Chairman
Bernhard Kirschbaum studied biochemistry and physiological chemistry at the University of Konstanz and received his PhD in 1989. He moved on to work at the Rockefeller University and the Pasteur Institute before making a career in the pharmaceutical industry where he covered a broad range of technological and disease areas. In his most recent position, Dr. Kirschbaum served as head of Global Research and Early Development at Merck Serono where he was a member of the board.
Christian Schneider, Managing Partner of Vesalius Biocapital, has been a venture capital executive for 20 years. He gained extensive experience in the areas of diagnostics, medtech, and therapeutics in the corporate life science and venture capital industry. Previously he held positions of increasing responsibility at Boehringer Mannheim, Centocor, and Johnson&Johnson. As a managing partner of VC firm PolyTechnos, he was responsible for OncoMethylome (IPO, 2006), Devgen (IPO, 2005) and Jerini (IPO, 2005). He was support partner for Addex (IPO, 2007) and BiPar (USD 500m sale to Sanofi-Aventis, 2009). He joined Vesalius in 2008 and is responsible for the portfolio companies Skyline (write-off), Activaero (EUR 130m sale to Vectura, 2014), Ventaleon, OMEICOS, Humedics and Mecuris where he serves on the boards. Dr. Schneider holds a doctorate degree in veterinary medicine (1992) and a PhD in immunology (1995), both from the University of Munich, Germany, and an MBA with focus on healthcare administration from Penn State University, Pennsylvania (1999).
Head of Treasury Vice President SMS GmbH
Taro Inaba is Founder and Managing Partner at Remiges Ventures. He has over 29 years of business experience including 19 years in start-up financing and company creation. At Remiges, Taro is engaged in technology sourcing, company creation, leading negotiation for investments and serving as director for seven of the Remiges’ portfolio companies. Prior to establishing Remiges Ventures, he spent 13 years at divisions of Mitsui & Co., Ltd. engaged in venture investment activities where he built and managed the biopharma investment team and investment portfolio. He served as President & CEO of Mitsui & Co. Venture Partners in Menlo Park, California from 2008 to 2009. Taro holds a B.E. in Polymer Chemistry, Kyoto University and MBA from European University. Taro is a CFA charter holder.
Wolf-Hagen Schunck is biochemist at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin-Buch. He has over 30 years of research experience in the field of cytochrome P450 (CYP)-derived bioactive lipid mediators. Dr. Schunck’s laboratory identified 17,18-epoxyeicosatetraenoic acid (17,18-EEQ) laying the scientific basis for the foundation of OMEICOS. In collaboration with fellow co-founder Dr. John R. Falck, he developed robust synthetic analogues for in vivo administration. The current work of Dr. Schunck is focused on further elucidating the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the unique biological properties of 17,18-EEQ and developing new fields of clinical application in collaboration with academic partners and OMEICOS.
