Team
Management
Prof. Dr. med. Hans Rommelspacher
CEO
Professor Rommelspacher performed his medical studies in Freiburg, Cologne, Geneva, Vienna and Heidelberg before obtaining his MD in University of Tübingen. He worked as a clinician and researcher at the Department of Clinical Chemistry, Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago; the Department of Neuropsychopharmacology, Free University in Berlin and the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore. He joined the Department of Psychiatry of the Free University Berlin before taking up the post of head of the Department of Clinical Neurobiology in the Psychiatric Clinic of Charité University in Berlin.
Recently, his research focused on structure-activity studies of drugs, with an emphasis on neuroprotection and neuroregeneration. He has taken a drug from the synthesis and candidate selection stage of development through to demonstrating its therapeutic potential in cell culture and an in vivo model of Parkinson´s disease.
Dr. Ulrich Traugott
COO
Dr. Traugott studied medicine and chemistry at the University of Heidelberg, graduating as an MD in 1986 and with a doctorate in chemistry in 1989. He became Associate Director Clinical Research Oncology & Immunology in preclinical and clinical research with Knoll (BASF group), Germany, and then International Clinical Team Leader with Knoll Pharmaceuticals, USA. Subsequently Dr. Traugott was the Manager of Clinical Research Europe of Genentech Europe, where he was heavily involved in the clinical development and launch of several leading cancer therapies before becoming Medical Director with Glaxo Wellcome, Germany. In 1999 he founded his own consulting company, ULTRAmed and was, until 2004, CEO of the Europroteome AG.
Raik Madla
CFO and business manager
Raik Madla studied art history at Jena and Aachen Universities and has been a CFO in a variety of start-up companies since 1990. For the past 7 years, he has also been managing director of the German software company: Arivis – Multiple Image Tools GmbH in Rostock. This company is working on imaging and analysis software for the fields of biology and medicine. At AudioCure Pharma, he is responsible for operations, finance and the IT infrastructure.
Consultants
Dr. Michael Wallmeyer
Consultant
Dr. Wallmeyer studied chemistry in the Technical University, Berlin, graduating in 1984. He also studied general management and business administration in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Between 1985 and 2008 he was an entrepreneur and founded several highly renowned companies in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, chemical and food processing industries. He was also a member of the board of directors of bmp AG Life Science. At present, Dr. Wallmeyer is CFO of nanoPET Pharma GmbH, Berlin. He acts as a consultant for Technology Coaching Centre of the Investment Bank, KfW banking group and the venture capital investment firm High-Tech Gründerfonds in Germany and is also CEO of Wallmeyer Wangenheim Unternehmerberatung.
Dr. Marcus Kostka
Consultant
Dr. Marcus Kostka studied Biology with focus on Genetics and Biochemistry in Münster and Mainz. He joined Boehringer Ingelheim in 1996 as PhD student in the area of Alzheimer´s disease research. After an additional post doc, Marcus moved to Boehringer Ingelheim in Biberach to join the Parkinson disease research group as molecular biology lab head. Several peer reviewed publications together with academic partners emphasise his focus on academic collaborations. In 2006 he joined the R&D Project Management Department where he was responsible for leading project teams from pre-clinical development until clinical Phase II studies in the areas of oncology, urology, metabolism and CNS diseases. He brought several projects from a pre-clinical development state until end of clinical Phase I. From 2009 to 2011 he moved back to Ingelheim and joined the newly founded collaborative research department where he was responsible for Boehringer Ingelheim´s international research collaborations with external partners. Since mid-2011 he moved back to Biberach into the Research Networking Department where he is head of external resourcing and external innovation in the area of cardiometabolic, CNS and respiratory research.
Scientific Advisory Board
Prof. Stefan Plontke
Member of the Advisory Board
Prof. Plontke has worked in the field of preclinical and clinical hearing research for over 15 years. Since 2010, he has been Director of the Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic at Martin Luther University in Halle, Wittenberg. Previously, he was a senior clinician at the Department of Ear, Nose and Throat at the Eberhard Karls University Hospital in Tübingen. He also worked in the Laboratory of Inner Ear Pharmacology at the Tübingen Hearing Research Centre under Prof. Dr. Zenner where his researched focused on “Investigations on the local application of drugs to the inner ear”. He later became head of this department. Prof. Plontke gained his habilitation in 2006 and his professorship in 2009.
Scientists
Our team consists of both scientists and engineers. Each of us has many years of hands-on experience both in basic research and in pharmaceutical development with a focus on pharmacology, neuroscience and audiology. Together these skills enable us to successfully perform the in vitro and in vivo studies required for the pre-clinical development of our compounds. The team is also able to offer their wide range of experience and techniques in hearing loss research out as a service to others in the field.
We are supported by a team of scientific advisors who have considerable experience in drug development and in the translation of compounds from the laboratory to the clinic in both the U.S. and Europe.