Medigene appoints new CMO/CDO

11-Apr-2018 - Germany

Medigene AG announcedthe appointment of Dr. Kai Pinkernell to the Executive Management Board of the Company as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Chief Development Officer (CDO). Dr. Pinkernell has been with Medigene as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) since February 2016.

Prof. Dolores Schendel, CEO/CSO of Medigene AG, said, "The appointment of Kai and the expansion of the Executive Management Board is in line with Medigene's advancement as a clinical stage immuno-oncologic company. Following the successful start of the clinical Phase I/II trial with our TCR immune cell therapy MDG1011 in March, Medigene is one of the few companies worldwide with a TCR-based immunotherapy in clinical development. In addition, our Phase II DC vaccine trial is ongoing as scheduled. Kai has contributed significantly to this progress and will optimally support the further development of our immunotherapies at the Executive Board level. I look forward to our intensive collaboration."

Prof. Horst Domdey, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Medigene, commented, "The appointment of Kai Pinkernell to the Management Board comes at the right time and reflects the Company's growing clinical focus. With this step, the Executive Management Board at Medigene will be optimally placed to address current and future tasks. We are very happy that Dr. Pinkernell excellently fulfills the qualifications needed for this important role in the Board of Management driving clinical development and product development. He has extensive, long-standing and highly successful leadership experience in both of these areas and I wish him every success in his new roles."

Dr. Kai Pinkernell, new member of the Executive Management Board and CMO/CDO at Medigene, added, "I see great potential in Medigene's Research & Development projects. With our recently started TCR clinical trial, a very exciting and important phase of our corporate development has commenced. I am grateful that this responsible position is now assigned to me and I am very much looking forward to progressing the clinical and product development of Medigene in order to offer new innovative therapy options to seriously ill patients in the future."

Dr. Kai Pinkernell is responsible for the clinical development, regulatory affairs and manufacturing of Medigene's products. He has 17 years of expertise in global clinical development of cell therapies including preclinical activities, the automation and GMP production as well as in commercialization and business development activities. Before joining Medigene, he held various management positions at Miltenyi Biotech GmbH, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, most recently as Global Head of Clinical Business and Head of Clinical Development. Before that, Dr. Pinkernell served as Senior Director of Regenerative Cell Technology for Cytori Therapeutics Inc. of San Diego, USA. He studied medicine and obtained his doctorate at the Westfälische Wilhelms-University Münster. In addition, Dr. Pinkernell holds a Master of Business Administration from the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/1154424/medigene-appoints-new-cmo-cdo.html