Our Team
Profound expertise in biotechnology, particularly genome editing, virology, cell biology, drug development and commercialization.
PROVIREX is a spin-off of the Leibniz Institute of Virology (LIV) and is based in Hamburg, Germany.
OUR TEAM
Management
Oliver Ahnfeld
Co-Founder CEO/CFOOliver Ahnfeld is a co-founder of PROVIREX. He has been one of the CEOs of the company since its inception in 2019, and has focused on its entrepreneurial transformation into a biotech company. He has been part of the team for more than 8 years and is responsible for the financial/contractual aspects and the strategic direction of PROVIREX. He studied industrial engineering in Hamburg and has several years of experience in preparing business and financial plans as well as accompanying private placements.
PD Dr. Jan Chemnitz MBA
Co-Founder CEO/CSODr. Jan Chemnitz is a co-founder of PROVIREX. Since its inception, he has been one of the company’s CEOs and has focused on its transition from start-up to a Series A funded biotech company. He is also responsible for building up a collaborative network with other biotech companies as well as academia and implementing the ongoing academic clinical study “HIVCure” into the company’s future strategy.
He studied biochemistry/molecular biology in Jena. After his PhD at the Leibniz Institute of Virology in Hamburg, he joined the Hauber group as a postdoc and was involved in the development of the recombinase technology from the beginning; he has now been working in the field of HIV cure strategies for 20 years.
Dr. Niklas Beschorner
Co-Founder Head of RnDDr. Niklas Beschorner is a co-founder of PROVIREX. He participates in the active management of the company and focuses on process development, preclinical research and development work. He is also involved in the technical equipment of the new laboratories and clean rooms and responsible for the development of novel clinical delivery options for the recombinase technology. He studied biotechnology in Emden.
After his diploma degree in the iso-certified industry in the field of cell line development, he joined the Hauber group at the Leibniz Institute of Virology in Hamburg and became involved with the topic of delivery options for recombinase technology early on, which was also the topic of his PhD. He has now been in the field of HIV cure strategies for over 15 years.
Dr. Maike Voges
Co-Founder Head of QMDr. Maike Voges is a co-founder of PROVIREX. She participates in the active management of the company and, together with experts, leads the introduction of a quality management system, supervises the construction and installation of new laboratories and clean rooms, and implements the quality standards at PROVIREX.
She studied biology in Tübingen, focusing on microbiology, virology and immunology, which she intensified during her PhD at the University of Constance and subsequently at the Leibniz Institute of Virology in Hamburg in the group of Prof. Dr. Joachim Hauber. In between, she worked in the quality control department of a smaller pharmaceutical company and later successfully completed additional training as a clinical monitor. She has been part of the team for more than 10 years.
OUR TEAM
Consultants
Prof. Dr. Joachim Hauber
Co-FounderJoachim Hauber PhD is a full professor (em.) of Virology and has held various positions in the pharmaceutical industry (Hoffmann-La Roche, Novartis) as well as in academia (University of Erlangen, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf). He is a co-founder of PROVIREX and serves on the company’s supervisory board. Major components of the recombinase-based virus excision technology were developed in the Hauber laboratory at the Leibniz Institute of Virology in Hamburg.
Dr. Ilona Hauber
Co-FounderDr. Ilona Hauber is a co-founder of PROVIREX and has been involved in research and development of HIV-specific designer recombinases for clinical application from the beginning. Ilona held various positions in biotech/pharma R&D (Boehringer Mannheim, Immuno AG) as well as in academic research (University of Erlangen, Leibniz Institute of Virology). In particular, she established and organized the National Reference Center for Retroviruses (NRZ) at the Institute for Clinical and Molecular Virology at the University of Erlangen.
Prof. Dr. Frank Buchholz
Co-FounderProf. Frank Buchholz is a co-founder of PROVIREX and professor for medical systems biology and Dean of Research at the medical faculty of the TU Dresden. He is a pioneer in engineering site-specific recombinases for medical applications and serves on the PROVIREX scientific advisory board. Frank is a serial entrepreneur and has recently obtained the Unipreneurs award for his exceptional commitment to university spin-offs.