Rentschler Biopharma SE, a leading contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) for biopharmaceuticals, today announced that Federico Pollano (55) has joined the Company as senior vice-president, business development, effective 1 March 2018.
Mr Pollano will be responsible for leading the business development division and will serve as the key point of contact for the Company’s growing client base. Mr. Pollano brings over 25 years of industry experience, including serving in senior management positions at global CDMOs. He succeeds Dr Christoph Winterhalter, who has left the Company to pursue other opportunities.
"We are very pleased to welcome Mr. Pollano to Rentschler Biopharma. He has a proven track record of successfully leading business development activities and growing CDMO businesses," said Dr Frank Mathias, CEO of Rentschler Biopharma SE. "His broad skill set and dedication to customer service are a perfect fit as we further build Rentschler Biopharma’s reputation as a CDMO partner of choice and grow our client base while maintaining the high quality of service that our clients expect."
Federico Pollano said: "I am very excited to join the Rentschler Biopharma team. Having been in the CDMO business for many years, I see an increasing need for the client-focused service with customized, first-in-class solutions and high reliability that Rentschler Biopharma provides. I am looking forward to working with an excellent team to solving client problems and to make the Company the go-to partner for gene to vial production of biopharmaceuticals."
Prior to joining Rentschler Biopharma, Mr. Pollano was global director contract manufacturing and business development at Polpharma Biologics. While there, he established the CDMO business and was responsible for in- and out-licensing platform technologies, in addition to setting up a large-scale cell culture facility.
Prior to Polpharma, he was managing director at Richter-Helm-BioTec and executive manager pharmaceuticals at Helm Pharmaceuticals, the generics business of Helm AG. He played a crucial role in successfully repositioning Richter-Helm-BioTec from a CMO to an Own Development Company. Earlier in his career, he was head of business development and member of the management board of BioGeneriX AG and worked at Glaxo Wellcome GmbH for nearly ten years in positions of increasing responsibility. Mr. Pollano studied biology at Bielefeld University, Germany, and at the German Primate Center, Göttingen.