Chr. Hansen and Lonza’s 50/50 joint venture for Live Biotherapeutic Products (LBP), Bacthera, announces Lukas Schüpbach as the company’s CEO
The Board of Directors of Bacthera AG has today appointed Lukas Schüpbach as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as of February 1, 2020. Lukas Schüpbach (50) comes from a position as global head of Strategy and Operations at Emavant Solutions, was co-founder of Innojection and has previously held senior leadership positions at Syngenta and Novartis. He holds a master’s degree in Business from the University of Basel and a master’s degree in Economics from the HEC in Lausanne.
CEO of Chr. Hansen and Chairman of the Board at Bacthera, Mauricio Graber says: “Lukas comes with a proven track record of delivering results and visionary leadership. Bacthera gets a CEO with a rounded profile, from an entrepreneurial mindset to building and aligning cross functional teams in large organizations. I am convinced his pharma experience, and extensive network, will be very valuable for Bacthera’s growth plans and the company’s ambition to be a pioneer in the emerging live-biotherapeutic market.”
Lukas Schüpbach says: “Leading Bacthera on the exciting journey that the company has embarked on is a great opportunity. Bacthera is a pioneer in an emerging industry and I am excited, yet humble, about becoming part of this venture. The nature of the company allows me to combine my experience from the life-sciences industry and the biotech start up scene, contributing to ultimately realize Bacthera’s strong purpose of bringing life-changing treatments to patients. I really look forward to getting to know the business in depth, meeting the dedicated employees and starting to engage with companies innovating in this field.”
Bacthera’s interim CEO, Christian Bigum continues as acting CEO until Lukas Schüpbach takes up his new position on February 1, 2020. Christian Bigum comments: “Lukas and I have already planned a solid transition that will ensure full alignment on Bacthera’s strategy and priorities while maintaining the strong business momentum we have right now. I am pleased to handover the torch to Lukas – he is not only a strong business builder and charismatic leader, but also sincerely inspired by Bacthera’s purpose of shaping the future of medicine.”
About Bacthera:
- Bacthera – a combination of the words bacteriology, therapeutics and era – is a 50/50 legally controlled joint venture between Chr. Hansen and Lonza.
- The company operates from its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland and has production facilities in Denmark and Switzerland.
- Bacthera aims to pioneer manufacturing for the live biotherapeutic products (LBP) industry and offers customers leading competences in handling, characterizing, formulating, manufacturing and encapsulating strict anaerobe bacteria into a drug.
- Bacthera is the first CDMO globally to provide a full supply chain offering manufacturing of drug substance and drug product for biotech and pharma customers.
Chr. Hansen is a global, differentiated bioscience company that develops natural ingredient solutions for the food, nutritional, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. At Chr. Hansen we are uniquely positioned to drive positive change through microbial solutions. We have worked for almost 150 years to enable sustainable agriculture, better food and healthier living for more people around the world. Our microbial and fermentation technology platforms, including our broad and relevant collection of around 50,000 microbial strains, have game-changing potential. Matching customer needs and global trends we continue to unlock the power of good bacteria to respond to global challenges such as food waste, global health and the overuse of antibiotics and pesticides. As one of the world’s most sustainable companies, we touch the lives of more than 1 billion people every day. Driven by our legacy of innovation and curiosity to pioneer science, our purpose – To grow a better world. Naturally. – is at the heart of everything we do.
