Joe joined Bachem in 2020. With primary focus on Oligonucleotide API manufacturing business, he brings 13 years of experience in the synthesis, purification, modification, and analysis of oligonucleotides in both research and GMP settings. In 2012, Joe made the move from the bench to customer-facing roles by building and leading the scientific applications group for novel technology and engineering firm and leading the business development activities for an aptamer discovery CRO.

Graduated in Organic Chemistry at the University of Karlsruhe in 1998, Ralf Eisenhuth joined Bachem as a team leader in API production. During the last ten years at Bachem, he held several positions in large-scale manufacturing and process development. In his current position, Ralf is responsible at Bachem for the evaluation of new purification technologies as well as development and optimization of large-scale peptide purification processes.

Bachem, in collaboration with Apellis, presents state-of-the-art developments for the manufacture of pegcetacoplan (the active ingredient in EMPAVELI®) and illustrates how a commercial manufacturing process is achieved with the required efficiency gains and control of cost of goods. The application of automation in down-stream purification to eliminate bottleneck unit operations and the replacement of lyophilization with precipitation as final isolation step are being discussed including stability, physical and chemical properties of lyophilized versus precipitated pegcetacoplan.

Arne Berthelmann studied chemistry at Humboldt University Berlin, Germany. He then joined the group of Prof. J. Eichler at Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen, where he received his PhD in 2014 with a thesis on peptide inhibitor and vaccine design. Arne joined Bachem in the same year as a project chemist and very soon took over the position of team leader of the API CMC development group. After increasing responsibilities in process development, risk analysis and process characterization of large-scale SPPS projects, he became Director of Research and Development at Bachem in 2019.