Our Management Team
Bernard Sagaert
Interim CEO
Bernard Sagaert
Bernard Sagaert is an Industrial Pharmacist with extensive operational experience in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry. He has expertise in pharmaceutical authorizations, inspections and manufacturing and has an extensive operational background, both in companies as as consultant. He was a former QA & Supply Chain Director at Mylan in Belgium, and VP QA EMEAA at Sterigenics, a Sotera company.
Steffen Helmling
Chief Business Officer
Steffen Helmling
Steffen is a biochemist with more than 20 years of experience in biopharma. He has hands-on experience in drug discovery and mRNA based therapeutics. Steffen is dedicated to business development (BD), alliance management and pharma partnering. Over his career, he has negotiated R&D partnerships and licensing agreements with many of the 20 large pharma companies, leading biotech innovators and major academic research organizations and foundations.
Stefaan De Koker
VP Discovery
Stefaan De Koker
Stefaan is Principal Scientist with over 15 years of research experience in immunology, immuno-oncology, vaccine design and nucleic acid delivery. He has a publication track record of over >50 publications and is the key author of a number of patents.
Phil Challis
VP Product Development
Phil Challis
Phil has 30 years of experience in the Pharmaceutical and Biotech industry having worked for small SME’s, larger pharmaceutical companies and CDMO’s. He has broad experience in manufacture of biologicals and NCE’s with experience in transfer of processes from R&D, process development through clinical phases and process validation and commercial manufacture.
Dirk Van Broekhoven
VP Corporate Management
Dirk Van Broekhoven
Dirk has more than twenty-five years of experience as legal counsel in the healthcare industry. In addition to his general legal, he has specialized in intellectual property management and corporate development and licensing.
Bart Francken
Senior R&D Project and Portfolio Manager
Bart Francken
Bart has over 15 years of experience in R&D project and portfolio management in the biotech and pharma industry. Before joining eTheRNA he served as Project and Portfolio Manager in drug discovery and development at Galapagos.
Philip Van der Auwera
VP Human Resources
Philip Van der Auwera
Philip is an accomplished Human Resources leader with over 20 years of experience over various industries in developing and re-engineering comprehensive HR functions & a proven ability to coach and guide all levels of strategic partnerships. He is driven by the desire to cultivate positive and efficient work environment by one supporting the ultimate corporate vision of people helping people.
Ronald Openshaw
Interim Head of Finance
Ronald Openshaw
Ronald’s career spans over a dozen years as an investment banker with blue chip firms such as Panmure Gordon, one of the UK’s oldest City names, and Jefferies & Co. the US based investment bank. He also gained great direct industrial expertise in leading Pharmagene plc, as its CFO and then CEO, to create Asterand plc, a UK London Stock Exchange listed company focused on the core research and tools in translational medicine. Ronald started his career as a scientist and then qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG in London.
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