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Leadership Team

At Loba biotech GmbH, a team of industry experts is at the heart of our innovations. Together, we work on developing sustainable biotechnological solutions to meet the challenges of the modern world. Our expertise spans various fields, enabling us to lead in biotechnological research and development. Learn more about the people behind our work.

Elmar Zagler
Founder and Managing Director, pharma&

We invest in expanding our in-house capabilities on our way to become a fully integrated pharmaceutical company in order to best satisfy our patients’ need for their niche specialty care“We invest in expanding our in-house capabilities on our way to becoming a fully integrated pharmaceutical company in order to best satisfy our patients’ need for their niche specialty care medicines.”  medicines.” 

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Mr. Zagler has more than 15 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, working within companies of various sizes and structures. This includes working for R&D research and development and innovation-driven large global pharmaceutical (Pfizer, Takeda, and Wyeth) private equity-owned midsized pharmaceutical (Nycomed) and entrepreneur-driven specialty care and start-up (pharmaand GmbH) organizations. He also has experience working with fast-moving consumer goods (Danone). Mr. Zagler has held various local and regional finance and commercial roles with a focus on the DACH (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) and central and eastern Europe regions. He is currently the Founder and Managing Director of pharmaand GmbH (pharma&), a privately owned global company that aspires to breathe new life into proven medicines through an agile and fully integrated business model and aims to guarantee the enduring availability and quality of essential drugs. Loba biotech GmbH is a subsidiary of pharma& and is a part of the pharma& Group.

Frank Rotmann
Founder and Managing Director, pharma&

“We believe in the power of highly educated and motivated individuals who are held accountable by their peers and work together to execute our ambitions and plans.” 

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Mr. Rotmann has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, working within companies of various sizes and structures. This includes working for R&D research and development and innovation-driven large global pharmaceutical (Lilly, Sanofi-Aventis, and Takeda), private equity-owned midsized pharmaceutical (Nycomed), and entrepreneur-driven specialty care and start-up (pharmaand GmbH) organizations. Mr. Rotmann has been involved in various local country and European leadership roles and has also held marketing and sales management roles in Germany, France, and the U.S. He is currently the Founder and Managing Director of pharmaand GmbH (pharma&), a privately owned global company that aspires to breathe new life into proven medicines through an agile and fully integrated business model and aims to guarantee the enduring availability and quality of essential drugs. Loba biotech GmbH is a subsidiary of pharma& and is a part of the pharma& Group.

Dr. Walter Erber 
SVP

“I am very delighted to lead the transformation of Loba Feinchemie GmbH into a high-tech biopharmaceutical company with a new name, Loba biotech GmbH.” 

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Dr. Walter Erber has broad international LifeScience “Pharma- and Biopharmaceutical” experience as an entrepreneurial executive with more than 30 years of experience. Dr. Walter Erber holds a PhD in Biochemistry and has broad experience in clinical research and medical affairs. He has solid chemical, biochemical, medical, and scientific knowledge and can cover a broad spectrum of therapeutic fields (oncology, rheumatology, immunology, hematology, as well as central nervous system (CNS), nutrition, vaccinology, antibiotics, and diabetology). In his career history with AOP Orphan, Pfizer/Wyeth, Madaus, and Baxter, Dr. Walter Erber has always undertaken international assignments with regional responsibility. He has successfully led country teams in complex international environments and achieved or surpassed his business objectives. Dr. Walter Erber has an analytical approach and in-depth scientific orientation, combined with a strategic vision, business turnarounds, strong financial acumen, market access negotiations skills, and an in-depth understanding of business development. With his certification in Strategic & Political negotiation (Wyeth Executive Leadership Program; Harvard Business School), Dr. Walter Erber gained key skills to communicate comfortably and to negotiate with the company’s internal- and external key customers to support and drive business. 

Ing. Leopold Arnberger
Technical Director / Authorized Officer

“The site in Fischamend is being transformed into a modern production facility for biopharmaceutical active ingredients that meets global technical standards, all applicable regulatory requirements, and current environmental and sustainability standards.” 

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Leopold Arnberger graduated from the Polytechnic College of Machinery and Welding (TGM) in Vienna in 1984. He began his professional career as a process engineer in special machinery for the chemical industry. After completing the entrepreneur’s examination for technical bureaus for mechanical engineering in 1994, he made an intermediate stop around special machinery for the chemical industry until he joined Loba Feinchemie as the technical manager in October 2000. Since then, he has acquired key competencies for efficient and economical management in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. His strengths are the smooth execution of all requirements and achieving the objectives without losing sight of the predefined corporate strategy. 

Michael Graber
Head of IpT / Authorized Officer

“The opportunity to lead and implement the challenges of transformation into a high-tech company with a young, committed team is a great honor and pleasure for me.” 

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Michael Graber brings more than 20 years of experience in IT and financial management to LOBA. He gained key skills for process optimization and strategic company development in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. His strengths are flawless execution and achieving all goals and targets, with the right instinct for employees and the company. 

Dipl. Ing. Cristina Lupu
Commercial Director 

“I am proud to be part of a professional team that faces daily complex short- and long-term challenges, contributing to planning, developing, and implementing strategies to expand business development and leverage the company’s growth.” 

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Mrs. Cristina Lupu has 20 years of experience in international sales and marketing in B2B & B2C industrial business and industrial engineering with a focus on industrial process optimization in Europe, the U.S., the Americas, and Southeast Asia. She holds an Environmental Diplom Engineer degree and an MBA.  She has also attended various international proficiency courses in process engineering, giving her a 360-degree view of the dynamics and demanding complexity of international sales and business development of industrial high-quality standard products. She is professionally fluent in English, German, Spanish and Romanian. 

Mrs. Cristina Lupu has been with the company since 2013. She has brought a relevant contribution to the organization by consolidating the business in Europe and expanding it in the US, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and Latin America, both with distributors and direct customers, as well as reorganizing the International Sales Division, taking it to excellence levels to serve the complex pharma industry quality standards and highly demanding customers’ needs. 

Dr. Sonja Leder
Head of Quality Control 

“With my passionate commitment to quality and my strong expertise in cGMP, my opinion is a benchmark for Loba’s quality system. In my positions as head of QC, qualified person, and narcotics officer, I am always striving to secure product quality and patient safety.”

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Dr. Sonja Leder successfully completed her chemical education at Vienna Technical University, graduating in technical chemistry in 2005. After several years of professional activity in non-university wood chemistry research, she achieved her PhD in organic synthesis. 

During her career, she gained substantial expertise in the development, optimization, and validation of analytical methods for organic molecules, as well as in complex matrices. 

For several years, Dr. Leder was acting as head of a release lab for coagulation factors and inhibitors within the department of coagulation in quality control of an American pharmaceutical company (Baxter Bioscience/Baxalta/Shire). There, she was able to apply her extensive knowledge in the fields of cGPM, lab logistics, and analytics.  In 2020, she was confirmed to be a Qualified Person by the Austrian health authority and is responsible for batch release at Loba. 

In addition to her chemical and GMP expertise, Dr. Sonja Leder brings a high degree of organizational ability, acumen, and energy to the company. 

Peter Gergö Kerekes
Head of Production

“OTIF-Production (on time in full Production) to be achieved with motivated people, with high-level multidisciplinary knowledge, and with a spice of being innovative.” 

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15 years’ experience in chemical and biotechnological production. 

Peter has been involved in intensive industrial training in several fields (Synthetic API Manufacturing, Bio API Manufacturing, R&D, Strategical Planning, QM, EHS, and Finance), carrying out leadership roles for more than 10 years from Group Lead position to Site Manager position, including Head of Production function. 

Among his successful professional projects are R&D tasks, technology transfers as a sender and also as a receiver side responsible person, business development, operational excellence projects, and new manufacturing facility installations. In his career history with TEVA, Xellia, and Soneas. 

Ing. Leopold Rosska
Head of HR & Sustainability & Finance

“We recruit and develop talented people for Loba biotech in a sustainable production and operational environment. We offer our employees high-tech platforms and knowledge exchange to achieve sustainable success.” 

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Mr. Rosska has over 20 years of corporate experience in management roles in Finance, HR, Legal, and Service in Austria, Germany, and Liechtenstein. Furthermore, Mr. Rosska has solid experience in Mergers & Acquisitions, business development, and restructuring. Moreover, Mr. Rosska gathered four years of expertise as a business consultant in Germany, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Austria. Over the span of his career, Mr. Rosska has worked for such renowned companies as Alcatel in Austria and central and eastern Europe, NextiraOne in Austria and Germany, Dimension Data in Austria, autoticket in Germany, and AFES in Liechtenstein.

Dipl. Ing. Gerhard Krejcy
Head of MSAT 

“As an innovative company that focuses on the needs of patients, Loba biotech is a leader in cutting-edge biotechnology.”

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Gerhard Krejcy has a master’s degree in technical chemistry and specializes in biotechnology and bioanalytics.
Gerhard has 11 years of experience in pharmaceutical process development, quality control and production science and technology. He worked for Baxalta Innovations GmbH and Shire Austria GmbH, where he gained more than five years of professional experience in biochemical analysis and process development, validation and implementation of analytical procedures.

Mag. Doris Kopp
Head of Procurement, Warehouse & Logistics 

“I am happy to be in charge of implementing a smooth system for the flow of goods and services at Loba biotech. I very much enjoy the teamwork between highly qualified and motivated people here.” 

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Doris Kopp holds a master’s degree in business and economics and specializes in Management Science, focusing on Finance and controlling. She has also studied abroad at Bentley College (U.S.) and worked in Sweden and Scotland to strengthen her language skills. 

Doris has 15 years of experience in procurement and pharma logistics. She worked for Herba Chemosan Apotheker AG, where she gained more than five years of professional experience in leadership. Before joining Loba biotech GmbH in July 2023, she led the replenishment with around 30 people. 

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