The expectations placed on today’s CDMOs extend far beyond manufacturing capacity, demanding scientific expertise, integrated development capabilities and resilient supply networks capable of supporting increasingly complex therapies. Wacker Biotech has responded by building a distinctive position in microbial biotechnology, combining scientific depth with a partnership-driven approach to increasingly complex modalities. Vice President and Managing Director Guido Seidel reflects on the strategy underpinning the company’s next phase of growth.
What has your journey with WACKER been, and how has the business developed during your time with the company?
I studied chemistry and completed a PhD in fermentation technology before joining Hoechst Marion Roussel, later Aventis and now part of Sanofi. Over several years in development and leadership roles across fermentation and cell culture, I gained valuable experience in pharmaceutical manufacturing. When WACKER approached me about helping build a biotechnology business, I was attracted by the opportunity to create something new from the ground up.
Wacker Biotech was established in 2005 through the acquisition of ProThera in Jena, and I joined two years later while the business was still in its early stages. Our initial focus was on expanding the site, establishing GMP capabilities and building the foundations of a successful biopharmaceutical CDMO.
Growth came through both organic expansion and targeted acquisitions. In 2014, we added protein refolding expertise and manufacturing capacity through the acquisition of Scil Proteins Production in Halle. In 2018, SynCo Bio Partners in Amsterdam joined the network and has since become our largest fermentation site. During the COVID-19 pandemic, manufacturing mRNA drug substance for CureVac provided valuable experience in large-scale nucleic acid production. This also supported our expansion into the US through the acquisition of Genopis in San Diego in 2021.
Today, we operate five sites across Germany, the Netherlands and the United States, with around 650 employees. What started as a small business has grown into a key strategic pillar for WACKER, supported by investments such as our new Biotechnology Center in Munich and our role in Germany’s pandemic preparedness programme.
What defines Wacker Biotech’s position within today’s global CDMO landscape, and what do you see as its key differentiators?
Wacker Biotech is fundamentally a specialised microbial CDMO. Rather than competing across all modalities, we have focused on microbial expression systems, recombinant proteins and nucleic acids, building deep expertise in these areas over many years. This has led to a portfolio of proprietary technology platforms, including ESETEC®, FOLDTEC®, PLASMITEC® and LIBATEC®, which support complex manufacturing projects and help differentiate us in the market.
Our strategy is not based on scale, but on scientific expertise and the ability to solve challenging manufacturing problems. We serve customers ranging from emerging biotech companies to large pharmaceutical organisations, supporting projects from early development through to commercial production. Today, we manufacture five commercial products, primarily in specialised, high-value niches that fit our business model.
We continue to expand our capabilities in areas such as plasmid DNA, mRNA and lipid nanoparticle formulation, enabling us to provide integrated solutions for advanced therapies. This expertise is distributed across a network of specialised sites rather than duplicated. Halle combines protein, mRNA and plasmid DNA capabilities, Jena focuses on recombinant proteins, Amsterdam offers the broadest technology portfolio, and San Diego is expanding beyond plasmid DNA into recombinant proteins and advanced therapies.
Together, these centres of excellence form a complementary network that allows us to support customers across the full development and manufacturing pathway while remaining focused on the specialised fields that define Wacker Biotech.
In what ways have customer expectations of CDMOs changed over the past two decades, and how has Wacker Biotech adapted to meet those evolving needs?
The industry has changed significantly over the past two decades. What was once largely a transactional, fee-for-service business has evolved into a partnership-driven model. As therapies become more complex and combine multiple technologies, customers increasingly expect CDMOs to contribute scientific expertise, support development activities and help solve manufacturing challenges long before commercial production begins.
To address these changing needs, we established our new Biotechnology Center in Munich and launched Contract Research Services (CRS). This allows us to support customers from the earliest stages of development, including construct design, process optimisation, analytical development and the development of plasmid DNA, RNA and lipid nanoparticle processes before transferring projects into GMP manufacturing.
We see strong demand for this approach from both emerging biotechnology companies and large pharmaceutical organisations. Biotechs are looking for experienced partners that can strengthen development programmes and reduce manufacturing risks, while larger companies increasingly rely on external specialists in areas such as bacterial development. Our role is to combine scientific expertise, flexibility and reliable manufacturing support across the entire product lifecycle, from early development through to commercial production.
Looking ahead, where do you see the greatest opportunities for Wacker Biotech, both in terms of technology and international expansion?
Innovation means looking beyond today’s business. A major focus for us is the growing convergence of biotechnology and artificial intelligence, which has the potential to make development faster, more predictable and more efficient. At the same time, we see increasing demand for advanced therapies that combine multiple technologies within a single product. Our goal is to bring these capabilities together, particularly in areas such as cell and gene therapy, and offer customers integrated development and manufacturing solutions from a single partner.
From a geographic perspective, our immediate priority is to continue with our presence in the United States through our San Diego site. We are always evaluating opportunities for growth in Asia, where we already work with customers through our existing operations and commercial teams. Our approach is to build sustainable, long-term positions in key markets rather than pursue expansion for its own sake.
The same philosophy guides our customer relationships. Large pharmaceutical companies provide stability, while emerging biotechnology companies remain an important source of innovation. We have built an organisation that can support both, adapting to different requirements while providing scientific expertise, flexibility and reliable support from early development through to commercial manufacturing
How do you attract and retain the specialised talent needed to support such advanced technologies?
Fortunately, attracting talent has not been a major challenge for us. We have deliberately built our network in leading biotechnology hubs, including Munich, Jena, Halle, Amsterdam and San Diego, where we benefit from strong connections to universities, research institutes and vibrant life sciences ecosystems.
These locations provide access to highly qualified scientists and engineers, while also supporting collaboration and innovation. Amsterdam, for example, offers a particularly international environment, and San Diego gives us a presence in one of the world’s leading biotechnology clusters.
In addition, we invest continuously in employer branding, university partnerships, internships and industry events to engage with future talent at an early stage. More broadly, biotechnology remains an attractive and dynamic field, and we continue to see strong interest from people who want to contribute to the next generation of healthcare innovations.
Germany’s pandemic preparedness programme has become a significant part of Wacker Biotech’s recent growth story. What has that experience demonstrated about the role CDMOs can play in strengthening long-term health security?
The pandemic highlighted the importance of maintaining domestic manufacturing capabilities for future public health emergencies. As part of Germany’s Pandemic Preparedness Programme, Wacker Biotech was selected as an industrial partner in 2022 and built a dedicated mRNA manufacturing facility in Halle within two years. Together with our partners CordenPharma, we now contribute RNA manufacturing and lipid nanoparticle capabilities to Germany’s preparedness network.
For us, the value of these capabilities is clear. Future pandemics are not a question of if, but when, and the infrastructure, expertise and supply chains needed for a rapid response cannot be created overnight. Maintaining them between crises is therefore essential.
That is why we operate the Halle facility under a dual-use model. Part of the capacity supports commercial CDMO projects, while the remainder is reserved for pandemic preparedness. This allows us to keep the infrastructure active, retain highly trained specialists and remain ready to respond when needed. The same capabilities can also support future global health initiatives.
As Wacker Biotech continues to grow, what are your priorities for the next few years, and how would you ultimately like the company to be recognised?
Wacker Biotech has built a strong reputation in its specialised fields, particularly in Europe, and is becoming increasingly visible in the United States. Our ambition is not to be the largest CDMO, but to be recognised for scientific expertise, speed, flexibility and close collaboration with customers. Over the long term, I would like to further strengthen our international presence, ideally including Asia, while continuing to develop a seamless global network that customers experience as one integrated organisation.
In the coming years, an important milestone will be bringing the first commercial RNA product from our facilities to market. At the same time, I hope Germany continues to invest in national security programs like the pandemic preparedness program, which has created valuable capabilities for both public health and innovation.
Ultimately, success means continuing to support new therapies and vaccines, growing the business sustainably and preserving the qualities that define us today: scientific excellence, agility and customer focus.
