We unite the best talents to revolutionize healthcare.
#RethinkHealth
While breakthroughs are being made in areas such as artificial intelligence and space travel, the healthcare sector is largely stagnating despite some individual successes. On average, it takes 13 years to develop a new medicine – twice as long as it took 30 years ago. It is high time for a fundamental change!
That is why I, Clemens Fischer, founded FUTRUE together with Madlena Hohlefelder – a group of companies that now includes over 20 companies and more than 90 pharmaceutical approvals. Among them are some of the fastest growing companies in the healthcare industry. We develop transformative medicines and technologies, taking a unique approach in the pharmaceutical industry: lean, highly specialized and independent teams of fewer than 180 employees per company develop new therapies in record time and bring them to market.
We rely on a new generation of dynamic talents who have the courage to challenge conventional thinking and break new ground. Previous pharmaceutical experience is not required.
A current example of FUTRUE's innovative strength is VERTANICAL – a leading biopharmaceutical company that, with a team of fewer than 150 employees, has achieved a breakthrough in pain medicine in just seven years with the development of the drug VER-01. For the first time, VER-01 offers a real alternative to opioids, which have a range of severe side effects, for the millions of people worldwide suffering from severe pain. Approval could come as early as July this year.
Leading global biopharmaceutical company developing innovative drugs for the treatment of chronic pain. With the development of the groundbreaking drug VER-01, VERTANICAL has reached a first milestone on the way to realizing its vision of a world without chronic pain. VERTANICAL is pursuing the goal of replacing opioids by 2030 with the pioneering new development VER-01 and establishing VER-01 as the leading therapy for chronic pain.
Pioneering company in the development and marketing of innovative probiotics, which has developed the market-leading medical product Kijimea Irritable Bowel Syndrome, among others. With the vision of establishing probiotics as the basis for a healthier and longer life, SYNformulas is pursuing the goal of developing Kijimea into the world's leading probiotics brand by 2028.
Listed OTC company with a broad portfolio of non-prescription medicines and dietary supplements with well-known brands such as Spalt, Formigran, Baldriparan and Restaxil. With the vision of creating a life free from daily ailments, PharmaSGP aims to alleviate the daily ailments of 100 million people and significantly improve their quality of life by 2030.
Pioneering biotech company developing a unique microbiome called “Mikro7” using laboratory technology to fundamentally treat serious diseases. With the vision of revolutionizing the treatment of serious diseases through the targeted transfer of artificial microbiomes, the company plans to use Mikro7 for the first time in clinical trials as early as 2025.
Research and development service provider that already conducts clinical trials significantly faster and at a fraction of the cost of big pharma or biotech. With the ambitious vision of halving the waiting time for innovative therapies, the company plans to conduct studies with a 50% shorter study time and at 30% of the cost of market-leading research service providers by 2027 at the latest.
International pharmaceutical media agency with strong expertise in print and TV as well as digital communication, including e-detailing and DTC online campaigns. With an annual gross media volume of more than 400 million euros and the vision of fundamentally changing communication to specialist groups and patients, EMCM plans to reach ten times more contacts by 2028 at only 20 % of today's costs.
We are looking for people who are determined to make a difference, who are not deterred by setbacks and who set high standards for themselves and others. Previous pharmaceutical experience is not necessary for us.
„What inspires me about FUTRUE is the passion and dynamism of the extraordinary talents who work tirelessly every day to give millions of patients a better life.“
Since the founding of FUTRUE, Clemens has consistently pursued the development of transformative medicines and technologies through agile, highly specialized companies. With the development of the cannabinoid-based pain medication VER-01, Clemens recently reached an important milestone on the way to his vision of a world without chronic pain. Back in 2011, he launched the first probiotic medical product for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome, today's market leader Kijimea Irritable Bowel Syndrome. At the same time as establishing Kijimea, as founder of PharmaSGP he turned the company into one of the leading European providers of OTC products. Through FUTRUE Research & Science, a specialized research service provider, Clemens is pursuing the ambitious goal of halving the development time of new therapies.
Clemens holds a master's degree in business administration and economics from Harvard University and a license to practice medicine and a doctorate in medicine from the Technical University of Munich.
„Those who have the courage to break new ground and follow their vision can achieve outstanding results. At FUTRUE, we have created an environment that enables talented people to turn their vision into reality.“
Madlena is CSO of the FUTRUE Group. As CFO, Madlena is also responsible for the Group's finances and manages the IT and Legal departments. Ever since her school days, her dream has been to pursue a career as an entrepreneur and found her own company. Together with Clemens, she has established and developed the FUTRUE Group with more than 20 innovative healthcare companies over the last 15 years. Before founding FUTRUE, Madlena worked as a consultant for the Boston Consulting Group in the consumer goods and energy sectors.
Madlena is a lawyer and studied law at the LMU Munich. She also completed her bachelor's degree in economics at the University of St. Gallen (HSG).
„What particularly inspires me about FUTRUE is the absolute determination of the whole management team to create something great. Where others run small pilots, we go all-in – and we do this day in, day out.“
As CEO, David is responsible for the company SYNformulas with the Kijimea brand, which plays a leading role in the probiotics market in more than 10 countries worldwide. Prior to SYNformulas, he advised clients in various industries with a focus on marketing and sales as an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company. Earlier, he gained practical experience in different industrial and automotive companies.
David holds a master's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.
„At FUTRUE, I am inspired by the clear vision of being able to give seriously ill patients a bit more quality of life and at the same time being able to grow both personally and entrepreneurially.“
Bastian is CEO of FUTRUE Research & Science and VERTANICAL. He is responsible for the areas of clinical, non-clinical and pharmaceutical development. This also includes regulatory affairs and quality assurance among others. His focus is on strategy development and the implementation of clinical trials and regulatory processes. Bastian started his career at the FUTRUE Group in 2014 as a research assistant and developed himself internally in various management roles. He has been CEO since 2018.
Bastian holds a master's degree in ecotrophology from the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel.
„What makes working for us special? The dynamic when we make decisions together as a team, implement them and if necessary correct them is unique at Futrue. We ask for entrepreneurial skills – we don't have tunnel vision, politics or committees.“
As Chief Commercial Officer, Sebastian is responsible for sales and marketing at VERTANICAL. In addition to selling prescription medicinal products, a major focus is on preparing the market launch for VERTANICAL's authorised medicinal products in Germany and around the world. Before moving to VERTANICAL, Sebastian as an Associate Partner with McKinsey & Company for six years specialising in marketing and sales. Before that, he worked in banking and private equity in Frankfurt and Cologne for several years.
Sebastian studied business administration and finance in Frankfurt, Melbourne and Cape Town.
„In the FUTRUE group, employees are permanently encouraged to help shape the company with entrepreneurial thinking. The potential that this creates is not only reflected in the economic success of our companies, but also in the attractiveness of FUTRUE as an employer.“
As a member of the Executive Board and CFO of the listed PharmaSGP Group, Michael is responsible for Finance, IT, Legal, Operations and HR. Immediately before joining FUTRUE in 2017, he spent several years with two leading German retail companies, where he was responsible for M&A, investment management and corporate development. He began his professional career at McKinsey & Company, where he spent more than ten years advising clients from various industries on corporate finance projects.
Michael holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of Mannheim.
"FUTRUE has the size and effectiveness of a large corporation, the agility of a start-up, and is built on the classic virtues of the German "Mittelstand": entrepreneurial courage, a passion for innovation, as well as diligence and hard work. This combination is unique and excites me every day."
As a member of the management board of the publicly traded PharmaSGP Group, Peter is responsible for the operational business and the development of the product pipeline with a focus on marketing, research and development, quality assurance and purchasing. Peter started his career in the marketing unit of Procter & Gamble and subsequently joined McKinsey's Munich office. At McKinsey he advised renowned clients for 8 years, focusing, on the consumer goods industry among other topics. Before joining PharmaSGP, Peter led a mid-sized service company in Munich with over 100 employees. In this role, Peter was responsible for finance and marketing, and also oversaw several business units.
Peter studied management and holds a Bachelor's degree (B.A.) from the University of St. Gallen, a Master's degree (M.Sc.) from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
„FUTRUE offers an exciting mix of a compelling vision, entrepreneurial freedom, and high implementation speed. We provide our talents with the ideal conditions to develop and to have a lasting impact on the healthcare industry.“
Benno has been with FUTRUE since the beginning of 2023. As Commercial Director, he is responsible for the central planning, steering and further development of PharmaSGP's product and brand portfolio. His responsibilities include, among others, central budget planning and performance measurement, the development and execution of pricing and distribution strategies, as well as the strategic development of the portfolio, including new product launches, market entries, and strategic projects.
Benno started his career at McKinsey & Company and worked there for 6 years, most recently as Engagement Manager. Prior to McKinsey, he gained practical experience in various companies in automotive and digitalization. He studied business administration and management in Munich, Zurich, Lyon and Birmingham, and holds a PhD in management from the University of Passau.
„At FUTRUE, I like the freedom that young, talented people get early on in their careers. Anyone who is enthusiastic about the areas we work in and who can translate passion into performance can take on responsibility for major tasks from an early stage with us.“
Max has been with FUTRUE since 2020 and has held various positions in business development, clinical research and QA&RA. Max has been Director of R&D and QA&RA since 2022.He mostly works on strategy development and the implementation of clinical research projects, product development and certification processes. Before Max came to FUTRUE, he worked with major industrial companies on large-scale transformation and turnaround programmes as a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group.
Max has a degree in Mathematics (from the University of Tübingen) and a PhD in Engineering from the Technical University of Munich.
„At FUTRUE, employees are given a lot of freedom and personal responsibility, because a great deal of trust is placed in people’s abilities, energy and motivation. Due to the rapid speed of our projects, we’re used to making decisions quickly, directly and pragmatically – and we do this every day.“
Jan is CEO of FUTRUE Services. He focuses on the areas of procurement, media planning and customer service. Before joining the FUTRUE Group, he was Executive Director in strategic category management in the eCommerce sector for three years. Prior to that, he worked for nine years as Principal Consultant at the management consultancy INVERTO (part of Boston Consulting Group) with a special focus on procurement, supply management and supply chain management. He kicked off his career as Manager Procurement Processes at Philips Medical Systems.
Jan holds a degree in industrial engineering from the Nordakademie University of Applied Sciences Hamburg and Northeasthern University Boston.
„For me, FUTRUE is about setting trends rather than following them!“
Matthias is the CEO of EMCM. He is responsible for precisely controlling the FUTRUE group's marketing activities across all media channels. He focuses on performance-oriented management of campaigns using a broad basis of media and market data. Before joining EMCM, Matthias was a consultant with a consultancy specialising in the life sciences sector.
In addition to his diploma in physics, he holds a doctorate in physical chemistry from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich and Northwestern University Chicago.
„FUTRUE is a true innovation leader in the pharmaceutical industry. We recognize new markets at an early stage and bring innovations to patients faster than the competition.“
As Managing Director and Chief Digital Marketing Officer of SYNformulas GmbH, Kai Philipp is responsible for our online marketing and e-commerce activities. Prior to his role at SYNformulas, he founded and sold two companies. His professional career began at Bain & Company, where he advised telecommunications companies in Germany, Denmark, South Africa, and Australia.
Kai Philipp holds a PhD in Finance and studied Business Administration at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management.
„FUTRUE means to me: Constantly developing new and innovative ideas together with an amazing team, where everyone, from Junior to Managing Director, contributes to a completely open discussion and then puts decisions into actions. Where others only talk, we act – and thereby maintain and expand our leadership in our markets.“
As Director Marketing at SYNformulas, David is responsible for the international development of the Kijimea brand, the global management of the marketing mix in the customer approach and the marketing support of the salesforce. His previous positions included working as Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company where he served clients from the Financial Service Industry on topics ranging from Marketing & Sales to (digital) strategy. Before joining McKinsey, David worked as concert pianist, and performed in renowned concert halls all across Europe.
David holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from HEC Paris and a Master of Music from the Royal College of Music London.
„Why did I decide to join the VERTANICAL team? Because from day 1 everyone here can create substantial impact for patients. I am excited by the team's passion, speed and autonomy in working together towards our common goal – "Easing pain. Improving lives.“
As Director of Clinical Strategy at VERTANICAL Janin is responsible for the pre-clinical and clinical development of the new medicine VER-01, including Data Management/Statistics and Medical/Safety. Before joining VERTANICAL, Janin was a project manager at McKinsey & Company, where she worked for 5 years supporting pharmaceutical companies in Europe and Japan on strategy and operations topics.
Janin has a master‘s degree in Biology from Heidelberg University and a PhD in Medical Sciences from Kyoto University in Japan, where she conducted research at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA).
„Vision, design, execution, to clearly improve lives for millions of people. This is what drives us forward every day.“
As Director Operations, Tobias is responsible for the Production Site in Denmark. In addition, Tobias also leads the Engineering Team to advance pharmaceutical manufacturing. Before joining VERTANICAL, Tobias worked as a Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group for seven years specialising in efficiency enhancement.
Tobias holds two Master‘s degrees in Business Administration and Economics and studied in Mannheim, Edinburgh and Bergen (Norway).
„What excites me about VERTANICAL? As a team, with a startup mentality, flat hierarchies, pragmatism, and team spirit, we are making great progress towards our goal: The first innovation in pain therapy in over 30 years!“
As Director of Clinical Operations at VERTANICAL, Alexander is responsible for the operational execution of clinical trials for the new medicine VER-01, including Project Management, Site Management & Monitoring, and Study Supply. Prior to joining VERTANICAL, Alexander was most recently Director of Corporate Development & Strategy at ams OSRAM. Previously, he worked for several years as Senior Engagement Manager at management consulting firms McKinsey & Company and Booz & Company, focusing on strategy and operations for semiconductor, automotive, and agricultural technology companies.
Alexander holds a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University in New York City and studied Chemistry in Heidelberg and Madrid.
„For me, FUTRUE means discovering innovations faster than any other pharmaceutical company and bringing them to market without politics and bureaucracy - for the benefit of all patients.“
Fabian is responsible for the M&A activities and business development of the FUTRUE Group. His focus is the development of global M&A strategies, the operational execution of M&A processes and the identification of relevant business and product concepts. Previously, he served as a project manager at McKinsey & Company, advising clients in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors on topics related to M&A, strategy, and logistics. Before that, he was in charge of the strategic and operational expansion of a startup.
Fabian studied Business Administration (B.Sc.) and International Management (M.Sc.) in Cologne and Barcelona and earned his Ph.D. at TU Munich in the field of Human-Machine Interaction.
„If you want something, you find ways, if you don't want something, you find reasons: In that sense, we at FUTRUE pursue promising new ideas with courage, motivation and, above all, team spirit.“
As Director Legal of the FUTRUE Group, Mareike is responsible for providing legal and strategic advice to the management, the internal business units and all subsidiaries. Prior to joining FUTRUE, she worked as a lawyer at Hogan Lovells, advising international clients, particularly in the life sciences industry, with a focus on product safety and product liability as well as the development of multinational litigation and defense strategies.
Mareike studied law at the LMU Munich. She also completed her Bachelor's degree in Molecular Biotechnology at the Technical University of Munich.
„FUTRUE offers a dynamic environment where you can maximize your potential, embrace responsibility early, and execute impactful projects efficiently!“
Gabriel is a Venture Manager and is responsible for a wide range of projects with a particular focus on the internationalization of SYNformulas. Before joining SYNformulas, he was a Senior Consultant at Roland Berger, where he mainly advised healthcare companies on performance improvement and due diligence projects.
Gabriel holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Hamburg and a Master's degree in Finance from the Nova School of Business and Economics in Lisbon.
Corporate values are at the heart of every successful organization. Our values not only serve as a guide for our behavior and decisions, but also shape our corporate culture and identity.
We believe in the power of small A-teams
We are convinced that a small organisation of top-performers can achieve anything.
We strive for excellence
We embrace persistence
We stay away from anything illegal, dishonest, or immoral.
Are you interested and want to revolutionize the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry together with us? Then find out more about the FUTRUE culture now or apply directly for one of our vacancies. Previous experience in the pharmaceutical or healthcare industry is not required. What is more important to us is your drive, your willingness to learn and your communication and analytical skills.
