Leadership

As Head of Clinical and Regulatory, Cristina is responsible for LimmaTech Biologics’ clinical trials. Cristina has a degree in Molecular Biology and a master in Clinical Microbiology and Virology. She obtained a PhD at the Microbiology Institute of the ETH in Zürich, working on bioconjugation, the technology that was further developed and brought into clinical trials by LimmaTech’s predecessor company, GlycoVaxyn, which she joined in 2007 as Group Leader in the Research Department.

In her over 20 years of scientific experience, Cristina has acquired a broad range of expertise in the field of research and vaccines development.

As Head of CMC Development, Martin oversees the manufacturing and quality control of LimmaTech Biologics’ vaccine candidates, guiding them through to clinical trials. He holds a diploma in Natural Sciences from ETH Zurich and earned his PhD at the Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology at the University of Bern, Switzerland. After two postdoctoral fellowships, one in the United States and one in Switzerland he spent over three years in El Salvador for a development cooperation project.

In 2009, Martin joined GlycoVaxyn as a Group Leader in the CMC development team, where he supported manufacturing the company’s first bioconjugate vaccine candidate and its entry into clinical trials. Since then, Martin has honed his expertise in navigating innovative vaccine candidates through the highly regulated pharmaceutical landscape. In 2018, he was appointed Director of CMC Development, assuming primary responsibility for all CMC activities at LMTB. To date, he has been part of a team that successfully advanced nine vaccine candidates targeting seven different indications into clinical phases I and II across three continents.

As Head of Preclinical, Paula is responsible for LimmaTech Biologics’ vaccine preclinical strategies. She joined LimmaTech over seven years ago and has worked as a Clinical Trial Associate and Preclinical Manager, progressively advancing to her present position. Before her tenure at LimmaTech, Paula was a Senior Scientist in Formulation and Analytics at Molecular Partners AG, where she supervised the Formulation and Analytics team and coordinated analytical activities for various development projects. Earlier in her career, she was the Mass Spectrometry expert at GlycoVaxyn, where she established the MS lab.

Paula holds a PhD in Natural Sciences from the University of Zurich, Switzerland and a degree in Biochemistry with a specialization in Biotechnology from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

As Head of Legal & Intellectual Property, Elisabetta plays a crucial role in overseeing LimmaTech Biologics’ legal strategies and IP portfolio. She holds a PhD in Organic and Supramolecular Chemistry from University College London with AWE (Atomic Weapons Establishment) United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense, and an LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law and Management from the University of Strasbourg.

Elisabetta has extensive experience in legal and intellectual property roles. Before joining GlycoVaxyn in 2013, LimmaTech’s predecessor company, Elisabetta gained valuable experience in various roles, including working in two GlaxoSmithKline Center of Excellence of Drug Discovery in Italy and the UK, and at the Legal and IP office of the Scientific Directorate of the world-renowned University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan IRCCS. Her diverse experience has equipped her with a comprehensive understanding of the legal and intellectual property landscape in the biotechnology sector. Elisabetta did her postdoc in Japan following the awarding of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Award in 2009.

Franz joined LimmaTech as Chief Executive Officer in August 2023. He has held roles of increasing complexity and responsibility in the pharmaceutical industry for more than 20 years. Most recently, he was the CEO at NASDAQ-listed CureVac SE following his tenures as Chief Corporate Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Before, Franz held the position of Vice President of Operations and Chief Compliance Officer of SYGNIS Pharma AG, where he was responsible for M&A, capital market transactions and corporate development. In the past, he held several management positions in the life sciences industry, including Vice President and General Counsel of LION Bioscience and General Counsel of Sirona Dental Systems. He holds a Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree and studied at the University of Saarbruecken, the Catholic University of Leuven, and the University of Edinburgh.

As Chief Scientific Officer, Michael is responsible for LimmaTech’s scientific development, focusing on pipeline expansion and operational R&D performance. Michael has a PhD in Biochemistry from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETH Zurich) and has developed broad experience in the biotech industry. After university, he joined GlycoVaxyn to develop the company’s bioconjugation vaccine platform. As VP of Research and IP, he was responsible for platform science innovation and the collaboration with GSK that culminated in GlycoVaxyn’s acquisition by GlaxoSmithKline in February 2015. After that, Michael became a co-founder of LimmaTech, and soon took the role of VP of Business Strategy and IP to drive LimmaTech’s proprietary business, marking his journey into therapeutics. With the successful spin-out of the therapeutics assets into the newly formed company GlycoEra AG in January 2021, as CSO of the company, he moved back to his true scientific passion, developing innovative vaccines.

As Head of Research, Gerd is responsible for LimmaTech Biologics’ Research and Early Development operations, focusing on proof-of-concept studies of vaccine candidates and on platform development.

Gerd brings nearly 25 years of experience in the biotech industry with a long-standing track record on vaccine development and design. He joined GlycoVaxyn in 2009 and since then held various roles in the Discovery, the Preclinical and the Research departments. Over the past decades in pharmaceutical research, Gerd has acquired significant experience in all early development steps required to successfully move innovative vaccines towards clinical testing.

Before joining the biotech sector, he received his PhD in Cellular Biochemistry from the University of Heidelberg (Germany) and did a postdoc at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich).

As Chief Operating Officer, Patricia is responsible for LimmaTech’s vaccine clinical programs. She joined GlycoVaxyn in 2014 in the Clinical Department and became part of LimmaTech’s Executive Management team in 2019 as Vice President of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs and later as Managing Director. Prior to GlycoVaxyn, Patricia held various roles in clinical research in several biotech companies and CROs. In her over 15 years of industrial experience, she has acquired significant expertise in diverse vaccine and therapeutic clinical indications and has overseen studies ranging from Phase I to Phase IV. Patricia has a degree in Biochemistry from the National University of Cordoba, Argentina. After relocating to Switzerland, she received her PhD in Natural Science from the University of Zürich.

As Chief Financial Officer, Paul is responsible for finance, administration, IT and human resources at LimmaTech. Most recently, he was CFO of GlycoVaxyn at the time of its acquisition by GlaxoSmithKline in February 2015. Previously, Paul was the Chief Financial Officer of Source Capital, a FINMA-regulated algorithmic trading firm in Switzerland from 2012 to 2014. He was Managing Director of Investors Guaranty, a boutique private equity and venture capital firm, where he managed the financial and corporate development activities and served as a board member for the group’s portfolio companies from 2001 to 2012. Prior to 2001, he worked for SEI Investments in the United States and Switzerland in various corporate finance positions focusing on the company’s new ventures. Paul holds a B.S. in finance from LaSalle University and an MBA from Villanova University.