Seasoned Molecular Biologist and Entrepreneur Leads German Biotech Company into its Next Development
FREIBURG, Germany, May 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Björn Cochlovius Ph.D. has become the new CEO of Eleva, a Freiburg-based biotech company and the developer of "Bryotechnology", a unique and pioneering process for the moss-based production of complex therapeutic proteins. The renowned oncologist, immunologist, and molecular biologist has nearly three decades of experience in scientific, entrepreneurial, and advisory leadership roles in his field.
"I am very much looking forward to my new challenge. Eleva is in a crucial phase of its history. The task now is to transfer its more than 20 years of rigorous research and development work by its team of excellent scientists to industrial and medical practice. 'Bryotechnology' is the most promising plant-based manufacturing process for complex therapeutic proteins and a unique approach to treating rare and underserved diseases," says Björn Cochlovius.
Eleva develops its own drug candidates and guides them through the clinical phases. This is not only a testament to its development expertise and the capability of its technology to yield difficult-to-produce biologics, it also makes Eleva a key partner for pharmaceutical companies and CDMOs. Unlike the complex production infrastructure required for other bioproduction plants, such as tobacco, moss reactors can be integrated into existing facilities, making them easier to scale up to an industrial level. They thus unlock the economic development and production of challenging recombinant proteins.
"Patients with no or difficult access to effective treatment for their diseases, some of which are rare, and their doctors will thus benefit from novel treatment options with effective drugs that are produced safely and have few side effects," explains Cochlovius. "Eleva's candidate for the treatment of C3G patients, which will enter into clinical phase I next year, is a very good example of this."
Eleva's new CEO will contribute his professional, strategic, and operational know-how as well as an international network that will align the company and advance its market success. Cochlovius has been teaching immunology at the Medical Faculty of the Ruprecht Karls University in Heidelberg for 20 years and is now Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Dutch biotech company Sapreme Technologies and the Swedish biotech investor Karolinska Development.
Cochlovius' professional career has spanned numerous roles and functions, from researcher at the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg to (co-)founder of diverse biotech companies to business developer at Roche Pharmaceuticals, Otsuka, and AbbVie to consultant for pharmaceutical and biotech companies and CDMOs.
About Eleva
Eleva is a privately funded biotechnology company with 34 employees, headquartered in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. Since its foundation in 1999, the company has been developing a moss-based technology platform, "Bryotechnology", which enables the production of complex proteins for the therapeutic treatment of various diseases, some of which are rare and underserved. In addition, Eleva has successfully developed its own drug candidates, which have progressed through clinical phases.
Learn more at www.elevabiologics.com
Fabienne Zeitter
fzeitter@elevabiologics.com
Phone: +49 761 470 99-152
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