October 2015
Biotechnology sector association elects a new board
BIO Deutschland holds its twelfth general assembly
Hanover (6 October 2015) – The sector association of the biotechnology industry, BIO Deutschland, elected a new board for the next two years yesterday during its twelfth ordinary general assembly, which was held ahead of the leading biotech trade fair, BIOTECHNICA.
The ten members of BIO Deutschland’s board represent various segments of innovative small and medium-sized biotechnology enterprises, industry and the BioRegions. The following members were re-elected:
- Dr Peter Heinrich, Managing Director of Sinfonie Life Science Management GmbH, Planegg and Managing Director of ph Biotech-Consulting, Planegg
- Norbert Hentschel, CFO of Miltenyi Biotec GmbH, Bergisch-Gladbach
- Prof. Dr Andre Koltermann, Senior Vice President and Head of Biotech & Renewables Center at Clariant Produkte (Deutschland) GmbH, Munich
- Roland Sackers, CFO and Managing Director of QIAGEN, Hilden
- Oliver Schacht, PhD, CEO of Curetis AG, Holzgerlingen
- Dr Christian Schetter, CEO and Managing Director of Rigontec GmbH, Bonn
- Dr Jan Schmidt-Brand, Managing Director of Heidelberg Pharma AG, Ladenburg and CFO of WILEX AG, Munich
- Dr Sylvia Wojczewski, Managing Director of BioSpring GmbH, Frankfurt am Main
The following members were newly elected to the board:
- Dr Claus Kremoser, CEO and board member of Phenex Pharmaceuticals AG, Ludwigshafen
- Dr Holger Zimmermann, CEO of AiCuris GmbH & Co. KG, Wuppertal
The new board unanimously confirmed the appointment of Dr Peter Heinrich as its chairman directly after the general meeting. Oliver Schacht was re-appointed as treasurer.
“We have made significant progress thanks to our efforts over the past several years. We are now considered the leading European biotechnology association by policy makers and the media, and are regularly consulted on major issues. BIO Deutschland is the only representative of the biotechnology industry to be taking part in the Federal Government’s pharma dialogue; we advocated for the interests of our members at the IPO Round Table hosted by Federal Minister of Economic Affairs Sigmar Gabriel; and the Federal Cabinet recently announced the expansion of the INVEST grant programme for venture capital, a core demand of BIO Deutschland,” Peter Heinrich said during the general assembly. “We will naturally continue to lobby for better conditions for our innovative sector and work to increase the public’s perception of the importance of biotech in many key areas, such as health, food and sustainability,” Heinrich continued.
During the general assembly, BIO Deutschland’s management presented a comprehensive report on its activities. Representatives of the association’s twelve working groups informed members about the main topics and achievements of the past year and provided an overview of future activities, including those planned in anticipation of the Bundestag elections in 2017. Klaus Eichenberg, spokesperson of the Council of German BioRegions, gave a positive assessment of the past year, highlighting in particular the awarding of the BioRegions’ Innovation Prize, the Biotech>inside event programme and the very successful German Biotechnology Days in Cologne.