Nanostart-holding MagForce AG Appoints Dr. Ben J. Lipps
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The Supervisory Board of Nanostart-holding Magforce AG has appointed Dr. Ben J. Lipps, former CEO and Chairman of Fresenius Medical Care, as Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer of the company starting September 2013.
While serving as Chairman and CEO of Magforce, Ben Lipps will continue his consultantship with Fresenius Medical Care.
The current management board members of Magforce Prof. Dr. Hoda Tawfik (Chief Development & Medical Officer) and Christian von Volkmann (Chief Financial Officer) remain in their respective position.
Dr. Ben J. Lipps became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Management Board of Fresenius Medical Care in May 1999. In December 2012, he stepped down as Chairman of the Management Board and CEO.
Dr. Lipps led the research team that developed the first commercial hollow fiber artificial kidney at the end of the 1960’s. Today over two million dialysis patients rely on hollow fiber dialyzers for life sustaining treatments.
Norbert Neef, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of MagForce, comments: “MagForce is very proud to have attracted a former DAX 30 CEO as addition to MagForce´s management team. Dr. Lipps will help us harvesting the full potential of our great IP. Based on the already existing regulatory approval for our NanoTherm® Therapy for all forms of brain cancer we are confident to be able to develop MagForce into a global medical device company successfully targeting the treatment of multiple cancer forms.”
Ben Lipps comments: “MagForce is a most interesting opportunity in the medical device and pharma world. Globally, over two million patients are diagnosed with brain, head & neck, and prostate cancers each year. Clearly, the NanoTherm® Therapy being developed by MagForce AG can be applied as an adjunct or as a monotherapy to assist in the treatment regiments for these solid tumors. NanoTherm® Therapy has regulatory approval in 27 European countries already. I am looking forward to work with the very competent and highly motivated management team at MagForce. Our focus will be to advance this therapy to the next level with its widespread commercialization and to building a global player in the area of cancer treatment for the good of patients”.
Dr. Ben J. Lipps became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Management Board of Fresenius Medical Care in May 1999.
In December 2012 he stepped down as Chairman of the Management Board and CEO. During his term, Fresenius Medical Care´s sales tripled from 3.8 to 12.8 billion dollars, and the annual net profit grew 6 times to 1.1 billion dollars.
He was also Chief Executive Officer of Fresenius Medical Care North America until February 2004. He was President, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and a director of Fresenius USA from October 1989 through February 2004, and served in various capacities with Fresenius USA’s predecessor from 1985 through 1989.
He earned his master’s and doctoral degrees at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in chemical engineering.
Before joining the Fresenius Group in 1985, Dr. Lipps held several research management positions in various companies, among them with DOW Chemical.