DGAP-News: SHS Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsmanagement / Key word(s): Change of Personnel/Private Equity
2016-08-31 / 13:21
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Munich, 31 August 2016 - GNA Biosolutions, Martinsried (Germany) has appointed Frank Krieg-Schneider as its Managing Director and CEO.
In his role as CEO of GNA Biosolutions he is driving the company's strategy and promoting GNA's commercialization. He will support GNA with his extensive business experience, securing new OEM partnerships and strategic alliances. This is supposed to allow the implementation of Laser PCR - GNA's ultra-fast technology for molecular diagnostics - in selected partners' applications and systems, in addition to GNA's products developed in house. Shareholders of GNA are - among others - Mey Capital Matrix, KfW and the company's founders. Robert Bosch Venture Capital (RBVC), a SHS Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsmanagement GmbH managed fund, b-to-v Partners, and Unternehmertum Venture Capital Partners invested in a later financing round.
Frank Krieg-Schneider complements the existing management team, comprising the founders and co-Managing Directors Joachim Stehr, Federico Bürsgens and Lars Ullerich. The founders commented: "Frank is a perfect addition to our management team. He has a proven track record in building high-growth and profitable product portfolios."
Frank Krieg-Schneider added: "I'm looking forward to break new ground with this strong team and our ground breaking technology which applies the speed of light to PCR."
Frank Krieg-Schneider is a senior executive in the diagnostics and life sciences industry with more than 20 years of experience in product development and commercialisation. After obtaining his PhD in molecular genetics from the University of Mainz, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the University Medical Centre Mannheim, he joined QIAGEN, a leading global provider of Life Science and Molecular Diagnostics products.
At QIAGEN, Frank Krieg-Schneider was instrumental in establishing the diagnostic sample preparation product range, and later in defining the strategy and product roadmap for the molecular diagnostics and point of care markets.
In his former role as VP, Global Head of Strategic Alliances and OEM he successfully created new business opportunities for QIAGEN, such as the OEM business, Second Brands, and Customised Products. Mr Krieg-Schneider managed independent businesses and employees across sites in Germany, Sweden and the United States. He drove revenues from zero to a high double-digit million USD range.
Further Information:
About GNA Biosolutions GmbH
GNA Biosolutions is developing a pipeline of diagnostic instruments and assays for robust, ultra-fast detection of important human pathogens based on its proprietary Laser PCR technology. The world's fastest thermal cycles for DNA amplification and detection can be achieved by ultra-fast laser-heating of nanoparticles within the sample solution, an optothermal technology that allows heating and cooling rates many orders of magnitude faster than other PCR methods. The localized nano heating technology is combined with fluorescent-free DNA detection, making ultra-fast DNA-based tests possible within 15 minutes or less. GNA Biosolutions has designed and manufactured the Pharos400 instrument that works with 8-plex test cartridges offering a simple and cost-effective detection of multi-resistant pathogens like MRSA or viruses at point-of-care.
GNA Biosolutions GmbH was spun-out of the Institute for Photonics and Optoelectronics at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, in 2010, and is located in the Innovation and Start-Up Center for Biotechnology ('IZB') in Martinsried near Munich. For more information please visit the website: www.gna-bio.com
About Robert Bosch Venture Capital
Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH (RBVC) is the corporate venture company of the Bosch Group, a leading global supplier of technology and services. RBVC invests worldwide in innovative start-up companies at all stages of their development. Its investment activities focus on technology companies working in areas of business of current and future relevance for Bosch, above all, automation and control, energy and environment, enabling technologies, and healthcare. RBVC also invests in services and business models as well as new materials that are relevant to the above-mentioned areas of business.
Further information at: www.rbvc.com
About SHS Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsmanagement mbH:
SHS Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsmanagement is based in Tübingen, Germany and invests in medical technology and life science companies with a focus on expansion financing, changes in shareholder structures and successor situations. SHS holds minority as well as majority interests. SHS was founded in 1993 and has since gained extensive experience as industry investor, which supports the growth of its portfolio companies through a network of partnerships regarding the introduction of new products, regulatory issues or entering new markets. The SHS fund's German and international investors include about the European Investment Fund, professional pension insurers, retirement funds, funds of funds, family offices, entrepreneurs and the SHS management team. The AIFM-registered company is currently investing from its fourth generation of funds, for which investors have provided 125 million euro. Equity of up to 20 million euro is invested. Transactions can be carried out in the mid double-digit million range together with a network of co-investors. Reinhilde Spatscheck, Dr. Bernhard Schirmers, Hubertus Leonhardt and Uwe Steinbacher are the Managing Partners at SHS. Further information: www.shs-capital.eu
For an overview of all the current portfolio companies, please click here.
About b-to-v Partners
b-to-v Partners AG is a venture capital company with offices in St. Gallen and Berlin. With around 200 members, it is also one of Europe's leading networks of private entrepreneurial investors. b-to-v combines the industry expertise and experience of its entrepreneurs with the longstanding venture capital expertise of its in-house team. With this investment approach, b-to-v has set itself the goal of generating sustainable added value for its portfolio companies and investing entrepreneurs. At core, the b-to-v philosophy is all about investing together and a desire to mutually benefit from the financial, content-based and personal support provided from entrepreneur to entrepreneur.
Further information at: www.b-to-v.com
About Unternehmertum Venture Capital Partners
Unternehmertum Venture Capital Partners, Garching (Munich), invests in young technology companies across Germany in the fields of information and communications technology, medical technology and clean-tech. Portfolio companies benefit from Unternehmertum Venture Capital Partners's longstanding experience in developing young companies. The Unternehmertum Venture Capital Partners has in-house industry experts and a unique network of connections in industry and to other venture capital investors.
EIF, ERP and CIP: The Unternehmertum Venture Capital Partners is supported by the European Investment Fund (EIF), the European Union via its Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP), and the ERP-EIF and LfA-EIF funds-of-funds.
Further information at: www.unternehmertum.de/vc
About KfW's ERP Start-up-Fund
To enhance Germany's standing as a technological nation, KfW is supporting innovative business start-ups by strengthening their equity capital. KfW's equity finance products target technology companies at various stages of their development. At the very early stage, which is known as the seed phase, KfW has since 2005 been involved in High-Tech-Gründerfonds (HTGF), Germany's largest and most active early-stage financier. KfW is the largest investor in HTGF after the Federal Government. Since April 2015 KfW has also started to help meet the shortfall in follow-on and expansion financing available to young, innovative technology companies. To support them in this process, KfW, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), has brought a new promotional instrument onto the market, the ERP Venture Capital Fund. KfW is using this instrument to invest in young German technology companies indirectly, via selected German and European venture capital funds. In order to strengthen the German venture capital market even further, KfW and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) launched coparion, a co-investment fund in March 2016. As a separate company led by an experienced management team, coparion invests directly in innovative start-ups and young technology companies. The fund thus replaces the new business of the ERP Start-up Fund, which has carried out this business from within KfW until now.
Further information at: www.kfw.de
About Mey Capital Matrix
Founded in 2010, MEY Capital Matrix GmbH is an independent private investment company. The basic idea behind MEY Capital Matrix GmbH involves making entrepreneurial investments in young life science and medical technology companies and offering hands-on support in terms of financial background and management competence.
The investor and owner is Gerhard Mey, a dedicated SME entrepreneur. He is co-owner and supervisory board member at one of the world's 100 top automotive suppliers.
MEY Capital Matrix GmbH currently holds investments in five promising young companies.
Further information at: www.meycapital.com
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2016-08-31 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.
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