Bio

Dr. Stephan Wnendt focuses on deal origination in Germany and globally with a focus on clinical trial service providers as well as medical device companies and contract manufacturers. Stephan Wnendt has almost 30 years of experience in various segments of the global life science sector. Since 2000 he has worked in executive positions throughout Germany and the US. After finishing his PhD at the University of Technology in Berlin he joined Grunenthal, a mid-sized pharmaceutical company, where he was responsible for projects on recombinant thrombolytics, immunomodulating drugs and pain research. After Grunenthal, Stephan joined the medical device company, JOMED (now Abbott), as managing director of one their largest production plants. Under his leadership a drug-eluting stent project had been launched. In 2003, Stephan became CEO of the cell therapy company, Kourion Therapeutics. Stephan led Kourion through its merger with ViaCell, Inc. (now Perkin Elmer) and ViaCell's subsequent IPO on NASDAQ. Stephan later served as Managing Director of Paion Deutschland, a biotech company with a focus on neurological diseases. In January 2008, Stephan joined Germany based MLM Medical Labs, a central lab focused on clinical trials. At that time, MLM had six employees and a limited client base. Under Stephan’s leadership, the company grew to over 80 employees and double-digit M€ revenue. In December 2019, MLM was sold to the US based life science focused private equity fund, Great Point Partners, LLC, by Achelous Partners. In addition to his business career, Stephan has completed a habilitation in biochemistry at the RWTH Aachen University in 1999 and was awarded with a honorary professorship in 2012.