Three weeks after the chief operating officer of Rentschler Biopharma stepped down, the biopharmaceuticals manufacturer with a U.S. headquarters in Milford has named an experienced German pharmaceutical leader to the position.
Veit Bergendahl will assume his new role for the company headquartered in Laupheim, Germany on April 1. He will manage the operations of Rentschler’s clinical and commercial current good manufacturing practices; engineering and technology; and automation production, according to a Wednesday press release from the firm.
“With [Bergendahl’s] strategic understanding of the biopharmaceutical value chain, his outstanding industry expertise, and many years of international experience in leadership roles, he will make a significant contribution to further strengthening our culture of reliability in a highly demanding market environment,” Nikolaus Rentschler, chairman of the company’s supervisory board, said in the release.
Bergendahl comes to Rentschler having most recently worked for 13 years at Boehringer Ingelheim, a Germany-based pharmaceutical manufacturer, most recently serving as its head of clinical supply biologicals. In that role, he led commissioning of the firm’s research and development site and managed its single-use clinical manufacturing facility, featuring two 2,000-liter bioreactors.
He graduated with his doctorate in biology from Philipps-Universität Marburg in Germany.
“I aim to support and strengthen the dedicated teams in Laupheim and Milford, further enhance the robustness and efficiency of processes, and leverage new technologies to further advance operational excellence and develop long-term client-partnerships based on the highest levels of quality and reliability,” Bergendahl said in the release.
Bergendahl replaces Christiane Bardroff, who will leave her role as COO to pursue a new unspecified professional opportunity.
“With Veit Bergendahl, whom I hold in the highest regard, we are gaining a highly experienced international leader who will strengthen our operations with his deep expertise and a clear forward-looking perspective,” Uwe Buecheler, Rentschler’s interim CEO, said in the release.
Buecheler assumed his interim capacities in January when Benedikt von Braunmühl stepped down from the CEO role at the same time as Bardroff’s upcoming departure was announced.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare, manufacturing, and higher education industries.
