Ins and outs: Top drawer shuffles at Danaher, Rentschler, Ori and more

Rentschler gets a head of quality control; Danaher gets an executive VP; TeraPore appoints a president and COO; eXmoor gets a CCO; while Ori Biotech makes several additions. Welcome to the fortnightly roundup brought to you by BioProcess Insider. 

Rentschler: 

Rentschler Biopharma, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has appointed Björn Beckman as head of quality control for the firm’s Laupheim site in Germany.  

Björn Beckman, Head of Quality Control at Rentschler. c/o Rentschler

He is responsible for all aspects of quality control (QC), including development, production, release and approval of active pharmaceutical ingredients and therapeutics, and for ensuring that all quality standards and regulations are met.

“Björn has taken on increasing responsibility in his seven years at Rentschler Biopharma and has distinguished himself through his strong commitment and outstanding performance. He was particularly impressive with his outstanding leadership qualities and the ability to develop and implement innovative solutions with the team,” said Christiane Bardroff, COO at Rentschler. 

Beckmann has been with Rentschler Biopharma for seven years, where he served as senior director production support recently. 

The CDMO offers process development and manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals as well as consulting services, including project management and regulatory support. 

Danaher: 

Danaher Corporation has announced Christopher Riley’s appointment as executive VP for the firm, as Emmanuel Ligner hands off the torch.  

Christopher Riley, Executive VP at Danaher Corporation. c/o Danaher

“After 19 incredible years in this business, I’ve decided now is the right time to pass on the leadership reins of Cytiva. I’m delighted that my friend and colleague Christopher Riley will be Cytiva’s next CEO,” said Ligner.

Riley, who joined the firm in 2007, currently serves as the VP and group executive of Danaher’s life sciences company, with responsibility for genomic medicines. The appointment will come into effective on January 1, 2024. 

“Chris’ leadership has helped drive the success of our genomic medicines and diagnostics businesses over the past six years. His strong track record of delivering results, passion for helping our customers and building winning teams. […] I look forward to seeing Chris apply his skills and experiences to ensuring continued success,” said Blair. 

Cytiva is a part of Danaher Corporation, and the combined entity offers biomanufacturers products and technologies across the full bioprocess spectrum, from cell culture to drug product. 

TeraPore: 

TeraPore Technologies has appointed Mani Krishnan as president and COO.   

“Mani has been an active advisor for over a year, providing valuable insight and access across the industry,” said Rachel Dorin, CEO of TeraPore Technologies. “We are delighted for Mani to join our team and bring his wealth of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry as we build out our commercial capabilities.” 

While he remains an active board member, this has expanded his role to streamlining company operations and driving the commercial deployment of the firm’s proprietary technology. 

Headquartered in San Fracisco, California, Terapore, market novel nanofiltration products to resolve complex separation challenges in biopharmaceutical production and semiconductor manufacturing. 

Ori Biotech: 

Ori has appointed Gillian Bonthron and John Machulski as CFO and COO respectively. 

Gillian Bonthron, CFO at Ori Biotech. c/o Ori Biotech

Bonthron most recently worked at Healx and Perspectum, and Machulski, joins from Catalent, bringing extensive operational experience from Lonza, GE Life Sciences (now Cytiva), Sanofi, Pfizer and J&J.

In addition to these new senior additions, Thomas Heathman has been promoted to chief commercial officer and will lead the upcoming commercial launch of Ori’s cell therapy manufacturing platform.  

John Machulski, COO at Ori Biotech. c/o Ori Biotech

Also, joining the firm’s strategic advisory board are, Jim Faulkner, Matthew Hewithh, Maik Jornitz, and Bruce Thompson. These additions come as the London-based firm founded in 2019, enters the commercial phase.

“We are honored to be joined by experienced industry veterans and key opinion leaders on our mission to enable widespread patient access to life-saving cell and gene therapies,” said Jason C Foster, CEO of Ori Biotech. 

The firm aims to enable extensive patient access for CGT therapies through its scalable bioreactor and fluid handling platform, to automate, digitize, and standardize CGT production. 

eXmoor: 

eXmoor Pharma has appointed Matthew Paterson as the company’s first chief commercial officer (CCO), to spearhead the company’s growth and international footprints.  

“Matthew completes the build out of our senior team. His experience will bolster eXmoor as we endeavor to meet the industry’s growing capacity needs, offering top-class expertise and cutting-edge capabilities along with true partnership,” said Angela Osborne, CEO of eXmoor. “In particular, Matthew’s experience as a driven and committed commercial leader will be crucial as we develop new relationships and begin GMP manufacturing in the new year.” 

Previously at Quotient Sciences, Paterson held several senior leadership positions and most recently served as VP of corporate strategy. He has over 25 years of experience in the CDMO space. 

The firm recently raised $35 million to cement firm’s CDMO status, launching a CGT facility at Bristol, UK.