Prof. Andrea Pfeifer co-founded AC Immune SA in 2003, successfully leading it to an IPO in 2016, since when she has served as a Director on the Board. Under her leadership, multiple transformative partnerships have been established with leading pharmaceutical companies, yielding a potential value of up to CHF 3.3 billion plus additional royalties.
Before founding the Company, she was the Head of Nestlé Research Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland where she played a major role in connecting science and business. Whilst at Nestlé she led the scientific development of a number of highly innovative, critically acclaimed products from laboratory to market, established the microbiome as a major cross-category product development platform and co-founded the Life Science focused Nestlé Venture Capital Fund.
Prior to this she was a Visiting Fellow at the Human Carcinogenesis Branch of The National Institute of Health, Bethesda, USA. She currently serves as the Chair of Investment Fund BioMedInvest, Basel and AB2 Bio SA, Lausanne, and is a member of the Supervisory Board of Symrise AG, Holzminden, Germany. She is also a key member of the CEOi initiative on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative (DAC). In 2021, she was awarded the first SEF.WomenAward for CEO of the Year by the Swiss Economic Forum.
Prof. Pfeifer holds a Ph.D. in Toxicology (Cancer Research) from the University of Würzburg, Germany and is a registered Toxicologist and Pharmacist. She received her Habilitation from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland and is an Honorary Professor at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).
Dr. Kosco-Vilbois, a US citizen, has extensive experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and served as Chief Scientific Officer for AC Immune from 2019 to 2023, following her role as Chief Scientific Officer for Novimmune from 2005. Prior to joining Novimmune in 2002, Dr. Kosco-Vilbois was Head of Immunology and Preclinical Pharmacology at the Serono Pharmaceutical Research Institute, a Senior Scientist and then Head of Immunology at the Glaxo Wellcome Research Institute in Geneva and a Scientific Member of the Basel Institute for Immunology. During her career, she has taken numerous Biologicals from Discovery into pre-clinical studies and clinical development, most notably filing market applications of a Biological for an Orphan indication.
Dr. Kosco-Vilbois gained her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Rutgers University, New Jersey, US, and a Ph.D. in Anatomy and Immunology from the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, US.
Prior to AC Immune, Mr. Monin served as CFO of bioMérieux Central Europe based in Vienna, Austria, where he was responsible for the development, the consolidation and the optimization of Finance and Administration of the fast growing local market. Prior to this assignment he was responsible for the integration of the subsidiaries of numerous countries in Europe and Brazil, into the standards of Finance, Quality Assurance and Information System of the Group. Jean-Fabien Monin holds a Master's in Finance and International Business from the University Paris-Dauphine, France.
Mr. Donati joined AC Immune in June 2018 as Director, Global Program Management, having previously worked for AC Immune from 2011-2015 as Head of Manufacturing and Project Management. Between 2015 and 2018, Mr. Donati was Head of CMC Program Development at Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Biotech CMC Lead at Merck Group. Prior to 2011, he held R&D positions at Abiogen, Merck Group and Serono. Mr. Donati holds a degree in Chemistry from the Technical Institute G.L. Bernini.
Prior to joining AC Immune, Dr. Olivier Sol was Clinical Director of Exonhit (Paris) and therafter Medical & Regulatory Affairs Director for Diaxonhit, where he was responsible for the development and medical validation of in-vitro diagnostic products in cancer, infectious diseases and Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Sol spent his over 20-year career as a Medical Expert in several therapeutic areas with a strong focus on central nervous system diseases, within pharmaceutical companies as Janssen, UCB-Pharma, GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi. He contributed to the clinical development of currently marketed drugs in epilepsy (topiramate and levetiracetam) and galantamine in Alzheimer’s. He has also gained significant experience in the field of biological biomarkers. Dr. Sol holds an M.D. from the Paris-Sud University (Paris-Saclay) with a specialization in Medical Biology.
Dr. Gray has served as Clinical Advisor to our programs in neurodegenerative diseases since January 2007 and works in this function exclusively for AC Immune. He has previously held the position of Head of CNS Therapeutics at Eisai Ltd in London leading the global development of early and late-stage CNS projects in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and other CNS areas. Prior to this he served as Head of Alzheimer Clinical Research at Hoffmann-La Roche in Basel where he conducted large scale clinical trials in the US and Europe. After his studies he was Medical Expert at Sandoz Pharmaceuticals in Basel undertaking clinical studies of different compounds in dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Gray holds the title of a Specialist in Pharmaceutical Medicine (Switzerland). He received his medical degree (M.B.B.S.) from the University of London, a B.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Oxford and an M.B.A. from the Oxford Brookes University.
Dr. Rongère joined AC Immune S.A. in July 2017 as Head of European Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance. Prior to AC Immune, Dr. Rongère held positions of increasing responsibility at Celgene in Switzerland. Most recently, he served as Director, Regulatory Affairs, leading the development of regulatory strategies for small molecules and CAR-T cell therapies and contributed to the development and approval of Revlimid in Multiple Myeloma and Mantle Cell Lymphoma. Prior to Celgene, he served as a Regulatory Expert at Apoxis, S.A. in Switzerland. During his career, Dr. Rongère gained specific expertise in the development of regulatory strategies for taking products from Phase 1 through to commercialization in the field of hematology/oncology and immunology/inflammation, including fast to market approaches, orphan drugs and pediatric development. Dr. Rongère gained his Masters Degree in Medical Genetics from the University of Aberdeen, UK, and holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Dr. Portmann joined AC Immune in 2011 as Intellectual Property Manager and has held multiple roles within the IP department with increasing responsibility over the past years, during which her work was mainly focused on creating and strengthening patent portfolio for biologicals, small molecules and liposomal technology. Dr. Portmann holds a Ph.D. degree from the EPFL University in Switzerland, and a LL.M. degree, Master of Intellectual Property Law and Management (MIPLM), from the CEIPI in France. She also received a M.Sc. (Dipl.- Ing.) degree in Polymer and Chemical Engineering from the University of Belgrade in Serbia.
Alexandre Caratsch is a Swiss qualified attorney with 30 years’ experience in private practice, multinational companies and in ventures. He initially worked as an in-house lawyer for E&Y and the SGS Group before specializing in healthcare, holding senior legal positions at Novartis and Medtronic. Before joining AC Immune, he led the Corporate Legal Affairs and Intellectual Property group for Medtronic’s EMEA region. Mr. Caratsch has also co-founded two start-up companies in the field of IT and medical technology, respectively, and has supported other start-up companies with strategic, transactional and general counsel.
Mr. Caratsch holds a Master’s in Law from the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland and is admitted to the Bar of Geneva, Switzerland.
Mr. Mark Danton is a globally recognized and experienced executive in Information Systems / Information Technology (IS/IT) with extensive experience in developing, launching and managing business-relevant IS, cybersecurity and digital technology solutions and services.
Prior to joining AC Immune, Mr. Danton served as IS/IT Global Manager at Nestlé and held a number of global roles at BT Global Services and in Dimension Data PLC. Mr. Danton holds an Executive M.B.A. from the Business School Lausanne, graduating cum laude and as the Executive M.B.A. Student of the Year.
Douglas E. Williams, Ph.D., is currently the CEO and a Board member at TriArm Therapeutics, a company focused on CAR T-cell therapy. Previously, he held the position of President of Research and Development at Sana Biotechnology. Before that, he served as CEO of Codiak BioSciences and was Executive Vice President, Research and Development, at Biogen from January 2011 to July 2015. Dr. Williams transitioned to Biogen after his tenure at ZymoGenetics, where he was CEO and member of the Board of Directors, enabling their acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb for $985 million.
He has also held a variety of leadership positions within the biotechnology industry. These include Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of Research and Development at Seattle Genetics, Senior Vice President and Washington Site Leader at Amgen and Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer and a member of the Board of Directors at Immunex. During his 30+ year career in the biotechnology industry, he has played a role in the development of several novel drugs including Enbrel, Tecfidera, and Spinraza. Dr. Williams has served as a board member of numerous biotechnology companies and is currently Chair of the Board of AC Immune SA.
Prof. June is Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy, Director of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies and Director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Due to his lifelong work on lymphocyte activation, Prof. June is considered a world authority on mechanisms related to immune tolerance and adoptive immunotherapy in the fields of chronic inflammation and cancer. He and his team pioneered the groundbreaking work in immunotherapy in which patients with refractory and relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia are treated with genetically engineered versions of their own T cells. This CAR-T therapy approach, which trains the immune system to attack and destroy cancer cells, has opened a new era of innovative treatments and personalized medicine for cancer patients.
Prof. June is a graduate of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, USA, and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, USA, where he received his medical degree. Prof. June also completed graduate training in immunology and malaria with Dr. Paul-Henri Lambert at the World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, and post-doctoral training in transplantation biology with E. Donnell Thomas and John Hansen at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, USA. He has published more than 500 manuscripts and is the recipient of numerous honors and prizes.
Dr. Monica Shaw is a pharmaceutical industry expert who has held senior leadership positions and was involved in advancing more than 15 therapeutic products from first-in-human studies through regulatory approvals and commercialization across multiple geographies. She also played key business development roles in company acquisition and integration and co-development partnerships. Through her work, Dr. Shaw gained extensive specialty experience in the fields of dermatology, immuno-inflammation, HIV, neurology, and oncology.
Currently, Dr Shaw is Senior Vice President, Head of Major Markets at Bristol Myers Squibb. Prior to this she was CEO for Oncopeptides a Swedish listed biotech company and before that, Executive Vice President Head Region Europe, Canada, Australia, for Leo Pharma. In addition, she has previously held broad leadership roles at other leading pharmaceutical companies, including as Vice President Commercial Head Asia Pacific region at GSK/ViiV Healthcare, and Medical Director and Chief Scientific Officer UK for Novartis, in addition to previous leadership positions at Norgine, Shire and Merck KGaA.
Prof. Monika Bütler is a leading Swiss economist and former Vice President of the independent Swiss Covid-19 Science Taskforce. She is a member of the Board of Directors and the audit committees of both Schindler Holding AG and Swiss Life Holding AG. Prof. Bütler is also a member of the Board of Directors of Huber & Suhner AG, where she chairs the nomination and remuneration committee. Her international economic expertise is in public policy and managerial economics, including an advisory role to the World Bank and work in the U.S. and Europe. Prof. Bütler is a Vice President of the Foundation Board of the Gebert Rüf Foundation, a science and innovation foundation that supports entrepreneurial projects which are committed to achieving an impact.
Prof. Bütler holds a Doctorate in Economics from the University of St. Gallen, a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the University of Lucerne, and a Diploma in Mathematics/Physics from the University of Zurich.
Dr. Twyman is a neurologist and currently CEO and founder, Amron Neuroscience, LLC, a private consulting company focused on neuroscience drug development. Prior to this, Dr. Twyman spent almost 20 years at Janssen Research & Development, LLC (a Johnson & Johnson company) and was a member of the Neuroscience Therapeutic Area Leadership team responsible for clinical R&D and strategic planning of CNS neurology and psychiatry pipeline products. From 2012 to March 2018, he was a Senior Vice President in the Neuroscience Therapeutic Area overseeing the Alzheimer’s Disease Area. He currently participates as an independent board member or as a scientific advisory board member for a number of small biotech or pharmaceutical companies.
Dr. Werner Lanthaler is the managing director of W.Lan Holding GmbH, an advisory and investment firm. Up to January 2024, he was the CEO of Evotec AG, a drug discovery alliance and development partnership company focused on rapidly progressing innovative product approaches with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academics, patient advocacy groups and venture capitalists. Dr. Lanthaler focused the company on collaborating with biotech and pharma companies and academia, supporting biotech innovation. He previously served as Chief Financial Officer at Intercell AG where he played a key role in many of that company’s major milestones. During his tenure, Intercell undertook an IPO and developed from a venture-backed biotechnology company into a global vaccine player. Dr. Lanthaler has also served as Director of the Federation of Austrian Industry, and from 1995 to 1998 was a Senior Management Consultant at McKinsey & Company. Dr. Lanthaler is a Non-Executive Member of the Board of Directors of arGEN-X and is a member of the Supervisory Board of Topas Therapeutics GmbH. He holds a Doctorate in Economics from Vienna University, a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Harvard University, and a degree in Psychology.
Dr. Lehn is Professor of Molecular Chemistry at the Collège de France in Paris, and the author of more than 700 scientific publications. He is a specialist of "Supra-Molecular-Chemistry”. In 1968 he gained international recognition for the Synthesis of Cryptands, molecules that "capture" ions to create new chemical compounds. Prof. Lehn received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1987.
Dr. Voisin started Voisin Consulting active in integrated drug development and strategic planning in both Europe and the USA in 1997. Her background in academic research was acquired in the U.S. at the NIH, in the Neuroscience Branch, and in France with national research units, CNRS and INSERM. Dr. Voisin obtained her Ph.D. in Pharmacology at Institut Gustave Roussy, France. Dr. Voisin is a member of Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS).
Dr. Rosenberg is Dean of Tufts' University Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and the Jean Mayer Professor of Nutrition. Dr. Rosenberg's research focuses on the investigation of folate metabolism, with a special emphasis on nutritional factors involved in maintenance of cognitive function and the brain. He has recently been awarded a Commissioner's Special Citation by the FDA for his career-long advocacy for accurate nutrition and health information.
Dr. van Leuven is Professor at the Catholic University of Leuven, faculty of medicine. He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Ghent. Prof. van Leuven is well-known for his work on neurodegenerative diseases and transgenic animals, in particular for developing several transgenic mice that are models for the amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles of Alzheimer's disease. He is co-founder of the KULeuven spin-off reMYND nv, a privately owned biotech company dedicated to the development and exploitation of pre-clinical mouse and yeast models for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
Dr. Lindberg was a member of the Board of Directors of the Nobel Foundation. He was secretary of the Medical Nobel Assembly at the Karoliska Institute. His career encompasses academic appointments at prestigious institutions like Karoliska Institute and Stanford University School of Medicine. He also held executive positions as Head of R&D, Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President in vaccine companies. He is a board member of several private and public biopharmaceutical companies.
Dr. Monsigny is Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Orléans, France. He is author or co-author of over 200 papers and of several patents. Prof. Monsigny's area of research and expertise comprises the biochemistry of glycoconjugates and endogenous lectins including their chemical and cellular aspects. More recently, Prof. Monsigny has focused on gene therapy using synthetic carriers such as glycosylated cationic polypeptides and glycosylated polyethylenimines.
Dr. Nicolau is a Professor of Medicine at the Tufts University in Boston, U.S.A. Prof. Nicolau's main area of work is the study of membrane involvement in pharmacological processes at the molecular level. For several years, Dr. Nicolau is working on an Immunotherapy for Alzheimer's disease and other "conformational" disease. He has published more than 210 scientific papers and has been awarded 30 patents todate. Prof. Nicolau is one of the Founders of Alantos AG, Heidelberg and has been for two years CSO of that company.
Prof. Riesner has held the Chair of Biophysics at the Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf, Germany since 1980 and is Director of Technology at the University of Düsseldorf. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Braunschweig, Germany. Prof. Riesner is also a member of the Supervisory Board and a Director of Qiagen N.V., Netherlands.
Prof. Riesner is an honorary member of the Scientific Advisory Board.
Andreas
U. Monsch
Head, Memory Clinic, University Department of Geriatric Medicine FELIX PLATTER - Chairman
Prof. Andreas U. Monsch studied clinical psychology, psychopathology, and neurophysiology at the University of Zurich (Switzerland) and received his doctorate in 1991. From 1991–1994, he worked at the University of California, San Diego (US), one of the best Alzheimer' disease research centers in the world at the time. From 1994–2002, he was head of research at the Memory Clinic of the Geriatric University Hospital in Basel (Switzerland). In 2001 he received his habilitation and was promoted to Professor of Psychology at the University of Basel in 2003. Since 2002, he has been in charge of one of the largest memory clinics in Switzerland, which has relocated to the Felix Platter Hospital in 2016, Basel, and which is now called University Department of Geriatric Medicine Felix Platter. Prof. Monsch's research and teaching focuses on "Early diagnosis of dementia" and "Rare causes of dementia". He has published over 170 papers and book chapters.
Prof. Tariot is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry with added qualifications in geriatrics. He was a Fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, US) Intramural Research Program, then served as a faculty member at the University of Rochester Medical Center and, since 2006, he has served as Director of the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute in Phoenix. He is also a Research Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. His work has focused on the care and study of people with, and at risk, of Alzheimer’s, with special emphasis on the design and implementation of clinical trials for prevention and treatment, development of biomarkers, and demonstration of effective dementia care. He has published over 350 papers on these topics including articles regarding studies that have led to FDA approval of new medications. He serves as co-director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Initiative (API). His research affiliations include the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the NIMH, and the Alzheimer’s Association.
Prof. Murat Emre was born in 1956, in Eregli, Turkey. After studying medicine at the Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, which he graduated from in 1980, he was trained in neuroscience and clinical neurology at the University of Zürich 1981–1985. He then worked in the fields of neurorehabilitation and clinical research in Switzerland until 1996. During this time, he had two sabbaticals: he was trained in movement disorders with Prof. David Marsden at the Queen Square National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, London (UK) and in behavioral neurology with Prof. Marsel Mesulam at the Beth Israel Hospital and Harvard Medical School (US). In 1996 he was assigned as Professor of Neurology at the İstanbul Faculty of Medicine (Turkey) where he started the Behavioral Neurology and Movement Disorders Unit, which he chaired until 2011. He acted as Chairman of the Neurology Department in 2002–2003. In 2011 he retired from his position as full professor and was assigned as Adjunct Professor for Research. He was founding President of the Brain Research Society, the Alzheimer Society of Turkey and the Alzheimer Foundation and a past president of the Parkinson Society of Turkey. His areas of interest include movement disorders, in particular Parkinson’s disease and related disorders, especially cognitive aspects of the disease, as well as Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
Juan
Fortea
Director of the Alzheimer Down Unit and Leader of the Down Alzheimer Barcelona Imaging Initiative - Member
Dr. Fortea is a behavioral neurologist and a dementia expert. He combines his research and clinical activities at the Hospital of Sant Pau in Barcelona (Spain) and the Catalan Foundation for Down Syndrome, where he is the director of the Alzheimer Down Unit. He leads the Down Alzheimer Barcelona Neuroimaging Initiative (DABNI), the largest single center cohort with multimodal biomarker studies to study Alzheimer´s disease pathophysiology in Down syndrome. He has extensive experience in clinical practice and in medical research, with a focus on the early diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and Down syndrome-related Alzheimer’s disease. His expertise is recognized internationally, as an active participant of the NIA-N Study section, National Institutes of Health (US), the International Scientific Committee of the Jerome Lejeune Foundation (France) as well as at the Clinical Research Committee from the Trisomy 21 Research Society and the Down Syndrome Professional Interest Area, Alzheimer’s Association (US). He is also the current Chair of the Behavioral Neurology and Dementia Study Group at the Spanish Neurological Society.
Reisa
Sperling
Director of the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment and Professor in Neurology - Member
Dr. Reisa Sperling is a neurologist focused on the detection and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease at the pre-symptomatic or “preclinical” stage. Dr. Sperling is a Professor in Neurology at Harvard Medical School (US), and Director of the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Sperling is the co-Principal Investigator of the Harvard Aging Brain Study, and the NIH funded Alzheimer Clinical Trial Consortium (ACTC). Dr. Sperling chaired the 2011 NIA-Alzheimer’s Association workgroup to develop guidelines for the study of “Preclinical Alzheimer’s disease”. She co-leads the Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease (A4) Study and is launching two new AD prevention trials (A3-45) with the ACTC in 2020. Dr. Sperling received the 2011 Derek Denny-Brown Award, the 2015 American Academy of Neurology Potamkin Prize, and was named one of the 2017 Most Disruptive Women to Watch in Healthcare.
Dr. Schneider is Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Gerontology at the Keck School of Medicine and Leonard Davis School of Gerontology of the University of Southern California (US). He directs the USC State of California Alzheimer’s Disease Center, the clinical core of the USC National Institute on Aging Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, and the Geriatric Studies Center. He holds a Master’s degree in Biometry and Epidemiology and has expertise in clinical trials methods and drug development. His work involves treatment development with novel metabolic and neuroregenerative compounds, outcomes assessment, and approaches to modelling, clinical trials simulations, and, recently, in silico screening of medications for slowing Alzheimer’s disease. He is a Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, and Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.
"This search for scientific excellence makes my work very stimulating, innovative and different every day. It feels like being on a constant learning curve which will never plateau."
I joined AC Immune in 2013 as a Scientist. Back then my postdoctoral project was focused on immunology, and AC Immune was looking for a scientist to work on its vaccine Suprantigen® platform. During the interview process I was really impressed by their science. This made me realize that this was the right time for me to move from academia to industry. Neurodegenerative diseases remain a challenging field with few treatments available to address disease progression. Knowing the impact on families and burden to society in general, I wanted my work to contribute making a difference to patients. I think that even small breakthroughs can have a big impact. Prior to joining AC Immune, I had been working as a postdoctoral assistant at the EPFL, studying in vitro and in vivo interactions between lymphatic and immune systems. I had moved from Italy to Switzerland for my studies and ended up staying and building my family here. I really appreciate the quality of life and the proximity to nature. The infrastructures to support working mums are far from perfect but I have seen improvements over the years. AC Immune also participates to this effort with flexible solutions to preserve work-life balance.
"What I like at AC Immune is the diversity of projects with different targets and modalities, and the people’s friendliness and the will to achieve great things together."
There were three key reasons why I joined: one, AC Immune was expanding operations further into new biologic entities (NBE) such as antibodies, which always brings challenges but also opportunities. Two, AC Immune was developing a completely new role, recognizing a need for a specific expertise. Three, this new role involved working as a client with CRO’s and CDMO’s, interacting with colleagues in clinical and regulatory teams, as well as aspects of project management, project leadership, and strategic planning. Previously I worked as a scientist in method development and product characterization for biotech companies in the UK and Switzerland. I received my PhD from the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland. Throughout my career I acquired skills in analytics of monoclonal and bispecific antibodies, fusion proteins, and other similar molecules. But I also developed keen interest in the application of statistics and process improvement methodologies. After working in Poland and in the UK, I found it relatively easy to settle in Switzerland. I really enjoy living here, closing on my 6th year now. With the country being so cosmopolitan, most people are quite open and understanding of foreigners, even if you don’t yet speak the local language!
"I wanted my first steps in industry to give me a solid basis in neuroscience while using my background in immunology to advance projects."
I trained in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and earned a MSc in Medical Biology specializing in Immunology and Cancer at the University of Lausanne. Before joining AC Immune, I worked on the development of a CAR T cell therapy against multiple myeloma at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. I was seeking to transition to a role that would allow me to combine my immunological background with neuroscience, when I was welcomed to the TDP-43/Neuroinflammation team at AC Immune. Among other things, I value the team spirit of the Company, as we regularly discuss and share ideas. This provides me with the opportunity to learn from my colleagues while contributing to a common goal. As Switzerland is known for its beautiful scenery and accessible public transportation, I find it convenient to commute from Geneva everyday by train while enjoying the view of the lake and mountains.
"AC Immune is truly a world-class biotech company, with a positive and friendly international culture and numerous opportunities to collaborate with highly experienced colleagues."
I joined AC Immune eager to participate in a company developing medicines for devastating neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, among others. My experience of scientific research and the financial markets fitted well with my new role, so for me it was a great opportunity to do something both enjoyable and worthy. Previously, I worked as an equity research analyst for a number of investment banks in London. I am Australian born; after my PhD in Immunology, I moved to Lausanne for the first time in 1990 as a post-doctoral fellow doing research in immunology and cancer. I have since lived and worked in Canada, the UK and Germany. I am happy to be back in Lausanne after these many years. Lausanne is a wonderful location for proximity to the Alps and ease of travel to other parts of Europe. The standard of living in Switzerland generally is very high but this also comes with costs which should not be ignored. Speaking French helps you to engage more in local life and makes some things easier, but English is spoken by many people outside of the company, so settling here is not difficult.
Christopher Roberts joined AC Immune in September 2019 as the Associate Vice President of Finance. As a member of AC Immune’s finance leadership team, he led the financial operations, financial planning and analysis (FP&A), treasury, and tax functions, as well as key transformation initiatives around R&D budgeting and automation.
Prior to joining AC Immune, Christopher worked as a Senior Manager for Ernst & Young for more than ten years and supported the AC Immune IPO. During that time, he served high-growth life science companies in Switzerland, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the UK, focusing on initial and follow-on offerings, SEC reporting, and SOX 404 implementation projects. Christopher is a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland (ICAS) and holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Auditing and Finance with first class honours from Lancaster University.
Outside of work, Christopher is a Trustee and Treasurer of Msizi Africa, a charity dedicated to sustainably improving the lives of children in Lesotho.
Mr. Donovan joined AC Immune in July 2022 as Chief Human Resources Officer. Prior to joining AC Immune, Mr. Donovan served as Head of People Services with the World Economic Forum, based in Geneva from August 2015 to June 2022. Before that, he has worked in several HR leadership roles, including with SGS SA and Puma Energy. Amongst others, based in the United Kingdom, he held senior global Reward roles with Xerox Ltd, and Safeway Stores Ltd. Mr. Donovan holds a professional Human Resources qualification from Farnborough College of Technology.
Prior to joining AC Immune, Dr Mendonça was the Senior Vice-President, Chief Medical Officer of Bial (Portugal) where he led early and late-stage development programs across neuroscience and Orphan diseases. He has further managed medical affairs and clinical operations in North America and Europe.
Dr Mendonça’s work in industry began with roles specializing in Neuroscience at AbbVie in Germany. With increasingly senior roles he led the Clinical Strategy Team focusing on early and late-stage Alzheimer’s disease programs. He continued this work as Medical Director and Chair of the Clinical Strategy Team in Neuroscience at AbbVie based in the USA where he was responsible for overall tau antibody development in Alzheimer’s and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. Following this he also led the late-stage clinical development in the EMEA of Zolgensma for spinal muscular atrophy with Novartis Gene Therapies as Senior Medical Director.
Dr Mendonça, a certified Neurologist, obtained his MD from the University of Coimbra in Portugal. His medical residency at the University Hospital of Coimbra led to an appointment as Neurology Consultant at the Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Central in Lisbon (Portugal). He also completed a Clinical Scholars Research Training program at Harvard Medical School (USA).
Dr. Madiha Derouazi, an accomplished immunologist, joined AC Immune in January 2024 from Speransa Therapeutics where she had been CEO since inception in 2021, leading development of a novel platform of prophylactic vaccines. Previously, she founded AMAL Therapeutics in 2012, an immuno-oncology company developing a new generation of therapeutic cancer vaccines and served as CEO and CSO of the company until 2022. Dr. Derouazi led AMAL’s acquisition by Boehringer Ingelheim for EUR 425 million in 2019. During her career, she has taken numerous biologicals and advanced therapy medicinal products from research through pre-clinical development and first-in-human clinical trials.
She holds a PhD in Cellular Biotechnology from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, which was followed by postdoctoral work concentrating on tumor immunology and vaccine development.
Dr. Waanders joined AC Immune in November 2021 as Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Prior to AC Immune, he was Head of Investor Relations at Medigene (Munich, Germany) and before that he worked as an analyst for a number of Investment Banks including KBC, Peel Hunt, and Nomura Code Securities, based in London from 2001 until 2019.
He was previously a research team leader for a startup in Canada and a postdoctoral fellow for 6 years at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (Lausanne). He holds an MBA from the University of Durham Business School (UK) and a PhD in Immunology from Monash University (Australia).
Matthias is a Swiss qualified attorney with 15 years of experience in private practice and multinational companies. He initially worked as an external lawyer for Baker McKenzie and Homburger before specializing in healthcare. He held senior legal positions at Roche and Lonza focusing on M&A, licensing transactions, corporate matters, and venture investments, as well as research and development collaborations.
Matthias holds a Doctor in Law degree from the University of Zurich, an MBA from INSEAD and is admitted to the Bar of Zurich, Switzerland.
Dr. Post joined AC Immune in September 2024 as Chief Medical Officer. She brings with her extensive experience in leading neuroscience drug development programs in the pharmaceutical industry. She started her career at Novartis in Basel, and subsequently moved to Eli Lilly & Co., where she was responsible for a global medical group in early clinical development, located initially in the USA, and then in the United Kingdom. Then she became Head of Translational Medicine in Neurology at Roche in Basel. Following this extensive experience in both early and late-stage development in psychiatry and neurology-related indications, she moved into Biotech and Medtech companies from 2020 onwards. Here she held senior management and CMO responsibilities.
Anke studied medicine at Universities in Berlin, Vienna and Muenster, earning her M.D. from the University in Muenster, Germany. She completed her residency and fellowship training in Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Neurology at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich where she obtained her specialization degree in 2002. Her habilitation degree was awarded by the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich in 2004.