SK pharmteco appoints Joerg Ahlgrimm as CEO to spearhead the next phase of company growth and innovation

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Nov 01, 2022, 14:00 ET

- Joerg Ahlgrimm brings 25 years of expertise in pharmaceuticals and innovative cell and gene therapies
- SK pharmteco expands pharmaceutical drug production and advances cell and gene therapy production
- Annual sales expected to exceed KRW 1 trillion in 2022

FRANKFURT, Germany, Nov. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SK pharmteco, a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) serving the pharmaceutical industry, today announced that Joerg Ahlgrimm will be appointed as the Chief Executive Officer. Ahlgrimm will assume the global leadership of the company and spearhead its next phase of innovation and global growth.

SK pharmteco appoints Joerg Ahlgrimm as CEO to spearhead the next phase of company growth and innovation

"On behalf of the entire Board, I am thrilled to welcome Joerg as the CEO at a pivotal moment as SK pharmteco strives to optimize manufacturing expertise and capture the opportunities in the global pharmaceutical industry," said Dong-hyun Jang, Chairman of SK pharmteco's Board of Directors and CEO of SK Inc. "With his solid track record of global operations and manufacturing in addition to his expertise in both small molecule and Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) business, Joerg is uniquely qualified in accomplishing the company's key objectives in becoming the most trusted global partner for pharmaceutical clients," he added.

Ahlgrimm brings more than 25 years of experience in global operations, especially with his expertise in the pharmaceutical industry. Most recently, he served as president and CEO of the Center of Breakthrough Medicines (CBM) of the United States, in which SK pharmteco is the second largest shareholder.

"I am delighted to join forces with the SK pharmteco team to drive further growth of the company," said Ahlgrimm. "With the entrenched capacities in small molecule and a new drive for CGT, SK pharmteco is in an exciting stage of growth with a goal to become one of the world's leading CDMOs. I look forward to the immense opportunities lying ahead with SK pharmteco's continued capabilities and capacity expansion as well as unparalleled customer service."

Dr. Aslam Malik, the CEO incumbent, served as the CEO of AMPAC Fine Chemicals from 2005. His leadership was retained by SK Inc. when it acquired AMPAC Fine Chemicals in 2018 and established SK pharmteco in 2019. "It has been an honor to serve as CEO of SK pharmteco during this period of growth and I would like to offer my sincere thanks to SK for the support. I strongly believe Joerg will successfully lead SK pharmteco to its next phase of growth," said Dr. Malik.

Previously, Ahlgrimm served as the Head of Global Operations for Pharma and Biotech at Lonza AG where he was responsible for 35 sites across four continents. Prior to Lonza, he oversaw the manufacturing network of 17 plants at Baxalta Inc., Baxter International's bio-science division, with a network of more than 20 CMOs and the largest plasma collection division in the industry.

Headquartered in Sacramento, California, SK pharmteco is a global CDMO and a subsidiary of SK Inc., the strategic investment company for SK Group, South Korea's second-largest conglomerate. Under the strategic initiative of SK Inc. to strengthen its CDMO business, SK pharmteco was established in 2019 by consolidating highly complementary CDMO business operations. SK pharmteco has established a well-balanced business portfolio by engaging in small molecule & CGT to capture both the robust and exponential growth of each market.

Accordingly, it currently operates eight global manufacturing sites in the United States, Europe, and South Korea along with five R&D centers. It produces raw materials for various blockbuster treatments such as anticancer, diabetes, antivirals and COVID-19. It is also making advances in innovative pharmaceuticals such as cell and gene therapy. Through these efforts, SK pharmteco expects to annual sales to exceed KRW 1 trillion in 2022.

About SK pharmteco

SK pharmteco is the single customer-facing team comprised of SK biotek Ireland, AMPAC Fine Chemicals, SK biotek Korea, Yposkesi and most recently The Center for Breakthrough Medicines. Creating substantial market synergies in the API and Cell and Gene Therapy CDMO space by combining highly complementary assets and expertise, this union enables us to provide the highest-quality services to our customers.

With world-class state-of-the-art facilities and technology, increased capabilities: energetic chemistry, continuous flow process, controlled substances, particle engineering, high potency – with world-class potent handling capability (down to low nanogram per cubic meter levels). We have multiple cGMP manufacturing and development sites, with ~1300m³ of capacity among 8 sites plus analytical services facilities across USA, Korea and Ireland.

SK pharmteco is a portfolio company of SK Inc. (South Korea) and serves as a strategic part of SK's growing pharmaceutical sector. For more information, visit https://www.skpharmteco.com/.

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