ProtaGene Appoints New Scientific and Commercial Leadership to Support Evolving Needs of Biologic and Cell & Gene Therapy Innovators

HEILBRONN, Germany, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ProtaGene, GmbH, a leading global contract research organization focused on advanced analytics in biologics and cell and gene therapy, announced today the appointment of Jennifer Chadwick, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer and Owen Hitchins as Chief Commercial Officer. Working in close collaboration, accomplished executive leaders Chadwick and Hitchins will utilize their respective experience to meet the rapidly evolving needs of the advanced biotherapeutics development community.

"Innovators in today's biopharmaceutical industry are working to bring increasingly complex products to market, which means greater challenges and unknowns along the development path where quality and regulatory expectations continue to evolve," said Chadwick. "As a strategic partner to numerous innovators, we provide solutions for the development of emerging therapeutics, so our team has a unique advantage in understanding the development landscape into which analytics fit. Our elevated approach to working with partners enables us to provide analytical solutions for diverse gene therapies and complex protein-based biotherapeutics. Because these therapeutics do not play by the rules, developers leverage our expertise and excellent results to help make proactive decisions, recalibrate when the unexpected happens, or respond when regulatory expectations adjust based on new understandings."

Prior to the formation of ProtaGene, Chadwick played several roles within the BioAnalytix organization, most recently as Vice President of Analytical Development. For over a decade before transitioning to industry, she was a professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of Kansas, where she advised and collaborated extensively with industry partners, and research in her lab led to key discoveries that helped advance the understanding of how molecular attributes influence the stability of complex biologics.

Hitchins began his career at Beckman Instruments (now Beckman Coulter) and has held numerous positions within industry-leading organizations such as Thermo Fisher Scientific, Indigo Biosystems, and LabVantage Solutions. Before joining ProtaGene, he was the Global Executive Director of Business Development, CMC for Covance (now Labcorp).

"When I learned Protagen Protein Services, BioAnalytix, and GeneWerk were merging to form ProtaGene, I was excited by the great potential of the combined organization, and I knew that I wanted to be part of it," said Hitchins. "The biotherapeutics being developed today are simply amazing, but developers need advanced analytics to accelerate their work and to make developing these therapies possible. To be able to use my career-long experience in the life sciences sector to help advance these therapies, ultimately improving the lives of patients in need, is thrilling."

The combination of Chadwick's and Hitchins's expertise promises to accomplish a great deal and fill many of the market's pressing needs.

"There will be a very close collaboration between our business development and scientific teams to align the organization's efforts and investments in analytical innovation so that we continue to meet marketplace needs in the right ways," said Chadwick in closing. "The biologics and cell and gene therapy space will continually advance. Our teams are here to help our clients with important decisions as the science, industry, and regulatory expectations evolve."

ProtaGene is a world-leading Contract Research Organization partner for the biopharmaceutical and cell and gene therapy industries. ProtaGene provides the most advanced, integrated, and complete protein and gene analytic capabilities and packages from discovery to product commercialization. A unique combination of protein- and gene-based analytical platforms makes ProtaGene the leading analytic service provider in biologics and cell and gene therapy development. The organization operates four sites in Europe and North America and works in advanced therapeutic platforms with leading biopharmaceutical and gene therapy companies worldwide. Additional information is available at www.protagene.com.

SOURCE ProtaGene