Leadership change sparks next phase in antibody discovery growth

FairJourney Biologics (FJBio) has appointed Dr Werner Lanthaler as Chief Executive Officer, marking a new chapter for the antibody discovery specialist as it expands its global reach and data-driven innovation capabilities. Founder António Parada, who has led the company since its inception, will transition to the Supervisory Board, focusing on innovation strategy and long-term vision.

Dr Lanthaler joins FJBio after 15 years as CEO of Evotec SE, where he transformed the company into a world leader in precision drug discovery. A strong advocate for platform-based science and AI integration, he brings a record of scaling collaborative R&D models that connect academia, biotech and pharma to accelerate therapeutic development.

“Shared data- and AI-driven innovation platforms will be critical to accelerating drug discovery while reducing development timelines and costs,” said Dr Lanthaler. “FairJourney Biologics is uniquely positioned to lead globally in delivering efficiency gains throughout the entire ‘Gene to Clone’ process.”

Partners Group’s Pascal Noth, Head of Healthcare & Lifesciences Europe, praised the appointment: “FairJourney Biologics has grown from a bold idea in Porto into a global innovator. Under Werner’s leadership, the company will continue to deliver transformative advances in antibody discovery.”

With more than a decade of rapid growth behind it, FJBio now aims to build on its expertise in antibody engineering and AI-enhanced discovery to deliver faster, smarter solutions for the biopharma industry.

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