
Leadership
Protagen’s corporate leadership team combines over 40 years of commercial expertise and experience within the biotechnology industry, with a background spanning immunology, oncology, biomarker discovery and more. The supervisory board holds decades of high-level expertise from both a scientific and business standpoint, with thought-leaders from the worlds of global research to corporate finance.

Corporate management

Dr Georg Lautscham, CBO
A chemist and immunologist by training, Dr Lautscham also has over 15 years of experience as a biotech executive, with a strong commercial track record in business development, marketing and sales. Dr Lautscham has led a number of interdisciplinary teams in Germany, the UK and the USA, operating within the fields of immunology, oncology, clinical research, regulatory affairs and bioinformatics. He joined Protagen in 2013.

Dr Peter Schulz-Knappe, CSO
Dr Schulz-Knappe is CSO of the company, being an MD and cell biologist by training. Dr Schulz-Knappe brings over 25 years of protein and peptide biochemistry, biomarker discovery and development experience, as well as 15 years of management experience in R&D, gained while CEO and CSO at BioVisioN and as CSO at Proteome Sciences. He joined Protagen in 2010.
Board of directors
Dr. Bernhard Kirschbaum (Chairman)
Dr. Bernhard Kirschbaum (Chairman) is an independent advisor. He was Head of Global Research and Early Development and member of the Executive Committee at Merck-Serono. Dr. Kirschbaum has a long-standing track record in pharma R&D and held various executive positions at Hoechst, Aventis, Sanofi, and Merck.
Dr. Dirk H. Ehlers
Dr. Dirk H. Ehlers is President and CEO of Trumpf Medical (Hill-Rom Group). Previously he was CEO of Eppendorf AG and over the past 20 years held various senior positions within the life science industry, notably with Roche Diagnostics, Evotec, Fresenius Kabi and Olympus Diagnostics.
Dr. Aristoteles Nastos
Dr. Aristoteles Nastos is Investment Manager at the NRW BANK in Duesseldorf. He has held several positions within the German life science industry, focusing on venture financing. He joined NRW bank from Peppermint Financial Partners in Berlin.
Matthias Guth
Matthias Guth is Venture Partner of MIG Funds and has been active in Venture Capital for more than 15 years. He is the Founder and Managing Director of Matthias Guth Corporate Finance GmbH. Prior to this he worked at Wellington Partners and Goetzpartners.
Oliver Schacht, PhD
Oliver Schacht, PhD is CEO of Curetis N.V. (Euronext: CURE), a molecular diagnostics company active in the area of hospital infection. He was previously CEO of Epigenomics Inc. (Seattle, USA) and CFO of epigenomics AG (Germany) and has co-founded several technology companies in Europe and the US.
Protagen is dedicated to the development of powerful diagnostic tools that aid successful therapeutic development and facilitate improved treatment strategies in the areas of autoimmune disease and immuno-oncology.
Protagen is currently setting up an international scientific advisory board with key opinion leaders from the immuno-oncology and autoimmune disease fields. These expert panels will support our efforts in engaging with the medical and scientific community to develop products that are aimed at market needs.
Protagen has a number of established and committed investors, but is always looking at entering into new partnerships to help progress its research and commercialization efforts. If you are interested in investing in the company, please contact us.
Protagen is always looking to expand its talented and experienced team. For information on some of the job roles available, see below.
Here you will find our quarterly newsletter, “Stratified News from Dortmund”. With our newsletter we intend to regularly update you on developments at Protagen in a fresh and colorful format and we hope that you like it. The newsletter is one way of interacting with you, our friends and collaborators, and we strive to improve our communication on an ongoing basis.

Get in touch
Improving the treatment of cancer and autoimmune disease is our passion, and we always welcome the chance to discuss these topics with current and prospective customers, patients and clinicians alike.

Copyright © 1997-2018
Protagen AG, Dortmund, Germany