Our People

Dr. Torsten founded Proteros based on the belief that structural biology services would become a key market requirement in the future of industrial Drug Discovery.

 

Torsten set up the company based on a McKinsey & Co awarded business plan and the experience of his PhD thesis in the lab of Nobel prize winner Prof. R. Huber at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Munich as well as at Bayer AG. He set up the company structure, including high performance teams, a supervisory board and involvement of Prof. Huber as a co-founder and scientific advisor. He continues to manage the financing of the growth of the company in all stages and developed the business in Europe, US and Japan and made Proteros a renowned market leader in its segment, awarded as one of Bavaria’s best innovative growth companies. 

Dr. Horst Hemmerle has over 30 years of leadership in drug discovery, spanning medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, and cutting-edge drug discovery technologies. He has guided many drug candidate programs across diverse therapeutic areas. 

Before joining Proteros, Horst served as Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Kojin Therapeutics, where he advanced novel approaches in the programmed cell death pathway area. His previous roles include Executive Director of Global Discovery Chemistry at the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Senior Director of Quantitative Biology and Lead Generation at Eli Lilly, and Head of Medicinal Chemistry at Aventis.

As CSO of Proteros, Horst leads the expansion of the company’s drug discovery capabilities, supporting its mission to help partners "reach right faster" through scientific excellence and innovation.

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Dr. Tobias Gabriel serves as Chief Growth Officer at Proteros Biostructures, bringing over 25 years of global leadership experience in drug discovery and biochemistry.

Before joining Proteros, he was Vice President and Head of Europe at WuXi AppTec, and previously held senior executive roles at Novartis and Roche across Switzerland, the US, and China. Tobias plays a key role in driving strategic growth initiatives, with a particular focus on AI-enabled lead discovery. His expertise spans drug design, chemistry, ADME, and biochemistry – empowering teams to accelerate discovery pipelines.

Tobias is passionate about fostering innovation and building collaborative environments to unlock the next chapter of success at Proteros.

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Lara leads Proteros´ Finance function and is responsible for shaping and overseeing the Financial Strategy, Accounting, Controlling and Tax functions at Proteros. Lara brings a broad range of experience within finance. Before joining Proteros in January 2024, she acted as Vice President at a global Investment Bank, advising mid-sized companies on Mergers & Acquisitions transactions in the Healthcare sector. Prior to that, she was part of KPMG’s M&A advisory team.

Lara holds a Master degree in Accounting and Finance from the University St. Gallen, Switzerland and a B.A. in Business and Economics from the University of Basel, Switzerland.

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Dr. Ashiq leads Proteros' global commercial strategy and business development, driving market expansion, launching new ventures, and cultivating strategic partnerships. His leadership has been instrumental in advancing Proteros' mission to deliver innovative solutions that accelerate drug discovery.

With a robust background in protein structure-based drug discovery and biologics, Ashiq has a proven track record of leading high-impact initiatives and fostering collaboration across the life sciences industry. His customer-focused leadership style, emphasizing innovation and operational excellence, aligns seamlessly with Proteros' commitment to providing unparalleled value to its clients.