About Us

Philipp Karbach has been with AMW since 2016, since June 2023 as Chief Executive Officer and prior to that, among other, as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company. 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 heads AMW’s People and General Affairs department since July 2024. She has a track record of more than 20 years as head of Human Resources and member of the management of international 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 an Assistant Professor at Wayne State University in Detroit and a member of the Molecular Therapeutics Program and Cancer Biology Graduate Program at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and has been a Professor at LMU Munich since 2015.

She specializes in innovative, non-viral, targeted nanoscale RNA transport systems, focusing on pulmonary administration for treating cancer, infectious, and inflammatory diseases, and addressing respiratory virus infections including COVID-19. Her research aims to improve pulmonary therapy by targeting the disease’s cause rather than its symptoms. Prof. Merkel’s team develops formulations for effectively transporting and administering medications, including dry powders for inhalation or nebulization. Merkel has received several prestigious awards, including the PHOENIX Pharmacy Award, 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, obtained her PhD, was a postdoc fellow at MIT, and has been a Senior Academic Councillor at the University of Regensburg since 2012.

Prof. Breunig’s research focuses on nanoparticulate drug delivery systems for treating ocular diseases like glaucoma and improving the efficacy of viral antigens in immunization. Her expertise in nanoparticle functionalization addresses complex ophthalmological challenges and enhances intravitreal depot formulations for patient-centric therapy. Additionally, her group excels in modifying nanoparticles with antigens or adjuvants for vaccine development and controlled interaction with immune cells. She has significantly contributed to understanding the interaction between nanoparticulate materials and biological tissues to optimally design drug delivery systems.

Prof. Karsten Mäder studied Pharmacy at Humboldt-University in Berlin, completed his habilitation with a DFG grant, worked at Roche in Basel, and has been a Full Professor of Pharmaceutics at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg since 2003.

His research focuses on polymer-, phospholipid-, and lipid-based nano-drug delivery systems, the non-invasive in vitro and in vivo characterization of drug delivery systems, parenteral controlled release dosage forms, and the enhancement of oral bioavailability. Prof. Mäder develops in close cooperation with clinicians new drug delivery systems for the treatment of dental diseases, the eye and the inner ear. He has been honored with various awards, including the Scheele Award of the German Pharmaceutical Society and the APV Research Award for Outstanding Achievements in Pharmaceutical Sciences.