During my PhD thesis in biochemistry early in the nineties, I invented, together with Arne Skerra, and initially developed Strep-tag® technology for one-step isolation of recombinant proteins which I continuously expanded throughout my professional career.

Since 1994 I was for more than 20 years at IBA Lifesciences GmbH (since 2001 as Managing Director) responsible for the translation of Strep-tag®-technology into a comprehensive product portfolio for the global research market, from 2000 for one-step isolation of blood cells as well. My tasks included product and business development, production, patenting, contracting, in- and out-licensing as well as marketing activities.

In 2015 I joined Juno Therapeutics GmbH to make the technology available for the treatment of life-threatening diseases. The concrete purpose was the development of a sterile tubing set system with integrated affinity columns for clinical grade single-step purification of human T cells – the initial step for the manufacture of CAR T cell medicaments. The concomitant developments of an efficient T cell purification process and a device for automation led to an integrated cell purification platform technology.

After having successfully overcome the technical hurdles I turned my activities in 2020 to the management of CMOs to enable commercial scale production and supply of the technology.

Due to the acquisition of Juno Therapeutics by Celgene in the beginning of 2018 and the subsequent acquisition of Celgene by Bristol-Myers Squibb late in 2019 I gained deep insight into the fundamentals of pharmaceutical industry that significantly differ from those governing young biotech endeavors and the knowledge of which is a prerequisite for successfully making business in this field.

Concluding, I offer on the one hand deep understanding and experience around Strep-tag® and Streptamer® technologies and their application spectrum. On the other hand, the holistic knowledge of biopharmaceutical industry and successful execution of many tasks in different areas and positions provide a sound basis for effectively guiding young biotech companies for better market positioning.