The Discovery Labs Appoints President and COO

The Discovery Labs has appointed Joerg Ahlgrimm to the senior leadership position of president and chief operating officer.

Ahlgrimm will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of The Discovery Labs. Central to his responsibilities will be oversight of all operations for the Center for Breakthrough Medicines (CBM) and Testing Centers of America (TCA) – two core Discovery Labs platform companies. This mission includes staffing more than 1,700 people for CBM and TCA – ranging from manufacturing specialists to PhD scientists. 

All revenue-generating functions at CBM and TCA, including program management, supply chain, engineering, manufacturing, process development and testing will report to Ahlgrimm. He will also ensure the successful execution of the rollout of TCA's national COVID testing program.  Ahlgrimm will lead both companies' operations to efficiently meet the needs of a growing list of global biopharma customers.

"With Joerg, we have added an industry titan with impeccable credentials to oversee our operations," said Brian O'Neill, co-founder and executive chairman, The Discovery Labs. "To attract someone of Joerg's caliber means we have the ability to scale up and manage high-volume cell and gene manufacturing. The Discovery Labs will benefit immensely from the leadership of this seasoned, global pharmaceutical executive."

Experience

Ahlgrimm brings over 20 years of expertise in pharmaceutical operations, supply chain and manufacturing to The Discovery Labs. Prior to joining the company, he was head of global operations pharma biotech and nutrition at Lonza. Before Lonza, Ahlgrimm was head, global manufacturing for Baxter Healthcare, BioScience Division/Baxalta Inc. In this senior leadership role, he led Baxalta's internal and external manufacturing network as well as plasma collection organization covering 10,000 employees, generating $6 billion in sales.

"I am thrilled to join The Discovery Labs' management team because I share their passion for saving lives," Ahlgrimm commented. "In my 20 years of working in the pharmaceutical industry, I have never seen an opportunity like we have now. Innovations in cell and gene therapy is a transformative moment. By solving the manufacturing bottleneck, we can save thousands of lives while leading a revolution that will transform healthcare." 

The company believes that Ahlgrimm's passion to save and sustain lives will help advance hundreds of cell and gene therapies in various stages of clinical development.