Leadership

Our company is made up of individuals that feel they can make a difference, and meet these challenges. Today, many cancer patients receive treatments that are ineffective or even cause severe adverse effects, and many autoimmune disease patients are given treatments that are simply not right for them—Protagen wants to help end this. Contact us to find out more about how Protagen is helping to advance and improve patient management with precision diagnostic tools for immuno-oncology and autoimmune disease.

Corporate management

Dr Georg Lautscham, CEO

“It’s exciting to me that we are helping to develop new ways to drive the implementation of a precision medicine approach for some of the world’s most devastating diseases, both here at Protagen, and with our partners”

Georg joined Protagen in 2013, because he felt that patients suffering from cancer and autoimmune diseases should receive treatments that are both safe and effective. A chemist and immunologist by training, Georg had previously led a number of interdisciplinary teams both in Europe and the USA, and has years of experience as a biotech executive, with a strong commercial track record in business development, marketing and sales.

Dr Peter Schulz-Knappe, CSO

“A future of precision diagnostics solutions for patients suffering from autoimmune diseases and cancer means a future where people are prescribed treatments that are right for them—avoiding the incidence of harsh (and sometimes fatal) adverse effects, and helping develop therapies that are more effective” Peter joined Protagen in 2010, because he wanted to change the way in which we characterize some of the world’s most challenging diseases. An MD and cell biologist by training, Dr Schulz-Knappe has decades of management experience in R&D—gained while CEO and CSO at BioVisioN and as CSO at Proteome Sciences.

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.

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.