CEO & Advisory Team

Our team consists of executives with backgrounds either in the pharmaceutical industry or in investment banking, linking their respective expertise to connect drug development with corporate and financial strategy. Entrepreneurial in mindset and pragmatic in execution, they drive progress across all strategic domains. Depending on the scope, we engage specialized experts as needed to advance key milestones and translate scientific potential into tangible value.

Dr. Helmut Brunar

CEO; Founding Partner

Drug Development Professional
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Robbert van der Most, PhD

Science Board Member

Translational Scientist; Immunologist
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Dr. Christian Miculka

Head of Science Board

Independent Innovator; Global Health Advocate

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Bryan Saldanha

Capital Advisor

Managing Partner at Echo Partners 
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Todd Schaefer, PhD

Search & Evaluation. Scientific Competitive Intelligence

Science Board Member

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Jake Romero

Capital Advisor

Managing Partner at Echo Partners 
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Back Office Team

Alexander Helmstedt

Operations Admin

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Helmut Brunar

Seasoned pharma/biotech professional with extensive background in drug development and technical operations. Pioneered biosimilars, vaccines, gene therapies, and orphan drugs. Skilled in selling and acquiring highly complex technologies and products, including those relevant for the CDMO industry. Adept at attracting customers, in- and out-licensing, due diligence, fundraising, and investing. Advisor to a Venture Capital Fund, a Family Office and a Boutique Investment Bank. Managed large capital investment programs from planning to new site commissioning. PhD in Organic Chemistry.

Robbert van der Most

Led the translational team at BioNTech and advanced all infectious disease programs into clinical development. Recognized immunology expert with over 100 peer-reviewed publications in leading scientific journals. Advised GSK teams on biomarker strategy and clinical endpoint development across Shingrix, malaria, tuberculosis, influenza, COPD, Staphylococcus aureus, and HPV programs.

Christian Miculka

Project Integrator of BioNTech’s project Lightspeed, the world’s fastest development ever of a preventive vaccine, saving millions of lives, preventing millions of hospitalizations. Major contributor to five products reaching market across diverse therapeutic areas. Expertise in biopharmaceutical R&D strategy, interdisciplinary team leadership, and program/portfolio management & execution. Background combines scientific and commercial insights with program execution from preclinical to launch. PhD in Organic Chemistry. Advises on how to convert a good plan into even better project execution. Committed to initiatives bringing new treatments to patients and preventive vaccines to people in need – as quickly as possible.

Bryan Saldanha

Former Vice President in Investment Banking with a specialized focus on Healthcare, Medical Technology, and Diagnostics. Extensive expertise in originating and executing strategic and financial transactions across both private and public markets. Successfully conducted over 20 due diligence processes, including transactions with values ranging from $50 million to $4 billion. Earned his Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Management, with a concentration in Finance, from Boston College in 2019. Bryan became one of the youngest professionals to achieve the prestigious Vice President designation in the industry. 

Todd Schaefer

Extensive experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, with over 10 years of building and leading global Competitive Intelligence functions. More than 18 years of expertise in due diligence and strategic client service. Strong scientific foundation across oncology, vaccines, infectious diseases, immunology, and rare diseases.

Jake Romero

Jake spearheads the healthcare and life sciences advisory practice of Echo Partners, a firm specializing in solving to navigate complex transactions and deliver exceptional client outcomes. Before Echo Partners, Jake founded Inflow – partnering with 50+ middle-market banks, including Madison Street Capital, Auctus Capital Partners and DelMorgan & Co., to design business-development programs and originate healthcare-focused transactions. His deep network across biotech, diagnostics and med-tech enables him to provide precise M&A and capital-raise solutions.