriele Schneider, Chief Business Officer
Dr. Gabriele Schneider, Chief Business Officer

Chief Business Officer since November 2017 following 10 years as Vice President Business Development. Dr. Gabriele Schneider is responsible for commercial, business and communication strategy and manages all activities pertaining to business development. She has an established track record of building strong and lasting relationships with clients and partners worldwide. She joined the biotech industry in 2000 as Project Manager at Kelman GmbH and was consulting small biotech companies before joining ProBioGen in 2003. Gabriele holds a doctorate from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and a master’s degree in political science from Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Andrea Hauptmann, Chief Financial Officer
Andrea Hauptmann, Chief Financial Officer

Vice President Finance & Administration at ProBioGen since 2015 and Chief Financial Officer since 2021. Andrea Hauptmann has been responsible for financial reporting, controlling, funding and cash management, risk management, human resources and administration since 2011. Before joining ProBioGen in 2009, she held a number of key financial management positions in the service and real estate sector. She was granted power of attorney in 2009. Andrea Hauptmann holds a diploma in from Technical University (TH) of Zittau, Germany.

Dr. René Brecht, Chief Operations Officer
Dr. René Brecht, Chief Operations Officer

Dr. René Brecht joined ProBioGen in 2002 and is Chief Operations Officer. René Brecht is responsible for process development for recombinant proteins and antibodies as well as for fusion proteins, up to GMP manufacturing of clinical materials. Prior to joining ProBioGen, he held a position as Research Scientist at the 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. René Brecht received his doctorate in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Marburg, Germany, on natural occurring anticancer compounds.

Dr. Volker Sandig, Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Volker Sandig, Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Volker Sandig initiated ProBioGen’s cell line development program in 2000 resulting in the unique CHO.RiGHT® platform for protein production. He is co-inventor of key ProBioGen technologies including AGE1 designer cell lines, GlymaxX® and DirectedLuck®. His current work aims at modernizing manufacture of viral vectors and establishing new platforms for RNA delivery. This includes customized design of suspension cell lines for viral vaccines as well as packaging and producer cell lines for gene therapy vectors. For his innovation and contribution to the field of Animal Cell Culture Technology he received the Inaugural 2019 ESACT Innovation Award. Prior to joining ProBioGen, he led a research group at Merck Research Laboratories, USA, focusing on the development of manufacturing systems for gutless adenoviruses and vectored vaccines. Volker Sandig holds a medical degree and received his doctorate in Molecular Biology from the Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.

Dr. Marco Riedel, Senior Vice President, Head of Digital Transformation
Dr. Marco Riedel, Senior Vice President, Head of Digital Transformation

Dr. Marco Riedel joined ProBioGen in 2000 and has held a number of management positions over the years. From 2016 to 2020, he was responsible for the company as project head for the rebuilding of a further site as far as obtaining the manufacturing authorization. Afterwards, Marco was assigned the responsibility for the company-wide digital transformation. Since 2004, Dr. Marco Riedel has served as a Qualified Person for drug substance certification and release. Dr. Marco Riedel studied chemistry at the Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany and obtained his doctorate at the University of Leipzig, Germany. He is active in several professional associations.

Susanne Kästner, Senior Vice President, Quality
Susanne Kästner, Senior Vice President, Quality

Ms. Susanne Kästner studied Chemistry at the Technical University in Berlin, Germany and holds a Master Degree in Drug Regulatory Affairs from the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn. In various positions she was responsible for worldwide regulatory activities as well as different areas in Quality Assurance. Before joining ProBioGen, she was responsible for Quality Assurance for Novartis and FAREVA at the Austrian site for the production of sterile cytostatics. She is experienced in world-wide GMP- and regulatory requirements. She holds a Lean Six Sigma Greenbelt and has experience as a lead investigator for data integrity events and as a lead auditor.

Julian Collins, Senior Vice President, Head of People & Organizational Development

Senior Vice President People and Organizational Development at ProBioGen and MiGenTra since 2023. Julian is responsible for People Acquisition & Development, People Management and People Services. Before joining ProBioGen in 2023, Julian held a number of Human Resource Management positions in the financial service, chemical and medical devices sectors. Julian holds a diploma in psychology from Free University (FU) of Berlin, Germany as well as an MBA from University of Wales.

Supervisory Board

The ProBioGen Supervisory Board oversees the Management Board and approves major corporate decisions. The Supervisory Board of ProBioGen AG comprises six members, with Dr. Wafik Bardissi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the mother company Minapharm Pharmaceuticals, as Chairman.

Dr. Wafik Bardissi, Chairman
Dr. Wafik Bardissi, Chairman

Dr. Wafik Bardissi has been working in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry for more than 25 years and has held various executive positions. He is the Chairman and CEO of Minapharm Pharmaceuticals, a regional pharma and biopharma leader in Egypt and the Middle East. In 2001, Wafik founded the first state-of-the-art biotech manufacturing operation in Africa and the MENA region. In 2010, he signed the deal to acquire Probiogen AG, a global German biotech cellular engineering and CDMO specialist. Wafik is also the CEO of Amplifon Middle East s.a.e., a subsidiary of Amplifon spa, a multi-national world leader in hearing technology services. Wafik earned his Bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery (MB, BCh,) from Cairo University. He pursued his research interests in Business Information Technology (MSc.) at the School of Computing Sciences in Middlesex, London and Operational Research (MSc.) and Complex Decision Sciences and Artificial Intelligence (PhD) at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. In 2010, Wafik was honored with the Knighthood (cavalry) of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great by his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in recognition of his pioneering social work.

Amr Shabrawishi, Co-Chairman
Amr Shabrawishi, Co-Chairman

Amr Shabrawishi has been working in the medical, pharmaceutical, and biopharmaceutical fields for more than 25 years. He is the Vice-Chairman of Minapharm Pharmaceuticals, a leading regional Pharma and Biopharma manufacturer based in Egypt, with markets in Africa and the Middle East. He is also the Chairman and CEO of Shabrawishi Hospital, a private multi-speciality hospital in Cairo, Egypt, the Chairman of Egyptian Biological Science Co., a leading company for the collection and processing of blood and plasma for therapeutic usage, and a member of the Board of Directors of the British International School Cairo, the leading non-profit British school in Cairo. Amr Shabrawishi is member of the Board of Viral Inactivated Plasma Systems (VIPS), a Swiss based company with proprietary Mini Pool Plasma viral inactivation and fractionation technology. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery (MB, BCh.) from Cairo University.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wiltrud Treffenfeldt
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wiltrud Treffenfeldt

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wiltrud Treffenfeldt is an experienced leader who has held several executive leadership positions with multinational companies, including Dow, Dow Agrosciences, and Degussa/Evonik. She successfully built international teams in Europe, the United States, and Saudi Arabia. From 2011 – 2019, she was the Chief Technology Officer for Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India. During her tenure, she focused on customer innovation and co-creation. In her role, she actively supported the merger of Dow and DuPont and the consecutive split into 3 new companies. Since her retirement, she has been working as an independent consultant for SMEs and research organizations where she uses her knowledge and experience in the chemical, agro, pharma, and industrial biotech industry. Throughout her entire career, Wiltrud Treffenfeldt was actively involved in scientific committees and organizations such as Dechema, OECD, GVC and VCI. She was a member of both bioeconomy councils of the German government and is a member of the Senate of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. Since 2020, she has been a member of the Supervisory Board of the BRAIN Biotech AG. Her educational background is Food & Biotechnology (TU Berlin). She earned her professorship at the University Hannover where she taught Biochemical Engineering for 17 years.

Richard Chambers
Richard Chambers

Richard Chambers is an independent Corporate Finance Advisor and has been a member of the Supervisory Board of ProBioGen since 2010. He has more than 25 years of experience in private equity/venture capital and corporate finance advising, with a primary focus on transactions in the biopharmaceutical and medical device sector. He has been a member of the Management Board and Supervisory Board of two venture capital companies as well as a Non- Executive Director of numerous biopharmaceutical and medical device companies, both private and listed. He also gained experience as the CFO of a biopharmaceutical company where he raised more than 32 million euros and prepared an IPO on Nasdaq and FSE. He studied Mechanical Engineering, Law and Business Administration at Darmstadt Institute of Technology (TU Darmstadt) and is a certified industrial engineer (“Diplom-Wirtschaftsingenieur” degree).

Klaus Nestler

Klaus Nestler has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of ProBioGen AG since 2010. He is a Managing Director at ACXIT Capital, a Frankfurt-based Investment Bank, where he advises life sciences companies on M&A transactions as well as on financing and leveraged buyouts. Before joining ACXIT Capital, he was the founder and CEO of BioConnect AG, a specialist advisory firm focused on venture capital and M&A transactions for corporate customers in the biotechnology, medical technology, pharma and diagnostics sectors. Klaus Nestler started his professional career with SBC Warburg, the investment banking arm of Swiss Bank Cooperation, where he advised on cross-border M&A transactions and capital market projects for companies in the healthcare sector, with assignments in London and Zurich. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Stuttgart-Hohenheim and was a banking apprentice at Dresdner Bank.

Prof. Dr. med. Hans-Dieter Volk
Prof. Dr. med. Hans-Dieter Volk

Prof. Dr. med. Hans-Dieter Volk, MDPHD, trained Clinical Immunologist, was until 2021 the head of the Institute of Medical Immunology at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the founding director and speaker of the BIH-Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), and head of the Department of Immunology of the Labor Berlin-Charité Vivantes GmbH. He is now senior professor at the Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Prof. Volk's focus is on translational immunology with an aim towards developing and implementing new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. He contributes to >1,000 scientific papers (h-index >104). More specifically, his research includes the development of immune biomarkers for patient stratification and the monitoring of therapy response as well as new immunotherapeutic approaches in the fields of transplantation immunology, immunopathogenesis of virus infections in immunocompromised patients, and regenerative medicine. He is particularly interested in new cell and gene-based therapies. Transdisciplinary work and close collaboration with industry partners have allowed him to implement innovative new approaches. BCRT and the Institute of Medical immunology have generated a number of successful biotech spin-off companies including Jerini AG, JPT GmbH, ProBioGen AG, Cellserve GmbH, Cytolon GmbH, and most recently CheckImmune GmbH. Prof. Volk has been actively involved (lead or steering committee) in several FP6/FP7/H2020/Horizon Europe EU-funded consortia, such as RISET, One study, BioDrim, PACE, HipGen, Reshape, RESTORE, and GeneTIGA.

Partners

The remarkable scientific progress in the last two decades has given rise to the development of new technologies at an unprecedented pace. We continuously screen the market and leverage our global network to identify and evaluate potential partners. Our partnerships are collaborative and target specific results, with a strong focus on value for our end customers.

Thermo Fisher Scientific

We engineered the Freedom™ CHO-S™ Kit platform, which enables cost-and-time-efficient stable cell line development for research and commercial purposes, in close collaboration with Thermo Fisher Scientific. The kit is available via Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Boehringer Ingelheim

Boehringer Ingelheim has a non-exclusive license for ProBioGen’s proprietary GlymaxX® ADCC enhancement technology (Antibody-Dependent Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity). Under this license, Boehringer Ingelheim applies GlymaxX for third parties from its global contract manufacturing platform as well as to its own development candidates, to produce antibodies with enhanced ADCC potency.

References

Our customer range is extensive; some of our key customers and selected references are:

Bayer AG

Celgene Corporation

Chiome Bioscience Inc.

Luye Pharma Group

MedImmune, LLC

Surface Oncology Inc.

Tizona Therapeutics, Inc.

Valin Technologies Ltd.

References

Please feel free to contact us regarding our references. We are more than happy to connect you with relevant clients on an individual basis.

For further information please contact us at

Quality Management

The high quality of ProBioGen’s products relies on the synergetic improvement of each individual process step. Our quality management system is based on standard DIN EN ISO 9001:2015 and specifically tailored to serve our client's individual requirements. ProBioGen holds a manufacturing authorization for GMP compliant manufacturing and batch release of biotechnological drug substances.

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Your Objectives

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Detailed information on the handling of user data can be found in our Data Protection Statement.

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