Bavaria (govt)–Gnam C: management, 202404– Managing Director IZB Martinsried before InsurTech Hub Munich + Invest in Bavaria

	Period	2024-04-01
	Region	Martinsried
	Country	Germany
	Organisation	IZB Innovations- und Gründerzentrum Biotechnologie Martinsried (Fördergesellschaft IZB mbH)
	Group	Bavaria (govt region)
	Organisation 2	OTHER
	Product	business park management / science park management
	Product 2	BIOTECH
	Person	Gnam, Christian (Bavaria (govt) 202404– Managing Director IZB before InsurTech Hub Munich + Invest in Bavaria)
	Person 2	Zobel, Peter Hanns (Bayern (govt) 1995–202403 Managing Director at IZB LEFT 3/24)

IZB Martinsried. (3/8/24). "Press Release: Christian Gnam Succeeds Dr. Peter Zobel as New Managing Director of the Biotechnology Innovation and Start-up Center (IZB)". Martinsried.

The Innovation and Start-up Center for Biotechnology (IZB), one of the leading biotechnology centers in Europe, today announced the appointment of Christian Gnam as the new Managing Director of Fördergesellschaft IZB mbH. The Fördergesellschaft manages the Innovation and Start-up Centers for Biotechnology in Planegg-Martinsried and Freising-Weihenstephan with more than 40 resident biotech start-ups. Christian Gnam will succeed Dr. Peter Hanns Zobel, who held this position for 28 years, on April 1, 2024.

Christian Gnam is an experienced manager with a strong international network. Most recently, Gnam was Managing Director of InsurTech Hub Munich (ITHM), a leading global innovation platform for the insurance industry. In this role, he significantly drove the growth of the hub, accelerated collaboration between startups, tech companies, and insurers, and continuously advanced the strategic development of the ITHM. Previously, Gnam headed the investment team for start-ups, life sciences, energy and environmental technology and chemicals at Invest in Bavaria, the business promotion agency of the Free State of Bavaria, Germany. There he also supported biotech companies from abroad in setting up in Bavaria. From 2010 to 2012, Gnam worked in the Department of Labor and Economics at the City of Munich, focusing on expanding economic relations with China. At the beginning of his professional career from 2009 to 2010, he worked in business development for various industries in São Paulo, Brazil. Gnam studied economic geography, economics, and political science at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich with a special focus on foreign trade, market entry and site development.

“My commitment for the IZB and our founders has been a daily pleasure for me over the past 28 years. Now, I am handing over the IZB, fully leased to excellent start-ups and with a great team of employees, to my successor,” says Dr. Peter Hanns Zobel. “I wish for the IZB under its new management that it will continue to prosper and support the courageous entrepreneurs of the start-ups and thus contribute to their success. I hope that politics will be motivated to further strengthen the IZB in the coming years.”

Christian Gnam adds: “Since its foundation in 1995, Dr. Zobel has grown the IZB into one of the most important biotechnology centers in Europe and created an inspiring environment for start-ups in the biotechnology sector that provides the best possible support for their groundbreaking research and development. I am delighted to take on this role, especially in light of my enthusiasm for new technologies and for promoting innovation. Biotechnology is a future industry that aims to significantly improve people’s lives in its numerous application areas. With its many pharmaceutical companies, cutting-edge research institutes and broad mix of industries and technologies, the Munich metropolitan region already offers good starting conditions for growth in biotechnology. We need to further leverage this potential and continuously invest in the sector to remain in the top league of life science locations worldwide in the future.”

About the Innovation and Start-up Center for Biotechnology (IZB) in Martinsried near Munich

The Fördergesellschaft IZB mbH, founded in 1995, operates the Innovation and Start-up Centers for Biotechnology in Planegg-Martinsried and Freising-Weihenstephan and has developed into a leading biotechnology center. More than 40 biotech and life science companies with over 700 employees are currently located on 26,000 square metres. Here, work is being done on developing drugs for the most serious diseases, such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, and various autoimmune diseases. A key criterion for the success of the IZBs is the physical proximity to cutting-edge research on the Martinsried/Grosshadern campus and the Weihenstephan campus. The infrastructure measures such as the Faculty Club G2B (Gateway to Biotech), the IZB Residence CAMPUS AT HOME, the two kindergartens Bio Kids and Bio Kids2 as well as the two restaurants SEVEN AND MORE, and THE BOWL Food Lounge are also location factors that are highly valued by the founders of the companies. Successful companies that emerged from the IZB include adivo (now Zoetis) Corimmun (today Janssen-Cilag), Crelux (today Wuxi AppTec), Exosome Diagnostics (bought by Bio-Techn), ibidi, Immunic Therapeutics, Medigene, Micromet (today Amgen), MorphoSys (soon Novartis), Octopharma or Rigontec (now MSD) as well as SIRION Biotech (today Perkin Elmer). More information at www.izb-online.de.

Press contact and photo material requests:

Marion Köhler, Head of Public Relations
Fördergesellschaft IZB mbH, Innovations- und Gründerzentrum Biotechnologie
Am Klopferspitz 19
D-82152 Planegg-Martinsried

Phone: +49 (0)89/55 279 48-17
Mobil: +49 151 51 50 73 10
E-Mail: koehler@izb-online.de