About Ethris

Based in Planegg just outside Munich, Germany, Ethris was founded by Dr. Carsten Rudolph and Prof. Christian Plank to establish messenger RNA (mRNA) as a new drug modality.

We are a team of dedicated scientists and professionals driven by a shared vision to develop innovative therapeutics for the treatment of asthma and rare pulmonary diseases. Guided by our core values - Value People, Passionately Innovate, and Create Positive Impact - we strive to harness the full potential of mRNA technology to improve patients' lives.

As an mRNA pioneer, we are applying our unique, proprietary SNIM® RNA and SNaP LNP® formulation and delivery platforms to provide highly versatile, multi-route, multi-cargo delivery options that drive a range of drug candidates through proof-of-concept and into the clinic. Ethris is leveraging a first-mover advantage through our differentiated nebulization technology for inhaled delivery of mRNA-therapeutics directly to the upper and lower respiratory tract. By maintaining the potential to expand our platforms into a broad range of indications, we can address important unmet medical needs worldwide.

At Ethris, we foster a collaborative environment where everyone's contribution is recognized, creativity thrives, and our work drives meaningful advances in respiratory medicine. Our commitment to patients and innovation drives us forward as we strive to deliver life-changing solutions for those with unmet medical needs.

EXPLORE TECHNOLOGY

Management Team

PD Dr. Carsten
Rudolph

Chief Executive Officer

Carsten Rudolph, PhD is a co-founder of Ethris and the lead inventor of its SNIM® RNA Technology. His deep expertise is delivering mRNA specifically to the lungs. He is the inventor of 15 patents/applications and has authored more than 120 scientific publications. Carsten is affiliated with the Dr. von Haunersche Children’s Hospital, part of Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. He obtained his pharmaceutical degree from the Freie Universität Berlin.

Prof. Dr. Christian
Plank

Chief Technology Officer

Christian Plank, PhD is a co-founder of Ethris and contributes broad expertise in targeted drug delivery. He is the author of more than 170 publications and co-inventor of numerous patents in the field of nucleic acid delivery. Christian is a Professor at the Technical University of Munich and obtained his PhD in biochemistry from the University of Vienna, Austria.

Dr. Thomas
Langenickel

Chief Medical Officer

Thomas Langenickel, MD has more than 15 years of experience in clinical development and translational medicine in cardiovascular and respiratory disease areas. He previously held the position of Executive Director and Head of Respiratory Profiling at Novartis AG and served as Medical Director at Bristol-Myers Squibb. He obtained his MD and PhD at the Humboldt University of Berlin, trained in Clinical Pharmacology and Internal Medicine/Cardiology at the Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine and the Charité Hospital in Berlin, Germany. He previously completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in Bethesda, USA.

Dr. Christian
Wawrzinek

Chief Corp. Strategy Officer

Christian Wawrzinek, PhD is a highly ambitious, hands-on serial entrepreneur and investor with more then 20 years of experience, focusing on companies with world-changing potential in biotech, tech and AI. He has founded and built several successful companies that have together generated a total turnover of over 1 billion US$. He has won several prizes for his entrepreneurial achievements, including the “Entrepreneur of The Year” Award from EY and the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Award for the fastest-growing German tech company with over 28,000% 5-year revenue growth. In 2018, he took one of his companies public through a €270 million reverse-IPO onto Nasdaq Nordic.

Advisory Board

Dr. Gerd Maass

Chairman of the Board

Member of the CEO Office
Roche Pharmaceuticals

Gerd Maass, PhD, began his career in the 1990s, working as a scientist at the Institute for Molecular Pathology Vienna before being appointed the Department Head of Gene Therapy at MediGene AG in Munich. He joined Roche in 1997 as International Program Manager and held a number of senior positions over his 20 years with the company, including most recently Member of the Roche CEO Office and European Head of Foundation Medicine. He studied microbiology and molecular biology at the University of Heidelberg and completed his PhD at Tübingen University and Boehringer Mannheim.

Dr. Thomas Chalberg

Board Member

CEO/CSO
SightGlass Vision Inc.

Thomas W. Chalberg, PhD, is a scientist and biotechnology investor and entrepreneur. He is a founder and operating executive of multiple life science companies, including SightGlass Vision, iRenix, and Genascence. Previously, Thomas has served in various executive roles at biotechnology companies, including as Chief Operating Officer of Oncorus, Inc.; Founder/CEO of Avalanche Biotechnologies (now ADVM); and a member of the ophthalmology team at Genentech. Thomas has received awards and recognition from the Foundation Fighting Blindness and the World Economic Forum for his contributions to the biotechnology industry/research. He received his AB in biochemistry from Harvard College, a PhD in genetics from the Stanford University School of Medicine, and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

Mr. Justin Duckworth

Board Member

Managing Partner
HS Life Sciences

Justin Duckworth is a Managing Partner of the QureInvest investment fund and has a seat on the Board of HS LifeSciences AG and Transimmune AG. Justin has spent the last 20 years working in venture capital within life sciences. Prior to QureInvest he was a partner in the team at Nomura Phase4 Ventures and also worked at HBM Partners in Zurich and Dresdner Kleinwort Capital in London. He has a biochemistry degree from Oxford University and is a member of the Institute for Chartered Accountants.

Dr. Karsten Henco

Board Member

Managing Partner and Co-Founder
HS Life Sciences

Karsten Henco, PhD, started his industrial career in the 1980s when he was involved in the establishment of the molecular biology and recombinant DNA technology facilities at BASF AG in Ludwigshafen, Germany. He is a global co-founder or co-founding investor of fourteen biotech companies, such as Qiagen NV, Evotec AG, NewLab AG, Coley Pharmaceuticals Inc, U3 Pharma AG, Neurimmune Therapeutics AG, HS LifeSciences and QureInvest. He acted as CEO, Chairman or Board member in several of these companies. Karsten serves as an advisor for HighTech Gründerfonds of the German government. He studied biochemistry at the University of Hannover and at the University of Darmstadt where he was awarded his PhD. Karsten completed his post-doctoral training at Prof. Charles Weissmann’s lab at the University of Zürich, Switzerland.

Dr. Benjamin Petsch

Board Member

Head mRNA
Cipla Ltd.

Dr. Benjamin Petsch is a seasoned expert in mRNA vaccine technology with over 15 years of experience spanning academia and industry. Prior to his current position as Head mRNA at Cipla Ltd., he held senior leadership roles at CureVac SE, where he gained extensive experience in the biotechnology industry, managing research and development for mRNA-based vaccines and therapies and spearheaded strategic collaborations with global health organizations including GSK, CEPI, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Dr. Petsch holds a Ph.D. in Immunology from the Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, where he began his research career focusing on generation of monoclonal antibodies and mRNA vaccines. He is an editor of the Springer volume mRNA Vaccines and has authored numerous high-impact publications in Nature Biotechnology, Nature, and Molecular Therapy. As an inventor, he holds 45 granted patents across 25 families related to mRNA-based vaccines.