Vetter Names New President of Chicago Operations

German contract manufacturer Vetter (Vetter Pharma-Fertigung GmbH & Co. KG), which fills and finishes pre-filled syringes, cartridges and vials, has made some personnel changes in its Chicago office. Effective Oct. 1, Susanne Resatz, Ph.D., formerly manager process development and manufacturing at the company’s clinical development facility in Chicago, Ill., assumed the role of president, taking full responsibility for the site’s operations. Former President Claudia Roth, Ph.D., will repatriate to the company headquarters in Ravensburg, Germany, where she will head up the newly created innovation department.

Both Resatz and Roth have been with the U.S. facility since its opening in 2009, and, according to the company, were instrumental in its early construction through to its becoming fully operational in October 2011.

Resatz’s expertise includes designing and implementing highly efficient, high-quality manufacturing processes for early-stage products. Through her work with biopharmaceutical companies around the globe, she has had experience meeting the requirements of a broad variety of international regulatory authorities. She holds a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the Vienna University of Technology.

The new innovation department Roth will be heading in Ravensburg which will focus on anticipating and preparing for future customer and product development needs including filling processes and technology, as well as packaging solutions.

Vetter’s Chicago facility is an expansion of Vetter Development Service, employing more than 150 personnel in Europe and the United States. Implementing its first manufacturing facility in the United States for offering early development support directly in the heart of the country has been strategic to Vetter’s plan for worldwide growth.

“I am thrilled to be in the position to help take Vetter’s Chicago facility to a greater level of customer support,” said Resatz. “Today, the facility is fully on target from a business perspective, providing our customers with top-of-the-line clinical manufacturing, and proofs that our company’s strategy in taking this step was the right one.”

Since becoming fully operational, numerous customer drug products in early development have been manufactured in Chicago for U.S. and international customers including Israel, South Korea, the Netherlands, and Austria. In the same period, the number of Chicago staff has been increased by approximately 30 percent.