Sébastien Poncet is charged with enhancing the portfolio of proprietary processes and seizing opportunities in new therapies
Louvain-la-Neuve, January 27, 2022 – The Health Chemistry division of the Minafin Group today welcomes Sébastien Poncet as managing director of the Minakem Generics and New Therapies business unit. He is also an executive member of the division.
Sébastien is a graduate of the Montpellier School of Chemistry Engineering (ENSCM) and holds a master’s degree in business: B2B strategy and marketing from EM Lyon and participated in several international management programs from IMD Lausanne and from INSEAD. Over the past 20 years, he has held numerous sales positions at Solvay, Clariant (now Curia), Johnson Matthey, and Minafin. Sébastien is returning to the Minafin Group following an eight-year tenure at Fareva, where for the last two years he was a member of the executive committee.
Frédéric Gauchet, chairman of the Minafin Group, said: “Sébastien’s appointment reflects our desire to enhance our portfolio of proprietary processes for manufacturing generic active ingredients in support of the efforts authorities are taking to secure a European drug supply. Minafin has the advanced know-how in fine chemistry required to enable the development of innovative therapies. But in order to remain at the cutting-edge of ‘new technologies,’ we may consider potential acquisitions in high value-added chemistry or biotechnology.”
Sébastien will focus on developing the business of active pharmaceutical ingredients that are within the public domain and seizing commercial opportunities generated by emerging therapies such as Messenger RNAs.
“I am very pleased to start working again with the world-class teams at Minakem. They are globally recognized for their capacity to design innovative chemical routes, to scale them up successfully and their proven track record agility in the field of active ingredients. And I look forward to collaborating with them on the generic API product portfolio that I see has significant growth potential,” said Sébastien “As for new therapies, the sanitary crisis we are going through has demonstrated their importance in the therapeutic arsenal against COVID-19, for example, messenger RNA vaccines. These new technologies developed with high value-added chemistry are where Minakem’s Research & Development know-how can really make a difference in the years to come.”
About the Minafin Group Health Chemistry Division
The Health Chemistry division develops and manufactures active ingredients for the pharmaceutical industry through its two business units: Minakem CDMO and Minakem Generics & New Therapies. Minakem is the leader in Europe. It offers a wide range of cutting-edge technologies and pharmaceutical services to ensure that its customers have a seamless supply of high-quality products. The company provides its expertise for the development of exclusive manufacturing processes and to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients following cGMP conditions. Patients’ needs being at the heart of its activities, the Healthcare Chemistry division ensures that the drugs it manufactures meet the strictest health and environmental safety standards. Minakem CDMO focuses on proprietary custom synthesis while Minakem Generics & New Therapies develops proprietary manufacturing processes for generic active ingredients and innovative therapies.
The three production sites of the Healthcare Chemistry division, approved by the FDA, are located in Louvain-la-Neuve (BE), Dunkirk (FR) and Beuvry-la-Forêt (FR). Created in 2004, Minafin’s Health Chemistry division employs 550 people.
About the Minafin Group
The Minafin Group is a leading process developer and manufacturer of fine chemicals with three main areas of expertise: health chemistry, green chemistry, and challenging chemistry. Minafin operates six industrial manufacturing sites across Europe and North America. They provide customers in pharmaceuticals, life-science ingredients and added-value chemicals for high-tech application, with a range of proprietary processes, custom manufacturing, R&D, analytical and regulatory services, as well as formulations. Minafin invests significantly in R&D to create value for customers by specializing in innovations and eco-friendly solutions that bring a competitive edge and sustainability. Its strong industrial capabilities are consolidated through nine business units: Minakem CDMO, Minakem Generics, Blendamix, Pennakem, Minasolve, Minagro, EcoXtract, Minascent and Pressure Chemicals, which generated over €243M (approx. $280M) in revenue in 2020. Founded in 2004 as a privately held industrial company, Minafin is headquartered in Belgium and employs 900+ staff.
Press Contact
Sylvie Boone – Press Relations Minafin Group
Sylvie.boone@minafin.com
+32/497.540.945