Team

Mark R. Saunders
President, New York
mark.saunders@achelous.com

As President of Achelous Partners, Mark is a leading investment banker to international public and private life science companies. He has a successful history of cross border mergers and acquisitions and cross border joint ventures.

Mark has significant expertise in the US listing process and in all forms of financing available to domestic and international companies. He leverages his extensive contacts both on Wall Street and in the international financial markets to maximize financial opportunities for our clients with market makers, international traders, institutional public and private funds and high net worth investors.

Mark was general outside legal counsel to Citibank's ADR Division, undertaking over 300 transactions involving non-US companies listing on NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange. He was head of Greenberg Traurig's International Corporate Finance Group, where he advised and assisted non-US companies to issue securities in the US capital markets, representing companies from Australia, the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asia. Mark was also a Partner with the US law firms of Brown & Wood and Parker Chapin, specializing in securities and corporate finance. Mark holds a Juris Doctor from New York Law School and is a member of the New York Bar Association.

Artur Aira
European Representative, Sweden
artur.aira@achelous.com

Artur Aira previously served as Executive Vice President and COO of AddLife AB (“AddLife”). AddLife is a spinoff from AddTech AB and is the Nordic market leader in several niche areas of diagnostics, biomedical research and laboratory analysis, as well as medical technology. During his tenure, AddLife grew organically and via acquisitions to over 600 employees with annual sales of over US$250 million and completed a successful IPO in 2016. Prior to AddLife, Mr. Aira held senior level positions at Addtech AB and was President/ CEO of Addtech LifeScience.

Dr. Jan Boesen
European Representative, The Netherlands
jan.boesen@achelous.com

Dr. Jan Boesen focuses on deal origination and developing various corporate strategies for the European market. Using his long-term management experience in the biotech and diagnostic industry, he advises on and supports international mergers and acquisitions.

Jan Boesen has over 20 years "hands on" experience in the Life Sciences industry of which 16 years were in executive positions. He obtained his Ph.D. degree at Leiden University in 1992. He held various management positions in clinical development, operations and business development at Introgene (now Crucell-J&J). From 1999-2005, Jan Boesen was CEO of Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics (AMT) B.V. (now UniQure, a publicly trading company). During this period, AMT brought a gene therapy for lipoprotein lipase (LPL) deficiency (Glybera) to the clinic. In 2012, Glybera became the first gene therapy approved by the European Commission. Furthermore, he was General Manager of BioConnection (spin-off from Organon-MSD) and COO of ISA Pharmaceuticals, a company developing therapeutic vaccines. From 2008-2015 he was CEO of IBL International, which develops, produces and sells immunodiagnostics products. During this period, IBL was transformed into a niche player with 50% increased turnover and 86 employees. In July 2014, IBL International was sold to the Tecan Group (Switzerland) for €29 million by Achelous Partners.

Dr. Katja Neuer
European Representative, Germany
katja.neuer@achelous.com

Dr. Katja Neuer focuses on deal origination in Germany and globally with a focus on the CRO market. She has developed and leverages a very broad network in this industry since 2008.

Katja Neuer is a chemist by training and studied at the RWTH Aachen University, Germany. She completed her PhD thesis at the University of Technology in Munich, Germany in the area of analytical chemistry and started her professional career more than 20 years ago in the environmental healthcare sector, with a strong focus on technical chemistry. In 2008 she joined INTERLAB, a leading central laboratory for clinical trials in Germany which was later acquired by Synlab (acquired in 2015 by Cinven). During her tenure at INTERLAB, the client base grew significantly as a result of her network. In 2011, Katja became Director of Business Development at MLM Medical Labs, a Germany based central lab with a focus on clinical trials. During her time at MLM, she built a business development team from scratch and helped grow the company from 20 employees to over 80 employees and double-digit M€ revenue. In December 2019, MLM was sold to the US based life science focused private equity fund, Great Point Partners, LLC, by Achelous Partners.

Prof. Sergi X. Trilla, MD, MBA
European Representative, Spain
sergi.trilla@achelous.com

Prof. Dr. Sergi X. Trilla is a distinguished biopharmaceutical executive and medical doctor with over 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry. He has a proven track record in corporate strategy and business development in Biotech, MedTech and digital health. As the founder and President of Trifermed, Sergi has been instrumental in transforming innovative ideas into market-ready solutions, leveraging his profound understanding of translational medicine.

Under his leadership, Trifermed has orchestrated over 200 global strategic partnerships and expanded its operations to North America, establishing headquarters in Cambridge, MA. 

Sergi’s executive experience includes pivotal roles such as Chief Business Officer at Veru, where he spearheaded international market entries and strategic shifts, and Chief Strategy Officer at Intrommune Therapeutics, where he transformed the company's business model and initiated fundraising efforts. His strategic vision and operational acumen have consistently driven growth and innovation.

In addition to his corporate roles, Sergi is an Adjunct Faculty member at the ADA Forsyth Institute in Cambridge, MA, and has been a mentor and educator at ESADE Business School. He also serves as a Senior Business Advisor for HIPRA and MEDISCA, further showcasing his extensive expertise and influence in the healthcare sector. His contributions to the academic and professional communities have been recognized through various awards, including the Trifermed Awards for Social Impact in Health.

Sergi’s multidisciplinary expertise, coupled with his passion for advancing healthcare solutions, makes him an invaluable asset to Achelos as it continues to drive innovation in the life science sector.

Prof. Dr. med. Klaus-Peter Wilhelm
European Representative, Germany
klaus.wilhelm@achelous.com

Dr. Wilhelm has significant expertise in the life sciences field in general and in the area of dermatology contract research in particular. Dr. Wilhelm joins Achelous Partner from proderm, which he founded in 1994. Under his leadership as owner and CEO, proderm was highly profitable and grew organically to over 100 employees and became one of the leading dermatology CROs in the world. Achelous advised proderm on its sale in 20222 to a strategic investor, SGS AG, with nearly 100,000 employees worldwide.

Dr. Stephan Wnendt
European Representative, Germany
stephan.wnendt@achelous.com

Dr. Stephan Wnendt focuses on deal origination in Germany and globally with a focus on clinical trial service providers as well as medical device companies and contract manufacturers.

Stephan Wnendt has almost 30 years of experience in various segments of the global life science sector. Since 2000 he has worked in executive positions throughout Germany and the US. After finishing his PhD at the University of Technology in Berlin he joined Grunenthal, a mid-sized pharmaceutical company, where he was responsible for projects on recombinant thrombolytics, immunomodulating drugs and pain research. After Grunenthal, Stephan joined the medical device company, JOMED (now Abbott), as managing director of one their largest production plants. Under his leadership a drug-eluting stent project had been launched. In 2003, Stephan became CEO of the cell therapy company, Kourion Therapeutics. Stephan led Kourion through its merger with ViaCell, Inc. (now Perkin Elmer) and ViaCell's subsequent IPO on NASDAQ. Stephan later served as Managing Director of Paion Deutschland, a biotech company with a focus on neurological diseases. In January 2008, Stephan joined Germany based MLM Medical Labs, a central lab focused on clinical trials. At that time, MLM had six employees and a limited client base. Under Stephan’s leadership, the company grew to over 80 employees and double-digit M€ revenue. In December 2019, MLM was sold to the US based life science focused private equity fund, Great Point Partners, LLC, by Achelous Partners.

In addition to his business career, Stephan has completed a habilitation in biochemistry at the RWTH Aachen University in 1999 and was awarded with a honorary professorship in 2012.

Akshay Nadkarni
Managing Director, New York
akshay.nadkarni@achelous.com

Akshay Nadkarni is involved in multiple activities across the firm ranging from originating new acquisition opportunities, corporate valuation analysis and leading M&A transaction execution.

Akshay has managed cross-border transactions valued at +$3.0 billion involving over 50 companies in a range of healthcare and life science fields and has been the leader on Achelous’ past transactions in the life science tools / reagents / diagnostics / services and specialty pharma sectors, including transactions  involving major names such as IQVIA, ProPharma, Validant (Eliquent), Catalent, Eurofins, Lonza, Merck KGaA, Tecan, Danaher, ThermoFisher, SeraCare, Affymetrix, Alere, Novozymes, Ansell, Valeant, Sigma Pharmaceuticals, Novartis and Allergan. Akshay holds a joint Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Finance from New York University.

Marius Sava
Managing Director, Los Angeles
marius.sava@achelous.com

Based in Los Angeles, California, Marius Sava has over a decade of investment banking experience in mergers and acquisitions and corporate advisory. Marius has directly participated in transactions with aggregate value of more than $1 billion. He has advised owner managed and publicly traded companies on a number of transactions including buy side, sell side, negotiated sale, divestiture, and strategic investment mandates. Marius’ advisory experience spans several industries, most notably the life science and healthcare industry in which he specializes. His client list has included leading healthcare corporations such as Ansell, Covance, Life Technologies, Novozymes, and Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

Marius is an alumnus of the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Eric L. Zitter
Managing Director, New York
eric.zitter@achelous.com

Eric Zitter focuses on deal origination with a focus on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Eric has researched and traveled globally searching for M&A opportunities for Achelous Partners’ international client base.

Previously, Eric was a Business Development Analyst at Quintiles Transnational, where he conducted research on potential blockbuster late Phase III/registered drugs as targets for new business opportunities, analyzed competitor companies as targets for possible acquisitions, and launched the company’s first weekly internal newsletter consisting of latest drug news, new drug approvals, and pipeline information. Eric holds a joint Bachelor of Science and Engineering in Bioengineering with a minor in Applied Economics from Cornell University.

Charles P. Tebbetts
Vice President
charles.tebbetts@achelous.com

Since joining Achelous in 2014, Charles Tebbetts has worked on and led numerous M&A transactions including buy-side, sell-side, and cross-border engagements. As a Vice President, Charles has successfully executed on both buy and sale processes, including a publicly listed client on an industry buy-and-build as well as private, founder-owned clients on their competitive sale processes. As a long-term member of Achelous, Charles has become a sector expert in valuation analysis, corporate finance and financial modeling. His broad sector knowledge involves every facet of life science outsourced services, IVD diagnostics, tools and reagents, medtech, medical supply transport and disposal, and much more.

Charles graduated in 2014 with a degree in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University.

Overview
New York-based investment bank focused on Mergers and Acquisitions in the global life science and healthcare sectors.

Global Presence
Building management relationships throughout the US, Europe, Australia, Asia and Latin America.

Approach
Cultivating long-term relationships through senior-level attention and expertise, objective advice and successful deal execution.

Recent News

June 12, 2024
Prof. Dr. Sergi X. Trilla joins Achelous Partners as European Representative

June 12, 2024
Achelous Partners Advises Curia on its announced sale of a US CDMO site to Siegfried

April 22, 2024
Achelous Partners Advises A4P Consulting Ltd on its sale to LabConnect

  • June 2024
    Wisconsin CDMO site is being acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Curia Global Inc.
  • April 2024
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to A4P Consulting
  • March 2024
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Six Degrees Medical
  • December 2023
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Bio X Cell, LLC
  • November 2023
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Symbio LLC
  • November 2023
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Proinnovera, GmbH
  • November 2023
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Pharmalog, GmbH
  • January 2023
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to ECIR Medical Communications Inc.
  • January 2023
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Alcedis, GmbH
  • November 2022
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Expression Systems, LLC
  • October 2022
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to AQW Holdings, Inc. d.b.a. Qfix
  • August 2022
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to AusDiagnostics
  • July 2022
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Cergentis B.V.
  • July 2022
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to proderm GmbH
  • June 2022
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to SAI MedPartners
  • February 2022
    has acquired
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to TCP Analytical
  • November 2021
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Regulatory Compliance Associates Inc.
  • August 2021
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to DRG International Inc.
  • August 2021
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to bioskin GmbH
  • July 2021
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to nanoComposix Holdings, Inc.
  • May 2021
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Clinical Outcomes Solutions
  • March 2021
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Diamond Pharma Services
  • February 2021
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Delphi Genetics
  • October 2020
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to MD Biosciences, Inc.
  • September 2020
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to American Laboratory Products Company, Ltd.
  • September 2020
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Maetrics LLC
  • August 2020
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to CTK Biotech, Inc.
  • February 2020
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to BresMed Health Solutions Ltd
  • January 2020
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Statistics Collaborative, Inc.
  • December 2019
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to MLM Medical Labs GmbH
  • October 2019
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Specialized Medical Services-oncology BV
  • July 2019
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Eurolyser Diagnostica GmbH
  • July 2019
    has acquired
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to LifeSpan BioSciences
  • March 2019
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Quorum Review, Inc.
  • January 2019
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to ProductLife Group
  • January 2019
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to CoreBiome, Inc.
  • October 2018
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Pennside Partners Ltd.
  • September 2018
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to NovaTec Immundiagnostica GmbH
  • September 2018
    has acquired
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Thompson Street Capital Partners
  • September 2018
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned served as financial advisor to HyTest Ltd.
  • July 2018
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned served as financial advisor to Gold Standard Diagnostics Corp.
  • May 2018
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned served as financial advisor to Biovian Oy
  • January 2018
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned served as financial advisor to LifeCodexx AG
  • June 2017
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Coté Orphan, LLC
  • May 2017
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to PharmaCell B.V.
  • April 2017
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Emergo Group, Inc.
  • April 2017
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Calbiotech, Inc.
  • January 2017
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to BioControl Systems, Inc.
  • August 2016
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to SPEware Corporation
  • July 2016
    has acquired
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Sharps Compliance Corp.
  • June 2016
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Cisbio Bioassays
  • December 2015
    has acquired
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Abzena plc
  • December 2015
    has acquired
    The undersigned acted as financial adviser to Sharps Compliance Corp.
  • October 2015
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Kinesis Pharma BV
  • August 2015
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to DIAsource ImmunoAssays SA
  • July 2015
    has acquired
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Sharps Compliance Corp.
  • March 2015
    has acquired
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Ansell Limited
  • July 2014
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to IBL International Holding BV
  • July 2014
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned served as financial advisor to Phlexglobal Limited
  • June 2014
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned served as financial advisors to Pharmalink Consulting
  • December 2013
    has acquired assets from
    The undersigned acted as advisor to Valeant Pharmaceuticals International
  • August 2013
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Kirkegaard & Perry Laboratories Inc
  • July 2013
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to The Anson Group LLC
  • July 2013
    has signed a definitive agreement to sell its orthopedic implant assets and business to
    an Apax Partners company The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Austofix Group Limited
  • July 2013
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Kreatech Holding B.V.
  • July 2013
    has been acquired by
    USD$10,000,000
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Matrical Bioscience Inc
  • May 2013
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as advisor to Triangle Biomedical Sciences Inc.
  • August 2012
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as advisor to JSW Life Sciences GmbH
  • March 2012
    has acquired assets from
    US$164M plus up to US$20M in milestones
    The undersigned acted as advisor to Valeant Pharmaceuticals International
  • December 2011
    invests in
    The undersigned acted as advisor to Ansell Limited for the investment
  • August 2010
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to EnviroLogix, Inc.
  • March 2010
    has been acquired by
    USD$59,000,000
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Finnzymes Oy
  • December 2009
    has licensed its ReGet® drug delivery system for ophthalmic indications to
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to BTG olc
  • October 2009
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Anaspec Inc.
  • August 2009
    has sold its HySolv™ drug delivery technology to
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to BTG plc
  • January 2009
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to the shareholders of Labcoat Limited
  • December 2008
    has acquired
    The undersigned is acting as financial advisor to Biocompatibles International
  • December 2008
    has acquired
    The undersigned rendered a Fairness Opinion to Affymetrix, Inc.
  • February 2008
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned is acting as financial advisor to Sigma Pharmaceuticals
  • January 2008
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned is acting as financial advisor to Panbio Limited
  • May 2007
    has acquired
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Ansell Limited
  • March 2007
    has sold its Human Health point-of-care diagnostic products business to
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Agenix Limited
  • February 2007
    Strategic alliance and investment of up to £32,100,000 in
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to GeneMedix, PLC
  • December 2006
    Announced M&A advisory and restructuring
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Panbio Limited
  • December 2006
    has acquired
    The undersigned acted financial advisor to Novozymes A/S
  • August 2006
    has acquired
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Meditech Research Limited
  • July 2006
    has acquired Delta Biotechnology Ltd from
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Novozymes A/S
  • April 2006
    has assigned IP and granted distribution rights for its Animal Health business to
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to Agenix Limited
  • October 2005
    M&A advisory and valuation analysis
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to CogState Limited
  • September 2005
    NASDAQ listing of ADRs (American Depositary Receipts)
    The undersigned acted as advisor to Genetic Technologies Limited
  • June 2005
    NASDAQ listing of ADRs (American Depositary Receipts)
    The undersigned acted as advisor to ChemGenex Pharmarceuticals Limited
  • January 2005
    awarded to
    for its investment banking role in the creation of
  • December 2004
    has been acquired by
    The undersigned acted as financial advisor to AGT Biosciences Ltd.
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