SWISS ROCKETS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Manager
Albert Muntane Casanova is an accomplished manager responsible for overseeing the financial activities of the company.
Job Titles:
- Vice - Chairman of the Board of Directors
André Debrunner, Vice-Chairman, is Chief Operating Officer of Northern Trust Switzerland with responsibility for fund accounting, fund reporting, custody services and IT. He is a member of the Northern Trust Switzerland Management Committee.
Job Titles:
- Senior Executive
- Head of Financial Planning & Controlling
Beat Ritschard is a skilled senior executive with over 35 years of experience in the pharma and biotech industry. He has recently joined Swiss Rockets as Head of Financial Planning & Controlling, where he will oversee budgeting, controlling, planning and other strategic projects.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Business Advisory Committee
- Well - Known Executive
Burkhard Frey is a well-known executive in the Basel region who has held various leading positions in cantonal administration and private sector.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Christoph Brutschin obtained his economic degrees at the University of applied sciences of Zürich and at the University of Fribourg. He held positions with PWC and maxit AG (Switzerland) before becoming a headmaster of the Basel commercial vocational training college.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Business Advisory Committee
Daniel Gutenberg is a prominent figure in the world of venture capital and investment, known for his exceptional contributions to the Swiss startup landscape. In 1991, he founded Gutenberg Communication Systems, a company that achieved significant success. Following the sale of Gutenberg Communication Systems AG to the Telindus Group in 2000, he continued to make a substantial impact on the business world.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Oncology Advisory Committee
David E. Fisher, MD, PhD is an internationally known researcher, clinician and academic, who is Chief of the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts (USA).
Debora Foglia joined the company as Legal Counsel of Swiss Rockets AG and its subsidiary companies in January 2023. She is an attorney-at-law and holds a bachelor's and master's degree in law of the University of Basel.
Job Titles:
- Chief Development Officer
- Scientist
Dr. Ana Krtolica is a scientist and strategic leader with 15+ years of experience bringing early-stage discoveries into the clinic. As a Chief Development Officer at Swiss Rockets, Ana drives research and development efforts in cancer biology, immunology, and neurology.
Job Titles:
- Head of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance
Dr. Aurélie Jenn, Head of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance, is a pharmacist (Pharm. D) bringing over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. In a first part of her career, she worked in Regulatory Affairs / CMC writing for generic products and New Chemical Entities in Switzerland and France, having close interactions and providing support to technical departments.
Job Titles:
- Head of Intellectual Property
- Intellectual Property Officer
Dr. Bernhard Hostettler, Head of Intellectual Property, originally is an organic chemist. After his Ph.D. at ETH Zürich, Bernhard was active in research for more than 20 years with companies Roche, CIBA, Syngenta and Givaudan.
Dr. Bruno Osterwalder is an esteemed figure in the realm of hematology and oncology, with a wealth of experience spanning 15 years in academic clinical practice. With Swiss board certifications, his journey has been a testament to his expertise in internal medicine, hematology, and oncology.
Dr. Christoph Heusser, Head of Immunology, is an immunology expert who pioneered antibody-based therapies and antibody-mediated effector functions. He was Head of Immunology at Ciba-Geigy and Head of the Transplantation- Immunology Unit at Novartis and gave lectures on antibody-based interventions at the University Basel for 15 years.
Job Titles:
- Chief Scientific Officer
- Discovery and Kinase Expert
Dr. Doriano Fabbro is a renowned drug discovery and kinase expert with more than 20 years' experience in the pharmaceutical industry, following 10 years in academia. Until 2005, Doriano was an Executive Director for the Oncology Drug Discovery Division of the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research (NIBR) in Basel, Switzerland and was a member of the NIBR Oncology Advisory Board overseeing the oncology portfolio from target discovery to clinical development.
Job Titles:
- Manager
- Head of Intellectual Property
Dr. Frugier is an experienced patent manager and a qualified European Patent Attorney with a focus on supporting small to mid-sized biotech entities in protecting and securing access to intellectual property assets critical to their competitiveness and fundraising.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Business Advisory Committee
- Chairman and Founder of NeoMed Management
Erik Amble is the Chairman and founder of NeoMed Management in 1997. NeoMed has raised and managed 6 funds that are specialised in investments in the healthcare industry.
Dr. Heidi Lane is a distinguished tumor biologist, holding a PhD in Biochemistry and boasting a robust academic background, complemented by an impressive 22-year tenure in the field of cancer drug development and translational medicine.
Job Titles:
- Scientific Project Manager
Dr. Janet Dawson has a substantial academic and professional background in research and drug development, with expertise spanning areas of pharmacology, inflammation, rheumatology, and various experimental techniques.
Dr. Jeanette Wood is an accomplished scientist with extensive experience in all aspects of drug discovery across multiple disease areas, including cancer.
Job Titles:
- Chief Quality Officer
- Expert
Dr. Josef Künzle is an expert responsible for establishing and maintaining the company's Pharmaceutical Quality Management System.
Job Titles:
- Global Head of Business Development
Lubor Gaal is a distinguished figure in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. He currently serves as the Global Head of Business Development at Swiss Rockets and its subsidiary companies. With a career spanning over 25 years, Gaal has demonstrated exceptional expertise and leadership in various capacities across renowned organizations.
Dr. Marc Lang is a medicinal chemist with an outstanding career served in Novartis, Basel, Switzerland and spanning more than 30 years in drug discovery across various therapeutic fields, including infectious diseases and oncology. Marc contributed personally to the discovery of three compounds that were successfully developed and approved to treat patients (Femara, Reyataz and Tasigna).
Job Titles:
- Chief Technology Officer
- Executive
Dr. Milan Crnogorac is an experienced executive responsible for providing strategic, financial and operational leadership for the Technical Operations, Project Management and CapEx spending.
Job Titles:
- Head of Operations Nuclear Medicine
- Scientist With a Background in Radiochemistry
Dr. Nadezda Gracheva is a scientist with a background in Radiochemistry and Radiopharmacy as a branch of Nuclear Medicine. She obtained a Ph.D. degree at ETH Zurich, where she was responsible for the development of novel radioactive nuclides for Targeted Radionuclide Therapy to promote innovative cancer treatments.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Founder
- Member of the Board of Directors
Dr. Natasa Cmiljanovic is a dynamic and accomplished professional, serving as the Chief Operating Officer and Founder of Swiss Rockets. With over a decade of invaluable experience in oncology drug development, Natasa's background as a medicinal chemist and clinical scientist makes her a driving force in the field.
Dr. Paul Hebeisen is a highly experienced medicinal chemist with an impressive track record in drug discovery over 28 years of service at F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Switzerland. Paul served in various positions, most notably as a Group Leader in Chemistry in the discovery of novel anti-infectives.
Job Titles:
- Head of Preclinical Safety
Dr. Robert Ettlin is the Head of Preclinical Safety in Swiss Rockets. After some years in toxicological pathology at F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd., Ettlin joined Sandoz Ltd. in Basel, where he advanced to Head of Toxicology and later Head of Development Operations Switzerland.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Business Advisory Committee
- Managing Partner & Co - Founder of the Investment Group Deutsche Invest
Dr. Schmid-Kühnhöfer serves as Managing Partner & Co-Founder of the investment group Deutsche Invest as well as Managing Partner of DI Capital Solutions. Rüdiger supports several organizations in the financial services and property industries as a board member, advisor, investor and founder.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Business Advisory Committee
- Specialist
Dr. Sabina R. Korfmann-Bodenmann is a specialist in the financial sector, who gained international experience in the US and India. After a successful banking career, Sabina founded Korfmann Corporate Communications Consulting AG (KCCC) in 2001, a communications company exclusively specialized in financial institutions.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Business Advisory Committee
- Secretary of the Board
Dr. Thomas Ladner, Board Member and Secretary of the Board, became in 2002 the youngest partner at Meyerlustenberger Lachenal, one of Switzerland's leading law firms, where he specialized in private equity and M&A. From 2000 to 2004, Thomas lectured on corporate law and contract law at the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland), from where he also holds a Ph.D.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Founder
- Scientific Advisor
Dr. Thomas Sander, Scientific Advisor and Co-Founder, is an expert in cheminformatics and the Head of Scientific Computing at Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd in Allschwil, Switzerland. After finishing his PhD thesis in organic chemistry, Thomas joined a team at Roche in Basel in 1993 to develop software for drug discovery.
Dr. Thomas Staehelin, Co-Founder, holds a Ph.D. in law and has been a partner in the law firm Fromer Attorney and Notary Offices in Basel since 1981. His areas of expertise include international briefs, corporate law, mergers & acquisitions, tax law, contract, and commercial law, banking, and the stock market and securities law.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board of Directors
- Chief Executive Officer
- Founder
Dr. Vladimir Cmiljanovic is a renowned serial biotech entrepreneur, cancer scientist, and medicinal chemist with over 15 years of experience in oncology drug development.
Jörg Honegger, a highly experienced attorney with over 30 years of practical legal experience in consulting and litigation, has been serving as interim General Counsel of Swiss Rockets Incubator and its subsidiary companies.
Job Titles:
- Accounting Manager
- Financial Advisor
Maciej Talarek, Financial Advisor, started his career in the insurance industry. As a result, he specialized in accounting and found his future in the fiduciary sector.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Member of the Business Advisory Committee
- Expert
Manuel Ebner is an expert in corporate finance, business strategy, corporate development, management consulting, and financial services. He graduated in engineering and economics from Stanford University and completed his MBA (Arjay Miller Scholar) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Member of the Business Advisory Committee
Martin Gasser is a highly experienced Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with background in international technology firms. In addition, Martin Gasser is engaged as non-executive board member as well as finance expert for several SMEs.
Michel Petignat, Head of Human Resources, is a qualified HR Specialist in the Life Sciences industry. During his long and outstanding professional career, Michel worked as an HR Manager in leading pharma and biotech companies such as Sandoz, Novartis Pharma, Syngenta Crop Protection and Actelion Pharmaceuticals.
Mr. Larry Ellis brings a wealth of experience to his role as Chief Strategy Officer at Swiss Rockets Inc., based in San Francisco. With a diverse background spanning various sectors of the finance industry, he has honed his expertise over several decades.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Oncology Advisory Committee
- Researcher
Prof. Alex A. Adjei is an accomplished researcher in the field of experimental therapeutics and clinical drug development. He is a Professor of Oncology and a Professor of Pharmacology at the Mayo College of Medicine (Rochester, USA), as well as a consultant in Medical Oncology at Mayo Clinic.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Oncology Advisory Committee
- Scientist
- Vice - Chairwoman of the Oncology Advisory Committee
Prof. Solange Peters is an experienced scientist whose main research fields include discovery and validation in preclinical/clinical settings of new biomarkers for thoracic cancers and targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Prof. Peters runs the Thoracic Malignancies Program and the Medical Oncology Service in the Department of Oncology at the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) in Switzerland and manages the organization and coordination of clinical trials.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Prof. Dr. Michael N. Hall is an American and Swiss molecular biologist and Professor at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel. He earned a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics from Harvard University in 1981 and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Institut Pasteur in Paris and the University of California, San Francisco.
Prof. Dr. Stéphane Depil is an M.D., oncologist, and hematologist at the Léon Bérard Cancer Centre and group leader at the Cancer Research Center of Lyon, as well as adjunct Professor at University Claude Bernard Lyon in France. He was also appointed Visiting Professor at King's College London.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Oncology Advisory Committee
- Well - Known Scientist
Prof. Jean-Yves Blay is a well-known scientist and a medical oncologist whose main research interests focus on clinical and basic research in sarcomas. Dr. Blay is a General Director of the Centre Leon Bérard, the Comprehensive Cancer of Lyon, France, as well as a Professor of Medicine at the Université Claude Bernard.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Oncology Advisory Committee
- Expert in Oncology
Prof. Richard Herrmann is a leading expert in Oncology with extensive experience in cancer clinical trials methodology in Phases I-III. He is Professor of Oncology at the University of Basel and former Head of the Division of Oncology and the Department of Clinical Research at the University Hospital Basel.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Business Advisory Committee
- Founding Partner of Basil Street Advisory
Sergey Shneyerson is a founding partner of Basil Street Advisory, a strategy, private equity, and M&A advisory business. Previously, Sergey was Partner with Exigen Capital, USA, where he led the firm's investment activities.