About Us

Philipp Karbach is a shareholder and has been with AMW since 2016, since June 2023 as Chief Executive Officer, and before that as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, among other positions. Mr. Karbach has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare sector in marketing, business operations and strategy as well as finance. Prior to AMW, he held various positions at i-SOLUTIONS Health, iSOFT/CSC, ICW and Siemens Healthcare. He holds a diploma in Health Economics from the University of Bayreuth, Germany.

As Chief Operating Officer (COO), Sebastian Herzog heads the Operations division, covering Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Logistics, since April 2023. As an experienced executive with global expertise in the chemical-pharmaceutical and consumer health industries, he has shaped transformation processes in various companies, including the Ontex Group, Gruenenthal GmbH and Bayer AG. Throughout his career, he gained significant experience in the areas of lean manufacturing, supply chain, project engineering and quality. Mr. Herzog holds a Master of Business Administration in Production Management from Koblenz University of Applied Sciences as well as education and training degrees in engineering and chemical process engineering.

Dr. Serafimov is an experienced business leader with a track record of profitable growth in originator specialty drugs, generics and B2B business. With more than 15 years of professional experience in the pharmaceutical industry and management consulting, he combines a strong strategic business planning mindset with a profound commercial operations background. In global and local roles, he has gained extensive experience across the full product lifecycle, from multiple product launches to effective lifecycle management of mature brands. Dr. Serafimov joins AMW from Centrient Pharmaceuticals, The Hague, NL, a Bain Capital Portfolio Company, where he headed the Global Business Excellence team. He started his industry career in a consulting role at IMS Consulting (today IQVIA), before he moved to various global and local leadership positions at Novo Nordisk, Zurich and Mainz, and Sandoz International GmbH, Munich. Dr. Serafimov holds biochemistry and chemistry degrees from the universities of Heidelberg, Oxford, as well as from ETH Zurich.

Matthias Dittmer, Vice President Finance and IT, assumed responsibility for this area in October 2023. In his previous leadership positions, including at Eurofins Scientific, TE Connectivity and Sirona Dental Systems, he gained extensive experience in controlling and financial group reporting as well as implementing ERP systems in complex, highly regulated industries with international structures. Mr. Dittmer holds a degree in economics from Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany.

Kerstin Ledermann has been Head of People and General Affairs at AMW since July 2024. She has a track record of more than 20 years as Head of Human Resources and member of the management of internationally active medium-sized companies in trade and industry. Kerstin Ledermann is an experienced manager and generalist with strategic and operational expertise. She holds a degree in business administration from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.

Dr. Andrey Molchanov heads the Regulatory Affairs department as Vice President since April 2021. In addition, he took over the Business Development department in October 2022. Due to his previous experience in leading positions, he has extensive expertise in the area of pharmaceutical issues relevant to marketing authorisation. Dr. Molchanov studied pharmacy, holds a PhD from the Free University of Berlin and an Executive Master in Marketing and Sales from ESADE/SDA Bocconi, the top 10 business schools in the EU.

Dr. Martina Wilhelm heads the Quality department as Vice President since July 2022. She is responsible for the overall management of quality control and quality assurance at AMW. She has been working within the GMP-regulated environment for more than 20 years, from setting-up to complete steering of quality teams and structures. In the course of her career, Dr. Wilhelm has held the position of Qualified Person in various pharmaceutical companies. She studied Chemistry and holds a PhD from Technical University of Munich, Germany.

Dr. Eric Wittchow leads the department as Vice President R&D since May 2022. He has more than 20 years of international experience in the development of combination products at medium-sized and large medical technology and pharmaceutical companies. His innovative ideas in the field of degradable materials and local drug delivery led to several approvals, patents and publications. Dr. Wittchow studied Chemistry and a minor in polymer chemistry and pharmacology at Universities in Erlangen-Nuremberg, Heidelberg, Marburg and Bonn.

Prof. Olivia Merkel studied pharmacy, was Assistant Professor at Wayne State University in Detroit and a member of the Molecular Therapeutics Program and the Cancer Biology Graduate Program at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, and has been a full professor at LMU Munich since 2015.

She is an expert in innovative, non-viral, targeted nanoscale RNA delivery systems with a focus on pulmonary delivery for the treatment of cancer, infectious and inflammatory diseases and to combat respiratory infections such as COVID-19. Her research aims to improve pulmonary therapy by treating the cause of the disease rather than the symptoms. Prof. Merkel’s team develops formulations for effective drug delivery, including dry powders for inhalation or nebulization. Prof. Merkel has received several prestigious awards, including the PHOENIX Pharmacy Award, the APV Research Award and three ERC Grants. She has authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles and several book chapters.

Prof. Miriam Breunig studied pharmaceutical technology at the Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg and the University of Regensburg, received her doctorate, was a postdoctoral researcher at MIT and has been a senior academic advisor at the University of Regensburg since 2012.

Prof. Breunig’s research focuses on nanoparticulate drug delivery systems to treat eye diseases such as glaucoma and to improve the efficacy of viral antigens in immunization. Her expertise in nanoparticle functionalization helps to solve complex challenges in ophthalmology and improve intravitreal depot formulations for patient-targeted therapy. In addition, her group is a leader in the modification of nanoparticles with antigens or adjuvants for vaccine development and controlled interaction with immune cells. She has contributed significantly to deepening the understanding of the interaction between nanoparticulate materials and biological tissues to optimize drug delivery systems.

Prof. Karsten Mäder studied pharmacy at the Humboldt University in Berlin, habilitated with a DFG scholarship, worked at Roche in Basel and has been a full professor of pharmaceutical technology at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg since 2003.

His research focuses on nano drug delivery systems based on polymers, phospholipids and lipids, the non-invasive in vitro and in vivo characterization of drug delivery systems, parenteral controlled release forms and the improvement of oral bioavailability. Prof. Mäder works closely with physicians to develop new drug delivery systems for the treatment of diseases in dentistry, the eye and the inner ear. He has been honored with various awards, including the Scheele Prize of the German Pharmaceutical Society and the APV Research Prize for outstanding achievements in the pharmaceutical sciences.