About us
Board of Directors
Seng Chin Mah
Chairman
Professional Background
Seng Chin Mah is Chief Executive Officer of the Canyon Pharmaceuticals Group AG and has over 30 years experience in the Pharma and Biotech industry. Prior to Canyon, he was the Head of Development of the Integration Office during the integration of Chiron into Novartis and has previously held positions including Global Head of Clinical Safety and Epidemiology, Head of Drug Regulatory Affairs Europe. He also had oversight responsibility for Clinical Quality Assurance. Dr. Mah was also a member of the Novartis Corporate Executive Group and a member of the board of directors for Novartis Europharm Ltd. During his tenure with Novartis and Ciba, he has driven transformational programs, managed large global organizations, and achieved significant business results such as the numerous global registrations of major products including Diovan. Dr. Mah has worked extensively on both development projects and marketed products. He has held numerous research and academia positions, and is currently on the boards of several biotech companies. Dr. Mah is an award-winning CEO of a biotech - The Frost & Sullivan 2011 Product Differentiation Excellence Award in Parenteral Anticoagulants recognized Canyon Pharmaceuticals Group AG for the development and launch of Iprivask® (desirudin for injection). He subsequently effected an asset transaction of the product. He possesses deep knowledge in strategic decision-making within the Pharma and Biotech industry, late stage clinical development & regulatory experience as well as people development skills.
Marc Gitzinger
Board Member & CEO
Professional Background
Marc Gitzinger is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of BioVersys. He has over 10 years of experience in the biotech industry, having launched a university spin-off in the field of antimicrobial resistance and growing it into a multi-asset early clinical stage company. Some of these assets will address significant unmet medical needs in infectious conditions such as tuberculosis and hospital acquired Acinetobacter infections. He has raised over $30 mio in equity financing and secured over $20 mio in non-dilutive funding. He has also established several important partnerships with a Big Pharma and other development organizations. Dr. Gitzinger is a multi-award-winning Biotech CEO, having received amongst others the Swiss Technology Award 2011, Venture Kick 2009 and Venture Leaders 2008 and 2017 awards for his work in founding and advancing BioVersys. He is also vice-president of the board of the BEAM Alliance, a European association representing over 60 European and international SMEs active in antimicrobial research and development and board member of the AMR Industry Alliance. Dr. Gitzinger is a young thought leader in the field of antimicrobial research and development. He is passionate about next generation antimicrobial therapies and leads a highly motivated team striving to bring life-saving antimicrobial therapies to patients in need. He is also co-author on several high ranked scientific publications and patents in the field.
David Hunstad
Board Member
Professional Background
David Hunstad is Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. He also serves as Chief of their Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, leading their growth to 18 faculty with diverse basic and clinical research programs in childhood infections and epidemiology. Dr. Hunstad’s laboratory research in Gram-negative bacterial pathogenesis, novel treatments for urinary tract infections, and emerging infectious diseases in children has been funded continuously by the US National Institutes of Health for nearly two decades. His work has been recognized by election to the Society for Pediatric Research and the American Pediatric Society. Dr. Hunstad received the Faculty Achievement Award from the Washington University Medical Center in 2019. Listed among the Best Doctors in America, Dr. Hunstad has been in clinical practice in pediatrics and infectious diseases since 1999. He also has participated in numerous industry-sponsored pediatric clinical trials of new anti-infective agents.
Marina von Schönau
Board Member
Professional Background
Marina von Schönau is Chairwoman of Almacos AG and investor representative of a family office where she takes care of the private equity portfolio. Almacos AG is a management consultancy that is active in companies in the private equity space in real estate, healthcare including digital health, recycling, food appliances and financial services, with an emphasis on helping management retain entrepreneurial values. She holds various board positions in privately held companies, including dacadoo AG as well as foundations such as the Coralma Stiftung AG. Over the last decade, Ms. von Schönau has been focused on advising venture opportunities, growth scenarios and complex restructurings especially within biotechnology, digital healthcare and recycling. As an investor, she has particular interests in the healthcare sector especially nutrition and in the recycling industry. In her prior career, Ms. von Schönau has worked in senior positions at different multi-national companies in the pharmaceutical sector including Janssen Cilag AG and Bayer (Schweiz) AG where she gained in depth knowledge of marketing, product launches and leadership. She has worked on products in the central nervous system (CNS) therapeutic area and women’s health. She was also a member of an international marketing frame group for a new product where she drove e-business ideas. Under her leadership, the CNS therapeutic area played a leading role in the initiation and expansion of the company's e-business platforms. Ms. von Schönau has a strong interest in the tremendous business potential and culture of Asia, in particular the fast pace of innovation in the fields of nutrition and hedge fund portfolios.
William Jenkins
Board member elect
Professional Background
William Jenkins is an independent healthcare advisor with over 40 years’ experience and is principal of William Jenkins Pharma Consulting where he has been advising a wide range of pharma and biotech companies as well as investment and venture capital firms in the healthcare sector. Dr. Jenkins has previously served on the boards of multiple Biotechs including Consort Medical Ltd, Allecra Therapeutics, Ablynx N.V., BTG PLC, Eurand Pharmaceutical Holdings B.V., Vaxxim AG, Monogram Biosciences Inc, Acambis Research Ltd, Evotec AG, Tanox Inc, Nicholas Piramal India Ltd and Glycart AG. He has been involved in corporate transactions ranging from mergers & acquisitions, demergers and IPOs to licensing deals across several geographies. He has also been a member of several Scientific Advisory Boards of biotechs and venture capital funds. Formerly, Dr. Jenkins has held positions such as the Global Head of Clinical Development & Regulatory Affairs of Novartis, Head of Medicine of Ciba and Head of Worldwide Clinical Research of the Glaxo Group where he was responsible for the successful development and approval of numerous novel products across all therapeutic areas and contributed to their successful launches. Before joining the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Jenkins was Principal Medical Officer and a Deputy Head of the Medicines Division of the UK Department of Health where he was also the UK representative to the CPMP on Adverse Drug Reactions. He has also been a Senior Lecturer in Medicine and a Medical Research Council Fellow.