The Center for Breakthrough Medicines (CBM), an end-to-end advanced therapy contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has appointed Joerg Ahlgrimm as CEO. CBM provides pre-clinical through commercial manufacturing including process development, plasmid DNA, viral vectors, cell banking, cell processing and supporting testing capabilities.
 
Mr. Ahlgrimm brings over 20 years of expertise in the areas of operations and supply chain management and has served in multi-billion-dollar companies operating in biotech, vaccines, pharmaceutical and medical device markets. His focus is on superior customer service, strategy development, execution management, productivity improvement, organizational development, team building and leadership. 
 
Prior to joining CBM, Mr. Ahlgrimm was head of global operations for pharma, biotech and nutrition at Lonza, where he was responsible for 37 sites on four continents and over 8,000 employees. Before Lonza, Mr. Ahlgrimm was head of global manufacturing for Baxter Healthcare’s bioscience division, Baxalta Inc. In this senior leadership role, he led Baxalta’s internal and external manufacturing network and created an impressive track record in customer service, growth and operational efficiency.
 
“We are thrilled about Joerg’s appointment to CEO,” said Audrey Greenberg, co-founder, CBM. “Joerg’s ‘team player’ mentality, ability to roll up his sleeves, and deep industry relationships will be a game changer for CBM and the advanced therapies industry. Joerg has a proven ability to execute on large-scale projects. Joerg’s extraordinary achievements for the pharma, biotech, and CDMO industries combined with his incredible leadership, makes him the ideal choice to head our executive management team and build CBM into an advanced therapy powerhouse.”
 
Mr. Ahlgrimm joined CBM in September 2020 as chief operating officer.