Giulio Casi, studied chemistry with focus in organic synthesis, at Florence University in Italy. After one year training in the medicinal chemistry department of Serono pharmaceutical research institute in Geneva, Switzerland, he joined the laboratory of Prof. Donald Hilvert in ETH Zurich, Switzerland, where he worked at the interface between chemistry and biology for the assembly of a semi synthetic enzyme. For this work Giulio Casi was awarded a PhD degree at the end of 2007. After completing enzymatic characterization and collaborative work with Prof. Dieter Seebach, in 2009 he joined the department of rare reagents at Roche Diagnostics in Penzberg, Germany, where he worked as a postdoctoral fellow on the development of synthetic antigens. Giulio Casi is co-author of several publications in peer-reviewed journals. Since November 2009 Giulio Casi joined Philochem AG where he is responsible for the development of novel targeted cytotoxics. His work involves, the engineering of innovative linkers for the controlled release of drugs in antibody drug conjugates, the discovery and application of novel protein chemistries, and the development of novel cytotoxic drugs.

Kathrin Schwager

Kathrin Schwager, born 22nd September 1981, studied Pharmaceutical Sciences at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and performed her diploma thesis “ Protein Engineering of Novel Antibody-Cytokine Fusions” in 2005 with Prof. Dr. Dario Neri. From 2007 until 2010 she worked on her PhD thesis “Recombinant antibodies for the imaging and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and endometriosis” under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Dario Neri at Philochem AG as a PhD student at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Since 2010 she is responsible of the “Preclinical research” at Philochem AG.

Luca Mannocci

Luca Mannocci, born 7th September 1979, studied Chemistry at the University of Pisa, Italy, and in 2004 performed his diploma thesis “First Total Synthesis of Naturally Occurring (-)-Nitidon and Its Enantiomer”under the supervision of Prof. Adriano Carpita and Prof. Renzo Rossi. From 2005, he worked in the group of Prof. Dr. Dario Neri, at ETH Zurich where he earned his PhD in 2008 with the thesis “DNA Encoded Chemical Libraries”. Luca Mannocci is an author and co-author of several scientific publicationsin peer-reviewed scientific journals. Currently, Luca Mannocci is“Head of DNA-encoded chemical libraries and lead discovery” and his main area of activity relates to the development and use of DNA-encoded chemical libraries technology for pharmaceutical applications.

Manuela Kaspar

Manuela Kaspar, born 17th August 1978, studied Pharmaceutical Sciences at the ETH Zurich (Switzerland) and performed her diploma thesis with Prof. Dr. Dario Neri in the field of anticancer immunoconjugates in 2003. From 2004 she worked in the Lab of Prof. Dario Neri on ligand-based targeting and therapy of cancer and earned her PhD in 2007. She did a 2-months training in the GMP production of antibodies at Philogen SpA in Siena (Italy). Manuela Kaspar is a co-author of more than 15 scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals. Currently, Manuela Kaspar is“Head of Protein Engineering” at Philochem AG. Her main task is the pre-clinical development of ligand-based therapeutics and imaging agents as well as the clinical development of Philogen’s antibody-based products.

Mattia Matasci

Mattia Matasci, born 29th December 1974, studied Biology at the ETH Zurich (Switzerland) and performed his diploma thesis with Prof. Dr. James E. Bailey in the field of cell engineering. From 2000 until 2007 he worked in the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Dieter R. Zimmermann at University Hospital Zurich were he earned his Ph.D. in 2005 with the thesis “In vivo gene targeting and in vitro proteolytic degradation; different approaches to study versican functions”. He then spent three years in the group of Prof. Florian M. Wurm at the Laboratory of Cellular Biotechnology of the EPFL, Switzerland, working on the development of alternative technologies for the generation of high-producing cell lines. In March 2011 he joined Philochem, and his work is mainly focused on the isolation of monoclonal antibodies by phage display technology.

Kathrin Zuberbühler

Kathrin Zuberbühler, born 11th of July 1981, studied Pharmaceutical Sciences at the ETH Zurich (Switzerland) and performed her diploma thesis with Prof. Dr. Dario Neri in the field of antibody-phage display in 2005. From 2007 until 2011 she worked on her PhD thesis “ Antibody-Drug Conjugates: over-expression and site-specific chemical modification of immunoglobulins” under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Dario Neri. Since 2011 she is working as a researcher at Philochem, mainly involved in the isolation, characterization and evaluation of monoclonal antibodies against antigens of biological relevance.

Tim Fugmann

Tim Fugmann, born 6th October 1979, studied technical Biology at the University of Stuttgart, Germany and after a one year internship at Monsanto in Tokyo (Japan), in 2006 he performed his diploma thesis “Characterization of a novel PKD phosphorylation site on the CERT protein” in the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Klaus Pfizenmaier at the Institute of Cell Biology and Immunology of Stuttgart, Germany. From 2007 he worked in the Lab of Prof. Dario Neri and in 2010 earned his PhD with the thesis “Innovative methodologies for the proteomic discovery of vascular markers in cancer and kidney disease”. Tim Fugmann has published several articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and since 2010, he is responsible for the “Discovery of Vascular Targets” at Philochem.

Danilo Ritz

Danilo Ritz, born 28th August 1980, studied Molecular Biology at the University of Basel, Switzerland, and performed his diploma thesis “Molecular interaction between Rsp5p and Bul1p in Saccharomyces cerevisiae” under the supervision of Dr. Stephen Helliwell and Prof. Dr. Michael Hall at the Biozentrum, University of Basel. From 2006 he worked in the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Hemmo Meyer, ETH Zurich, Switzerland, where he earned his PhD with the thesis “Mass spectrometry-based and functional analysis of novel VCP/p97 cofactor complexes in health and disease” in 2010. In 2011, he joined the proteomics-based biomarker discovery team at Philochem.

Valeria Lovato

Valeria Lovato, born 24th July 1980, studied Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at the Universitá degli Studi di Padova, Italy, and performed her diploma thesis “Molecular analysis of the excalibur gene in Drosophila Melanogaster” under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Barbara Gatto and Prof. Dr. Michael Hoch at the Universität Bonn, Germany. From 2005 until 2009 she worked in the group of Prof. Dr. Dario Neri where she earned her PhD thesis “Antibody phage display technology: library construction and application”. Since 2009 she is “Clinical Research Manager” at Philochem.