• Industry veteran Dr. Marion Wencker strengthens sterna's management team as consulting CMO
• Financial expert Dr. Thomas Klaue recently joined sterna as consulting CFO

MARBURG, GERMANY / ACCESSWIRE / July 8, 2019 / Sterna biologicals GmbH & Co. KG (sterna), an innovative clinical-stage immunology company developing novel biological treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases, announced today that the Company has recently appointed Dr. Marion Wencker as consulting Chief Medical Officer and Dr. Thomas Klaue as consulting Chief Financial Officer.

Christian Pangratz, Chief Executive Officer of sterna biologicals, said: 'Marion and Thomas are proven experts in their fields. As we are diligently working towards phase IIb development of our lead candidates, we are privileged to welcome both to the sterna management team and leverage their expertise to further strengthen our execution competencies.'

Dr. Marion Wencker is an industry veteran with over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and life science sectors, particularly in the areas of respiratory diseases and plasma products. Before joining sterna, Marion held several executive positions including head of Medical and Clinical Affairs Europe for Talecris (now Grifols), where she built the newly established European Medical headquarters, and as Therapeutic Area Director Respiratory for GlaxoSmithKline in Germany. Marion received her academic training at the University Bonn in the department of Chemistry and continued her education at the Medical Schools of the Universities of Freiburg, Innsbruck and Cape Town before she became a Fellow at the Ruhrlandklinik Essen, a tertiary care hospital for respiratory diseases.

'With the start of the phase IIb trials and key milestones ahead, it is certainly a very exciting time to join the sterna management team,' said Dr. Marion Wencker. 'The Company's phase IIa results were impressive and I look forward to advancing lead candidates SB010 in asthma and SB012 in ulcerative colitis into phase IIb development in the coming months.'

Dr. Thomas Klaue brings over 25 years of experience in finance, executive and senior management and M&A in life science and medtech companies as well as in electronics, aerospace and public administration. Most recently, Thomas has served as Chief Financial Officer at INJEX Pharma, a medical device company specialized in needle-free injection systems. Before joining INJEX, he was CFO and Deputy CEO at several publicly listed companies including Marseille-Kliniken, a hospital operator, and Medigene, a biotechnology company developing oncology and immune therapies. Prior to his career in industry, Thomas was Assistant Professor at the University of Mannheim in Germany and a Research Fellow at the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management in Boston.

'It is exciting to join sterna at this important time for the company as it prepares to advance its lead candidates into phase IIb development. I look forward to working with the team and ensuring they have the resources needed to successfully deliver on these promising programs,' said Dr. Thomas Klaue.

To prepare the Company for its upcoming phase IIb development programs, sterna wanted to ensure it had a well-balanced leadership team in place with extensive international industry, scientific, operations and execution experience. These two new appointments follow the appointment of Dr. Daniel Bock, who already joined sterna's management as consulting Chief Scientific Officer last year. Daniel has over 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical research and development with a strong focus on inflammatory diseases. He previously held R&D leadership positions at Novartis and Revotar Biopharmaceuticals.

ABOUT STERNA BIOLOGICALS

Sterna biologicals GmbH & Co. KG is an innovative clinical-stage immunology company developing novel treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), atopic dermatitis, and ulcerative colitis. By targeting transcription factors that play a central role in regulating Th1- and Th2-driven inflammatory mechanisms, the Company's proprietary DNAzyme-based drug candidates can intervene with upstream inflammatory processes to address related diseases more effectively. Sterna currently has four programs in phase 2 development.

For more information, please visit www.sterna-biologicals.com.

CONTACT

Christian Pangratz
Managing Director
[email protected]

sterna biologicals GmbH & Co. KG
Bismarckstrasse 7
35037 Marburg
Tel.: +49 (0)6421.98 30 05 0

For media enquiries:

Anne Hennecke
MC Services AG
[email protected]
Tel.: +49 (0)211.52 92 52 22

SOURCE: sterna biologicals GmbH & Co. KG