Sartorius Relocates the Head Office of Its Biotechnology Subsidiary Vivascience to the Medical Park in Hanover, Germany

05-Jun-2001

Sartorius AG’s biotechnology subsidiary, Vivascience Limited, will be included in Vivascience AG so that the headquarters of this subsidiary is, in fact, being relocated from Lincoln, England to Hanover, Germany. This decision marks Sartorius’ commitment to Lower Saxony as a viable business location, particularly to the biotech region of Braunschweig, Goettingen and Hanover that has just been recognized with an award. Vivascience AG intends to use the synergies of this region, while helping to strengthen it at the same time. The company’s location in Hanover, Germany, also ensures efficient communication with the parent company and its business environment in Goettingen and with the German Society for Biotechnological Research ("Gesellschaft für biotechnologische Forschung") and its environment in Braunschweig. Hanover itself and, in particular, its center of competence focused in the "Medical Park" offer optimal potential for synergies. The companies located there are primarily engaged in the fields of biotechnology, medical technology as well as neurobiology and cell biology. As a result, these companies are potential customers or prospective partners of Vivascience AG for cooperative alliances, as Vivascience AG operates in the field of protein purification and concentration. Vivascience AG based in Hanover will transfer Vivascience Ltd.’s research and development, sales, marketing and administrative departments to Germany and continue to expand their capacity levels, i.e., create new jobs. By contrast, production operations will remain in Stonehouse, England.

Executive Board of Vivascience AG

Dr. Ralf Hermann has been appointed as CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of Vivascience AG. Aged 40, Mr. Hermann, whose full German title is Dr. rer. nat., holds a doctorate in the natural sciences and a university diploma in biology. Just before joining Vivascience, he last held a senior managerial position in marketing and business development at QIAGEN N.V. With his many years of experience in the international biotechnology market, Dr. Hermann will contribute his expertise to establish Vivascience successfully as one of the major suppliers in the proteomics field.

The company intends to include Mr. Keff and Mr. Krieg-Schneider in its Executive Board. Aged 35, Matthias Keff who is a business economist with a degree from a technical college, will assume the position of CFO. Just before joining Vivascience AG, he last held a senior managerial position in the controlling service unit at Juvena, which belongs to the Beiersdorf Group.

Dr. Frank Krieg-Schneider will be appointed to Vivascience AG’s Executive Board as CSO (Chief Scientific Officer). Aged 39, Mr. Krieg-Schneider, whose full German title is Dr. rer. nat., holds a doctorate in the natural sciences and a university diploma in biology. Before joining Vivascience’s Executive Board, he last held a senior managerial position in the R&D unit for molecular diagnostics at QIAGEN.

The Supervisory Board of Vivascience AG

The chairman of the Supervisory Board of Vivascience AG is Dr. Utz Claassen, Group CEO and Executive Board Chairman at Sartorius AG. Plans are that the Supervisory Board, which will consist of three members for the time being, will be extended in the short term to include six persons. Besides Dr. Claassen and Dr. Janssens, the President of the Biotechnology Division of the Sartorius Group, Vivascience AG’s Supervisory Board will include four members who do not belong to the Sartorius Group in order to include broad-based experience at the highest level.

It is anticipated that Dr. Jürgen Krumnow, member of the advisory group of the Deutsche Bank AG, will become the deputy chairman of the Supervisory Board.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/3372/sartorius-relocates-the-head-office-of-its-biotechnology-subsidiary-vivascience-to-the-medical-park-in-hanover-germany.html