Novel drug targets specifically suitable for a given drug modality based on customized screening criteria (e.g. gene therapy, small molecules, immuno-oncology targets)
Indications with the best mix of scientific confidence, development feasibility and commercial opportunity
Optimal matching of existing drugs (in active development or discontinued) with new indications, drug targets or biomarkers
Hidden gem assets available for licensing or acquisition
Underappreciated companies to acquire
High-throughput technologies produce vast amounts of omics data which revolutionize medical research and offer the opportunity to understand the underlying disease mechanisms. Despite these advances, many diseases and targets remain chronically understudied even in the face of high unmet patient need. We apply data science principles to aggregate and integrate heterogeneous data revealing hidden interactions that fill these knowledge gaps. With our comprehensive, dynamic and customized knowledge graph, we can identify and prioritize drug targets that drive disease progression and indications with high unmet need, and spotlight unexplored therapeutic and commercial opportunities.
Catenion has a long tradition of assisting clients with investment and divestment decisions on new drug and medical products, projects and technologies. We have conducted a pharmaceutical and medical products industries’ best-in-class assessment of such opportunities along the dimensions of both value and risk since 2003. Catenion’s Data Science Unit performs fully client-customized company and asset screens by rapidly retrieving and integrating relevant information from the many available public and proprietary databases. While capturing the parameters that best reflect our clients’ needs and priorities, Catenion has assembled a large number of data points and ranking criteria that are key to concentrating the available option space to the most promising opportunities, which are then reviewed by our experienced consultants.
We employ a variety of dynamical modelling approaches to devise the most suitable portfolio management and asset acquisition strategies for our clients, a service of particular interest to VCs and mid to big-sized pharma. Simulating a range of acquisition, life cycle management, development success and therapeutic focus scenarios based on benchmarked (pre-)clinical development parameters allows us to identify the best balance of desired portfolio output, strategic fit and acceptable level of risk versus available resources.
At Catenion we have many years of experience in analyzing the parameters that drive a company’s success. Our R&D ranking methodology provides an unbiased and data-driven quantification of how R&D and M&A strategy decisions translate into current and future company performance. We publish our findings annually which you can find in the Insights section.
Arno Heuermann is a founding Partner of Catenion who lives in Berlin, Germany. Arno has ten years of experience as CEO and COO. He has managed companies in Germany, France and Luxemburg.
While working on his degrees, Arno founded a technical engineering office in 1994. He continued to follow the entrepreneurial path in 1998 by founding Biopsytec GmbH, a DNA diagnostics company focused on agriculture, heading the company for more than five years as Managing Director.
In 1999, he co–founded Epigenomics AG, a public biotech company focused on DNA methylation, later remaining as an advisor and member of the firm’s Supervisory Board.
In August 2000, Arno orchestrated the founding and financing of Biopsytec Holding AG, thus merging Genious SA and the QTL AG and Biopsytec GmbH. He managed Biopsytec Holding AG for the next three years before helping launch Catenion in 2003. Since that time, he has been Catenion’s chief operating officer.
Arno holds a diploma degree in process engineering from the Technical University of Applied Sciences in Berlin. In addition, Arno attended the Berlin business school for Industrial Engineering and Management.
He is experienced in the diverse practices of patent management and has made numerous successful inventions.
Arno Heuermann is married and has two children. He is a lover of classical music, country life and horseback riding.
Matthias Krings is a founding Partner of Catenion.
He has worked for international pharma, biotech and medtech organizations on a variety of topics. Matthias works with clients on developing corporate and R&D strategies, identifying new areas of opportunity, tailoring asset and company searches for BD&L and M&A, maximizing the value of existing assets through therapeutic expansion, and prioritizing R&D portfolios. Matthias is also resposible for the creation and delivery of bespoke client education programs in the Catenion Academy.
Before co-founding Catenion in 2003, Matthias was a consultant at Mercer Management Consulting (now Oliver Wyman) and later joined a strategy consulting boutique, Theron.
Matthias holds a diploma and a doctorate degree in Biology from the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich. His PhD work was supported by a scholarship from the Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds, Foundation for Basic Research in Medicine. Matthias made significant scientific contributions to the field of human evolution (Krings et al., Cell 1997: Neandertal DNA Sequences and the Origin of Modern Humans).
Matthias lives in Munich & Berlin. He enjoys cooking, gardening, watersports and traveling.
Matthias co-authored Catenion’s Commentaries “Elements of Winning Strategies in R&D” and “Recombinant Portfolio Management – Recognizing and Enabling Innovation”. They are part of Catenion’s “Shaping Pharmaceutical Strategy” series that focuses on high-profile issues for the industry.
Christian Elze is a founding partner of Catenion and has been developing the company’s business in Japan since 2008. He holds a BSc from the London School of Economics and an MBA from Columbia University.
Christian is working with companies, universities and governments in the field of biomedical innovation. In his work, Christian is focusing on how emerging technologies and translational research are re-shaping the respective roles of funding agencies, investors, biopharma companies and academia in the research and development of new drugs.
Besides his consulting work, Christian frequently speaks about Emerging Technologies, Healthcare Reform, Pricing & Reimbursement, Biomedical Innovation, as well as Translational Research at industry conferences and universities in Japan, the US and Europe.
Christian is a fluent speaker of English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish and lives with his family in London.
Markus has written several Catenion Commentaries including “Risk Profiles of Corporate Portfolio Strategies” as well as “Elements of Winning Strategies in R&D”, “Recombinant Innovation Management (RIM) – How to Stimulate Breakthrough Innovation within Large R&D Organisations”, “Recombinant Portfolio Management – Recognising and Enabling Innovation”. He also co–authored “Zero Base R&D” and “The Challenge for Japan’s Pharmaceutical Top Twenty”. All of them are part of Catenion’s “Shaping Pharmaceutical Strategy” series that focuses on high-profile issues for the industry.
Markus Thunecke is a founding Senior Partner of Catenion who lives in Berlin, Germany. Markus started his consulting career in 1997 at Mercer Management Consulting before joining a strategy consulting boutique, Theron, and setting up Catenion in 2003.
Markus has helped numerous clients around the globe in the pharmaceutical and medical products industries create competitive advantage. In addition to his work on strategy, Markus specialises in developing leading–edge analytical tools and combining them with organisational development capabilities. Markus is the developer of a number of Catenion’s proprietary tools for portfolio management and risk assessment. In recent engagements, Markus has helped clients develop and realign their R&D strategies, review their discovery and development portfolios, and create organisational models that foster innovation.
Markus is a frequent speaker at conferences on R&D strategy and portfolio management.
He holds a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Heidelberg, where he generated transgenic animal models for Alzheimer’s disease. He also has three years of research experience within the CNS field at Schering AG.
