FairJourney appoints Werner Lanthaler as new chief executive

15 October 2025

Portuguese antibody discovery specialist FairJourney Biologics has named Werner Lanthaler as chief executive, replacing founder António Parada after nearly 14 years in charge. Mr Parada will join the supervisory board to steer innovation strategy while the company focuses on scaling globally.

Mr Lanthaler is best known for his 15-year tenure at German drug discovery group Evotec (Nasdaq: EVO), where he expanded its global reach and advanced precision medicine partnerships. Earlier, he was chief financial officer at Intercell, guiding its IPO and vaccine launches. His appointment follows Partners Group’s 2024 acquisition of FairJourney, a deal reported at around 900 million euros ($978 million).

Backed by Swiss investment firm Partners Group (SWX: PGHN), FairJourney is seeking to expand its role as a contract research partner for pharmaceutical and biotech companies. The company has already worked with more than 250 clients and built thousands of screening libraries since its founding in Porto in 2012.

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