Team
Our Team
Team Members
We believe in the importance of a cohesive and experienced team that genuinely enjoy working together and the thrill of breaking new ground that can change the way biologics are manufactured.
Dr. Ioscani Jiménez del Val is the inventor of the Glyvantis technology and leads the Animal Cell Technology Group (ACTG) at the School of Chemical & Bioprocess Engineering, University College Dublin. UCD’s ACTG is a multidisciplinary team that combines advanced experimentation with computational strategies to optimise the production of biopharmaceuticals, including monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and viral vectors for gene therapy.
Experimentally, ACTG develops and deploys synthetic biology and cell engineering tools to enhance the productivity and quality of biopharmaceuticals derived from cell culture processes. Computationally, ACTG works on developing multi-scale mathematical models that describe cell culture dynamics, therapeutic protein glycosylation, cellular metabolic fluxes and full-scale integrated continuous bioprocesses.
Ioscani graduated with a BE in Chemical Engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in 2006. He received his MSc in Advanced Chemical Engineering with Biotechnology in 2008 and was awarded his PhD in 2013, both from Imperial College London. Before joining the UCD as Assistant Professor in 2014, Ioscani worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Imperial College London, developing integrated computational/experimental frameworks to control antibody glycosylation.
John Browne is an accomplished Irish entrepreneur and the Founder & CEO of Kastus, a global leader in clean glass and antimicrobial surface technologies. With formal qualifications in finance, supply chain, and operations, John combines strategic vision with deep commercial and operational expertise to scale high-impact businesses on a global stage. He has a strong track record in business development, fundraising, and building high-performance teams that position companies at the forefront of their industries.
A finalist in the prestigious EY Entrepreneur of the Year program (2021) and a multi-award-winning CEO, John has consistently driven innovation and growth throughout his career.
Kastus is John’s third startup, founded in 2014 following a decade of collaborative research with the Dublin Institute of Technology. The company was created in response to the rising threat of antibiotic-resistant infections on indoor surfaces. In 2020, Kastus launched a patented antimicrobial and antiviral screen technology proven to kill up to 99% of harmful bacteria, fungi, and superbugs — including human coronavirus — helping to reduce surface-based transmission of diseases like COVID-19.
In 2024, Kastus entered the rapidly growing solar panel market with its anti-soiling glass technology, designed to improve energy efficiency and support the global transition to a more sustainable future.
Under John’s leadership, Kastus and his other startup companies have raised over €20 million from venture capital firms, government bodies, and private investors. These companies have secured significant EU backing and established global commercial partnerships to expand the application of their patented technologies across multiple sectors.
Gertjan Bartlema, thrives on building teams and creating collaborative impact. He is a pragmatic and authentic leader with broad operational biotech experience.
Gertjan was the CEO of VICO Therapeutics BV a privately held Netherlands based company focused on antisense oligonucleotide-based RNA modulating therapeutics for rare CNS diseases.
During his 20+ years global biotech career he was part of emerging organizations and new capability building, including healthcare big data/real-world data and marketing & sales excellence capabilities. During his 12 years at Celgene (US and Switzerland), he was part of the European management team, the corporate business development team that acquired Abraxis and the information knowledge utilization team that established an industry leading network of real-world data and technology partnerships including COTA, Inc., Flatiron Health, and GNS Healthcare and strategic partnerships with IBM Watson, Health2047, and M2Gen.
Other roles he held during his career include Strategy, Marketing & Sales Excellence, Business Planning and Financial Planning & Analysis. He started his biotech career at Amgen Europe based in Lucerne, Switzerland. Over a nine-year period at Amgen was based in Thousand Oaks, CA and Switzerland.
Gertjan holds a Masters in Economics from Maastricht University, the Netherlands and was an ERASMUS student at Bern University, Switzerland. He holds a dual Dutch and Swiss citizenship. He lives with his family in Switzerland.
Kevin Lynch, MB, BS. is inspired by the opportunity to develop transformative medicines for patients.
He has lived and worked in Australia, Asia, UK and Switzerland, operating in both small, start-up environments as well as large, multi-nationals.
Kevin was Chief Medical Expert during Antengene’s formative years and then through a period of extreme growth as Chief Medical Officer. He supervised their broad clinical program with Xpovio (Selinexor) in Asia-Pacific, as well as an extensive first-in-human early development program.
During over 11 years at Celgene Kevin was Vice President and head of Clinical Development for Europe, then Asia-Pacific, being closely involved in the successful clinical development and registration of Revlimid (lenalidomide), Pomalyst (pomalidomide), Vidaza (azacitidine), Onureg (oral azacitidine) and Idhifa (enasidinib).
During his 10 years with Novartis, as one of the inaugural Oncology Medical Directors for the company, he played a key role in the development and approvals of multiple transformative drugs including Glivec (imatinib), Tasigna (nilotinib), Zometa (zoledronic acid), Femara (letrozole) and Exjade (deferasirox).
Kevin graduated B Med Sci and MB, BS from the University of Tasmania in Australia. His post-graduate training in Pharmaceutical Medicine was completed in the UK, where he gained his Fellowship of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine.