Management

Management

Matthias Müllner

Co-Founder & CEO

»I like to think outside the box, it opens up completely new perspectives.«

As Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of bespark*bio, Matthias offers comprehensive leadership and direction. He shapes the overarching strategic vision, steering both scientific and business objectives with a forward-thinking approach. Matthias brings more than a decade of expertise in the development and manufacturing of biopharmaceutical innovations, as well as in developing and executing technical commercialization strategies.

Monika Mangold

Co-Founder & COO

»Keeping the big picture in focus – that’s vital for success.«

Monika, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of bespark*bio, plays a pivotal role ensuring operational efficiency, fostering organizational development, and executing strategic initiatives. She ensures seamless integration across research, development, and commercialization activities. Monika has an extensive biotech and pharma track record, holding senior leadership roles of increasing responsibility in R&D and global Project, Portfolio & Alliance-Management.

Dieter Palmberger

Co-Founder & CTO

»I have always been driven by a passion for science & technology.«

Dieter, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of bespark*bio, plays a crucial role in providing scientific & technical guidance to the company. With a passion for science and extensive expertise in bioprocess development for life viral vectors and virus-based protein expression, he contributes valuable insights and leadership to drive innovation.

Advisory Board

Scientific Advisory Board

Alois Jungbauer

Alois, retired Professor at the Institute of Bioprocess Science and Engineering, BOKU University, Vienna, chairs bespark*bio’s Scientific Advisory Board. With his outstanding track record of excellence, he offers invaluable insights for bespark*bio’s bioprocessing endeavours.

With a focus on bioprocess engineering for proteins, plasmids, viruses and gene therapy vectors, Alois has authored more than 400 papers in leading scientific journals, covering recombinant protein production, bioseparation, and advanced materials for bioprocess engineering. He is also author of a recent monograph titled “Protein Chromatography, Process Development, and Scale Up,” alongside several patents and book contributions. Beyond academia, Alois co-founded the Biotechnology Journal, where he served as executive editor, and currently holds the position of the Scientific Vice-President of Research at the European Society of Biochemical Engineering Science.

Lee Smith

Lee, Principal Consultant & Managing Director of GreyRigge Associates Ltd., brings extensive CMC expertise. He plays a pivotal role in bespark*bio’s Scientific Advisory Board, providing crucial guidance for the company’s initiatives.

Lee’s broad expertise encompasses CMC, process, analytical method, and formulation development, with a keen understanding of product optimization and navigating regulatory submissions and interactions.
As a seasoned professional, Lee actively applies Quality by Design (QbD) principles and offers valuable guidance on utilization of Design of Experiments (DoE) and data analysis for processes, formulations, and assays. His specific focus centers on bioassays, where he excels in the development, optimization, and validation of both biopharmaceutical processes and methods.

Theresa Scharl-Hirsch

Leveraging her profound expertise in statistical data-analysis in downstream processing, machine learning, and advanced data modeling, Theresa assumes the role of a data science expert within the Scientific Advisory Board of bespark*bio.

Theresa holds the position of Senior Scientist at the Institute of Statistics and serves as the Deputy Scientific Head at the Core Facility Bioinformatics at BOKU University in Vienna. Her academic journey is rooted in the realms of Applied Mathematics, from which she has cultivated expertise in an array of disciplines. With her expansive repertoire, Theresa‘s focal points of research encompass statistical computing utilizing R, the application of statistical learning methodologies, intricate cluster analysis, sophisticated visualization techniques, as well as the intricate modeling of both upstream and downstream bioprocesses, alongside the analysis of gene expression data. Her contributions to the academic arena are marked by more than 60 peer-reviewed publications.

Cooperation

Strategic Partnership

novasign

bespark*bio and Novasign unite in Strategic Alliance to advance bioprocess innovation

Leading the charge in digitalization and bioprocessing 4.0, bespark*bio and Novasign have united in a strategic partnership to pioneer process development.

bespark*bio’s combines best-in-class bioprocessing expertise, pre-established building blocks and process streams, and contemporary digitalization to develop well-designed, effective, and scalable manufacturing processes for their clients.

Novasign integrates advanced machine learning, hybrid modelling and in-silico process simulation into bioprocesses, thereby further accelerating development timelines, increasing process understanding and mitigating risk of failure.

The synergy of bespark*bio’s leading-edge bioprocessing methodologies and Novasign’s artificial intelligence approach takes process development to the next level. Jointly, we expedite bioprocess development, minimize experiments workload & development cost, and significantly boost the success rates of our clients’ projects.

Collaboration

acib

Collaboration of bespark*bio and the Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology drives Gene Therapy Framework technology development

bespark*bio and the Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (acib) have joined forces through a Joint Development Agreement. The joint project aims to develop an efficient, robust, scalable, and adaptable delivery system specifically tailored for AAV-based gene therapy.

acib, an international center of excellence for industrial biotechnology, is dedicated to mission-driven and forward-looking research, with a particular focus on advancing bioprocess technology. The organization places special emphasis on research and development related to bionanoparticles for therapeutics and medical applications.

By combining our expertise, we are set to accelerate the development of bespark*bio‘s Gene Therapy Framework. The strategic partnership reflects a shared commitment to driving innovation in gene therapy technology, bringing us closer to achieving groundbreaking advancements in the field.

Facility

Facilitiy

bespark*bio’s laboratories

The bespark*bio process development facility – where innovation meets precision

bespark*bio’s leading-edge laboratories are operational at Muthgasse, Vienna. Our state-of-the-art process development suite ensures exceptional capabilities for advancing biotech solutions.

Equipped with new, high-end machinery for upstream and downstream processes, as well as analytical development, we can produce and analyze up to 50 L pilot batches of biopharmaceuticals under tightly controlled conditions. In addition to our dedicated process development suite, we use specialized laboratories for molecular biology, cell culture, virology, and immunology.
Our laboratories boast state-of-the-art equipment, including various bioreactor systems, cell counting/analysis tools, metabolite analyzers, chromatography setups and tangential flow filtration systems.

Our client’s ground-breaking discoveries come to life through bespark*bio’s advanced laboratory capabilities.