Since our founding in 2003, we have pursued our vision of using the immune system to find and fight proteins central to the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Our ultimate aim is to improve the lives of patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases, by focusing on the root cause rather than symptom management: an ethos inspired by the impact that vaccines have on health and society worldwide. We have a broad portfolio of immunotherapy candidates which are currently in clinical trials or in preclinical development for a variety of neurodegenerative diseases; these include Parkinson’s disease (α-synuclein), Huntington’s disease (mutHTT), and Alzheimer’s disease (β-amyloid).
Meet our exceptional team, who have a proven track record of making ground-breaking scientific discoveries and developing novel therapies.
Together we can achieve more.
Management
Noel Barrett is a distinguished business leader in the field of vaccines. He has more than 30 years of experience in the vaccine and biologics industry, with management responsibilities covering the complete development process required to bring vaccine products to the market. In his prior position as Vice President Global Research and Development Vaccines at Baxter Healthcare, he led the development and licensure of Baxter’s FSME tick-borne encephalitis vaccine, Meningococcal C vaccine, and cell‑culture derived H5N1, H1N1, and seasonal influenza vaccines (Preflucel®). His contribution to the Baxter scientific community was recognized with the title of Baxter Distinguished Scientist, the most prestigious scientific recognition within the company, and the Baxter Bioscience President’s Leadership Award.
Günther Staffler is Chief Technology Officer at AFFiRiS, where he is responsible for preclinical development and technology. Prior to his appointment to the executive board, Günther led the immunology department.
Before joining AFFiRiS, he held various positions at Intercell and Biovertis AG, which he co-founded. Günther completed his doctorate degree in biochemistry and immunology at the Institute of Immunology, University of Vienna, Austria and has authored many publications in international journals. He was awarded the ‘Förderungspreis’ from the Austrian Society of Chemistry in 1996 and the ‘Fritz and Ursula Melchers Preis’ from the Austrian Society of Immunology in 2003.
Rossella Medori brings more than 20 years of neuroscience expertise to AFFiRiS and has an extensive track record in successful CNS drug development. Before joining AFFiRiS, she led Prexton Therapeutics to a successful early exit, had key leadership roles at Biogen (including Vice President of Translational Neurology and Vice President of Late Clinical Development) and served in European and Global Medical leadership roles at Janssen-Cilag, BMS and Lilly. Rossella practiced as a Clinical Neurologist in Italy, the United States and Germany and held various academic positions at Case Western Reserve University, Washington University and Columbia University. The identification of the DNA mutations associated with different forms of muscular dystrophy and the description of a new prion disease called Fatal Familial Insomnia are among her most important scientific contributions.
Albina is Head of Business Development at AFFiRiS. She is responsible for managing the organization’s external relations, including generating and seeking out potential new opportunities. Albina studied genetics and microbiology at the Universities of Zagreb and Vienna and holds a PhD in immunology. She is also a certified project manager (University of Salzburg Business School). Since 2006, she has been active in the field of immunotherapy development both as a scientist and as a project manager.
Martina Hopitzan is Head of Finance & Administration and is mainly responsible for Accounting and Controlling. She has been a member of AFFiRiS since 2009 and previously gained multiple years of experience in the biotech/high-tech sector at companies such as Intercell. She holds a degree in Controlling and is a Certified Accountant.
Gerald’s educational background is in analytical chemistry. He has longstanding experience in Quality Assurance, Quality Control, and regulatory processes. Gerald has been certified as a Qualified Person by the Austrian regulatory authorities since 2011. Before joining AFFiRiS, Gerald worked for many years in various Quality Control, Quality Assurance, and Operational Excellence functions at the Vienna-based manufacturing sites of Baxter AG and Intervet GesmbH (MSD Animal Health).
Christine is Head of Preclinical Development, a role she started in January 2019. Prior to that she was Head of Cardiometabolic Research and Development, and she started her career at AFFiRiS in 2009 as scientist. Before joining AFFiRiS, Christine spent three years as a scientist developing diagnostic tools for the early detection of life threatening infections in immunosuppressed individuals at the Children’s Cancer Research Institute (CCRI) in Vienna, Austria. Christine studied microbiology at the University of Vienna and Lund (Sweden) and holds a PhD from the Institute of Medical Biochemistry at the Medical University of Vienna.
Alexandra is a trained psychiatrist. She has longstanding experience as a clinical investigator in the field of neurodegeneration. During a post-doctoral position at the Brain Research Center in Vienna, her research focused on various aspects of neuroimmunology in multiple sclerosis. Before joining AFFiRiS, Alexandra worked for many years as a researcher and clinician at the Medical University of Vienna. She has several years of experience as a consultant and contractor for the pharmaceutical industry in CNS indications.
Supervisory Board
Michael Motschmann has been an entrepreneur for over 20 years. In 2004, Michael co-founded MIG Verwaltungs AG (MIG AG), and as well as being a member of the board of management, he is Head of the Participations Division. MIG AG is a management company for various VC funds, which are financed by private investors who invest in companies in Austria and Germany (mainly in the life science and high tech fields). Michael is also a member of the Supervisory Board of BioNTech Gmbh, Mainz, Germany.
Andrea Lentz-Koblenc is a knowledgeable Animal Caretaker with more than 25 years of experience in both big pharma and biotech industry (11 years within AFFiRiS, 17 years within Novartis). At AFFiRiS Andrea has been responsible for the majority of internal projects. She has also been appointed by the works council as a delegate to the supervisory board.
Helmut Jeggle is Managing Director of ATHOS Service GmbH in Munich, Germany. In this role, Helmut has been responsible for building an extensive portfolio of biotechnology companies for ATHOS/Santo. Helmut is also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of BioNTech Gmbh, Mainz, Germany and 4SC AG, Munich, Germany. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Sidroga AG, Zoffingen, Switzerland and SiO2 Medical Products Inc, Auburn, USA.
Katja Balazs holds an engineering degree in technical chemistry and studied molecular biology at the University of Vienna, Austria. Before joining AFFiRiS in 2007, Katja worked for many years in various research laboratories at Immuno AG/Baxter, Böhringer Ingelheim and Biovertis. At AFFiRiS Katja was involved in development of diverse internal projects such as Angiotensin, IL23, C5a, DPPIV, AD and PD. She has also been appointed by the works council as a delegate to the supervisory board.
Scientific Advisory Board
Christoph Huber is Professor Emeritus at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany, former Head of the Department of Hematology and Oncology at the Mainz University Medical Center, and an international leader in the field of immuno-oncology. He chairs Europe’s Association for Cancer Immunotherapy, is a board member of the Ci3 Cluster of Individualized ImmunIntervention e.V in the Rhine-Main metropolitan area of Germany, and is a senior advisor to international pharmaceutical companies, science-driven SMEs, and big-science institutions. Professor Huber is also a co-founder of BioNTech AG and of Ganymed Pharmaceuticals.
Rogier Sanders is a Professor of Virology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands where he is the Principal Investigator for research into vaccine design. His main research interest is HIV and the development of vaccines for infectious diseases. He is a recipient of a Starting Investigator Grant from the European Research Council, as well as numerous other research grants and fellowship awards.
Werner Poewe is Chairman of the Department of Neurology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria. His main research interests are in the field of movement disorders, with particular emphasis on the clinical pharmacology of Parkinson’s disease and dystonia. Professor Poewe has published over 550 papers in the field of movement disorders. He has served as President of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society, President of the Austrian Society of Neurology, President of the Austrian Parkinson's Disease Society, and Chair of the Movement Disorder Society/European Section.
Michael Platten is a Professor of Neurology at Heidelberg University, Germany and Chairman of the Department of Neurology, University Hospital Mannheim, Germany. He is also Head of the Immune Monitoring Unit at the German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, a position he has held since 2015. Professor Platten has received many honors including, honorary membership of the European Academy of Tumor Immunology in 2016. He has published over 140 research papers and has served on several editorial boards.
