Rentschler Biopharma, a global CDMO for biopharmaceuticals, has appointed Dr. Robert Panting as General Manager of Rentschler ATMP Ltd. center of excellence in Stevenage, UK, Europe’s largest cell and gene therapy hub. It was set up to address the gap in capacity and support for early-stage innovators in cell and gene therapy. In this position, Dr. Panting will manage all operations at the site.
 
“I am delighted to welcome Dr. Robert Panting to the Rentschler team. With his great experience running complex operations and setting up the structures needed for a new site, he is the ideal choice to manage our cell and gene therapy facility,” said Dr. Frank Mathias, CEO of Rentschler Biopharma. “We are excited by the great progress we have made since launching our plans in the UK earlier this year and look forward to establishing this facility for the state-of-the-art manufacturing of viral vectors for clinical supply. Dr. Panting’s leadership will be a critical aspect of driving this project to be client-ready for cGMP manufacturing.”
 
Prior to joining the company, Dr. Panting spent ten years at Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, where he held positions of increasing responsibility in the areas of project management, customer management and business planning. Most recently, as Vice President for Program Management and Sales & Operations Planning, he focused on driving delivery of client projects and overseeing short- and long-term planning for the company’s UK operations. He also oversaw several infrastructure and major organizational projects. Prior to that, he was Senior Director of Programs, with direct oversight of customer projects in the UK. He was also in charge of project and portfolio management implementation, including on-boarding the portfolio management team at a newly acquired site.
 
Rentschler ATMP was launched in February 2021 and is located at an already existing facility run by the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult) through a unique collaborative model.