SWISS BIOTECH ASSOCIATION - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Vice President / Global Head Biologics & Injectables Operations
Anne Marie de Jonge-Schuermans has a PhD from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ). Thesis: Management of Sustainability Issues in the Life Sciences Industry.
Her CV highlights
Deeply moved and saddened, we have to say goodbye to our long-term CEO and Honorary Member Domenico (Nic) Alexakis.
He passed away on October 23, 2020. Far too early, at the age of 57, he had lost the fight against an aggressive illness, which, three years ago, had already forced him to step down as the CEO of our association.
Since 2002, Nic had been shaping the Swiss Biotech Association. Under his leadership, the association established a national biotech directory, listing and promoting the biotech companies in Switzerland. This platform - more than ever - demonstrates the power and diversity of the Swiss biotech hub and enables many international partners, investors and talents to connect with Swiss biotech companies.
Together with Cathy Kroll and Heike Bihlmann he established the Swiss Biotech Day as the leading industry networking event. Under the label "National Thematic Network (NTN) Swiss Biotech" he facilitated a close collaboration and know how transfer between academic research groups and industrial partners.
Job Titles:
- President Swiss Biotech Association from 2013 - 2022 / Board Member from 2002 - 2022
Job Titles:
- Investor
- Vice President / CEO BERNINA BioInvest
Dr. Bettina Ernst is a biotech entrepreneur and investor. She has been investing in healthcare companies for the past 10 years. She also serves on the board of several early-stage biotech companies, on the board of the Swiss Biotech Association, and as a member of the advisory board of the Swiss Entrepreneur Fund and of the Innovation Council of Innosuisse. Bettina is a co-founder of two biotech companies. Prior to her investment and entrepreneurial activities, she worked for 10 years in fundamental immunology in the US (Scripps Research Institute, San Diego, CA) and in Europe. Bettina holds a PhD in immunology and an undergraduate degree in natural science from the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. Bettina resides in Switzerland.
Job Titles:
- Acting Chief Executive Officer of Molecular Partners
- President / CEO Molecular Partners
Dr. Patrick Amstutz is acting Chief Executive Officer of Molecular Partners AG in Schlieren. He co-founded Molecular Partners and has been a member of the Company's management team since its inception in 2004. At the Company, Patrick has been responsible for business development, alliance management and research and development (R&D) operations. He has established a wide range of commercial collaborations and licensed several key technologies. Patrick holds a Master of Science from the ETH Zurich and a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Zurich.
Job Titles:
- Head of Business Development & Liaison Bern
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Humabs Biomed SA
- Vice President / Managing Director Humabs Biomed
Filippo Riva, MBA, is Managing Director of Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of VIR, in Bellinzona. He brings over 15 years management experience in both privately held and venture backed biotech and high-tech companies. Filippo holds a degree in Economics from the School of Economics and Business Administration of Lugano and a MBA from the Warwick Business School, United Kingdom.
Job Titles:
- Vice President / CEO AbcDNA
Luca Bolliger studied biochemistry at the ETH in Zürich and completed his undergraduate studies with a Master in Immunology. He graduated at the Biocenter in Basel in biochemistry, and then became Member of the Basel institute for immunology. He then joined the pharmaceutical industry as a Global discovery portfolio manager in the Pharma Strategy Unit at Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. He then pursued his career in the financial industry as a Fundamental analyst at BT&T asset management, and as a freelance consultant. He established Biopolo Ticino where he also participated in the creation of the Swiss marketing platforms Swiss Biotech and Swiss Medtech before becoming Director Business Development at Actelion. Luca Bolliger joined Recordati from Novimmune where he was director Business Development. In his last position as VP Corporate Licensing Luca was looking for assets in the space of primary-specialty care with a particular attention to the orphan space, but also overlooking a number of alliances.
Job Titles:
- Vice President from 1998 - 2023 and HM
Job Titles:
- Head Talent Pool & Academy
Job Titles:
- Founding Member of the Swiss Biotech Association in 1998 / Vice President from 2005 to 2017
- Honorary Member
Job Titles:
- Business Processes & IT Infrastructure
Reinhard Glück directed the Swiss Biotech Association as president from 2002 to 2013. Under his leadership, the Swiss Biotech Association succeeded in building a network of the Swiss biotech industry and in further improving the framework conditions for research-based biotech companies in Switzerland. Today, Switzerland is one of the world's leading biotechnology hubs.
Job Titles:
- Vice President / Managing Partner Viopas Venture Consulting
Ulf Grawunder is an experienced Swiss Life-Science entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in the therapeutic antibody development industry. With NBE-Therapeutics, he founded his second Swiss Biotech company and led NBE-Therapeutics as its CEO from 2012 - 2021.
Ulf Grawunder has invented two new patent-pending technologies at NBE-Therapeutics that allow the company to develop most highly innovative antibody-based drugs, including next-generation antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) for the therapy of cancer. Before that, Ulf Grawunder co-founded the Swiss Biotech company 4-Antibody, recently sold to U.S.-based Agenus (AGEN), where since 2004 he served as founding CEO and after 2006 assumed the role of CSO. During his tenure at 4-Antibody, Ulf Grawunder raised about CHF 50 million capital for the company, secured two pharma/biotech collaborations with Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany, and Human Genome Sciences, U.S.A. and grew the company to 50 employees.
Ulf Grawunder is serving on various Boards of non-profit and for-profit life-science organizations and is vice-president and Board member of the Swiss Biotech Association. Ulf Grawunder holds a PhD in Cell Biology from the University of Basel, for work on early B cell development performed at the Basel Institute for Immunology. In addition, Ulf Grawunder holds a Diploma in Technology Entrepreneurship from the Entrepreneur and Business School in St. Gallen, Switzerland (HSG=Hochschule St. Gallen).