April 14, 2021 - MMJ Daily
To meet the increasing demand and ensure nationwide supply, domestic production is absolutely important
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Dr. Philipp Goebel joins Dr. Adrian Fischer, Dr. Constantin von der Groeben and Jörg Sellmann in the DEMECAN management team since 2022. In his role as Managing Director of DEMECAN, Dr. Philipp Goebel is responsible for marketing, sales and supply chain management.
The business graduate with a doctorate in supply chain management brings his many years of experience in marketing and sales in the pharmaceutical sector. He most recently led the Neurology & Immunology business unit at Merck, the world’s oldest pharmaceutical company, and in addition to neurology also brings experience in oncology – an important field of research in the cannabis sector and at DEMECAN. Previously, at Bertelsmann, he managed the German after sales business for all customers in the telecommunications industry. He brings this knowledge to DEMECAN for the establishment of state of the art supply chain management and digitalization.
Der Arzt und Naturwissenschaftler Dr. Adrian Fischer hat das Anbaukonzept von medizinsichem Cannabis entwickelt und den Ausbau der Produktionsstätte bei Dresden koordiniert. Er verantwortet den unternehmenseigenen Anbau von Cannabis, die Herstellung von Cannabisprodukten nach pharmazeutischen Standards und den Forschungsanbau auf dem 100.000 qm Gelände in Ebersbach bei Dresden. Zu seinen Aufgaben zählt auch das Qualitätsmanagement und die Kommunikation mit Ärzten, Apothekern und anderen fachlichen Stakeholdern.
Fischer absolvierte sein Medizinstudium in Köln und Boston. Im Rahmen seiner Dissertation führte er als Studienarzt pharmakologische Studien durch und promovierte mit seiner als beste naturwissenschaftliche Doktorarbeit des Jahres ausgezeichneten Dissertation 2015 zum Dr. rer. nat. Die Ergebnisse seiner Studien zur Wirkungsweise von Antidepressiva bei Menschen wurden mit dem Preis für die wichtigste Forschungsarbeit des Jahres der European Psychiatric Association (EPA) ausgezeichnet und wurden in den renommiertesten internationalen Fachjournalen veröffentlicht. Dr. Fischer erhielt zahlreiche weitere Auszeichnungen, unter anderem von der Deutschen Psychologischen Gesellschaft und über seine Forschung wurde unter anderem im Time Magazine berichtet.
Mit DEMECAN will er weiter Medizinal-Cannabis erforschen, denn obwohl Cannabis als Heil- und Nutzpflanze seit langer Zeit verwendet wird, steckt die Forschung weltweit, besonders aber in Deutschland, noch in den Kinderschuhen.
Dr. Philipp Goebel verstärkt seit 2022 die DEMECAN-Geschäftsführung. In seiner Rolle als Geschäftsführer von DEMECAN verantwortet Dr. Philipp Goebel das Marketing, den Vertrieb sowie das Supply Chain Management.
Der Diplom-Kaufmann mit Promotion in Supply Chain Management bringt seine langjährige Erfahrung in Vermarktung und Vertrieb im pharmazeutischen Sektor ein. Er leitete zuletzt bei Merck, dem ältesten pharmazeutischen Unternehmen der Welt, die Business Unit Neurologie & Immunologie und bringt neben der Neurologie auch Erfahrung in der Onkologie mit – einem wichtigen Forschungsfeld im Cannabisbereich und bei DEMECAN. Zuvor leitete er bei Bertelsmann das deutsche After Sales Geschäft für alle Kunden der Telekommunikationsindustrie. Dieses Wissen bringt er bei DEMECAN für die Etablierung von State of the Art Supply Chain Management und Digitalisierung ein.
Physician and natural scientist Dr. Adrian Fischer founded DEMECAN in 2017, together with his fellow students Dr. Constantin von der Groeben (lawyer) and Dr. Cornelius Maurer (economist). Their goal: to guarantee patients in Germany access to medical cannabis of the highest pharmaceutical quality „Made in Germany“. Today, DEMECAN operates as the only independent German producer of medical cannabis on behalf of the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) and runs Europe’s largest indoor production facility for medical cannabis in Saxony.
Dr. Adrian Fischer developed the cultivation concept of medicinal cannabis and coordinated the expansion of the production facility near Dresden. He is responsible for the company’s own cultivation of cannabis, the production of cannabis products according to pharmaceutical standards and the research cultivation on the 100,000 sqm site in Ebersbach near Dresden. His responsibilities also include quality management and communication with physicians, pharmacists and other professional stakeholders.
Fischer completed his medical studies in Cologne and Boston. As part of his dissertation, he conducted pharmacological studies as a study physician and received his doctorate in 2015 for his dissertation, which was awarded the best scientific doctoral thesis of the year. The results of his studies on the mode of action of antidepressants in humans were awarded the prize for the most important research paper of the year by the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) and have been published in the most prestigious international journals. Dr. Fischer has received numerous other awards, including from the German Psychological Society, and his research has been reported in Time Magazine.
During his research on complex neuromodulatory and transmitter systems involved in pain regulation, he also focused on the mechanism of action of cannabinoids. Dr. Fischer quickly recognized the potential of the active ingredients of the cannabis plant, but also the lack of offers in Germany and the educational work that still needs to be done to free doctors, health insurers and patients from prejudices.
In addition to his research work, he was employed at the hospital. There, the native of Freiburg had to adjust to new extreme situations again and again. This prepared him for the turbulent time as a founder and entrepreneur in a newly emerging market. With DEMECAN, he wants to continue researching medicinal cannabis, because although cannabis has been used as a medicinal and useful plant for a long time, research is still in its infancy worldwide, especially in Germany.
After studying law, Dr. Constantin von der Groeben worked as a lawyer in Berlin and New York, and then as an officer at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. When the „Cannabis as Medicine Act“ was passed in 2017, the native of Bonn saw the opportunity to help shape a unique development in Germany from the very beginning. Together with his study friends Dr. Cornelius Maurer (economist) and Dr. Adrian Fischer (physician) he decided to found DEMECAN. Today, DEMECAN operates as the only independent German producer of medical cannabis on behalf of the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM).
The fact that legalization, which first took place in medicine, is now imminent in the consumer segment with „the traffic light coalition“, confirms his decision to build the largest European cannabis production facility. As one of the managing directors, Dr. Constantin von der Groeben is responsible for the legal department as well as regulatory affairs, strategic projects, communications and human resources.
With DEMECAN, Von der Groeben is pursuing the goal of guaranteeing patients in Germany access to medical cannabis of the highest pharmaceutical quality „Made in Germany“. For the legal expert, it was clear from the beginning that despite the written law, it remains a challenge for patients to obtain this drug, which is still fraught with prejudice and hardly available in Germany. Since fall 2021, the first cannabis plants have been cultivated in specially designed and secured rooms for narcotics in Ebersbach near Dresden in Saxony, and the first deliveries to Germany’s pharmacies will take place in early 2022.
But the healthcare market has long since ceased to be the sole focus for DEMECAN. The company now wants to use its expertise in cannabis production at the pharmaceutical and thus the very highest level to produce for the consumer market. The company could then grow from the current 70 to up to 250 employees and, as a future-proof employer in a structurally weak region, make an important contribution to economic strength.
Jörg Sellmann is one of the managing directors of DEMECAN since 2021 and responsible for the finance division, including fundraising and M&A.
DEMECAN was founded in 2017 is the only independent producer of medical cannabis. The company works on behalf of the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM).
After an apprenticeship as a banker at Deutsche Bank, Jörg Sellmann completed a degree in business administration at the Westfälische Wilhelms University in Münster. Before joining DEMECAN’s management team, he worked in investment banking for several years before holding the position of Global Head of M&A at the chemical group Degussa AG in Düsseldorf. Subsequently, Sellmann was Senior Director at the European private equity fund EQT in Munich. After his work at EQT, he successfully founded start-ups in various sectors, has since been active as a business angel and is also a shareholder of DEMECAN.
Nach seinem Jurastudium arbeitete Dr. Constantin von der Groeben als Rechtsanwalt in Berlin und New York und anschließend als Referent im Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie. Als 2017 das „Cannabis als Medizin-Gesetz“ verabschiedet wurde, sah der gebürtige Bonner die Chance, von Beginn an, eine einzigartige Entwicklung in Deutschland mitzugestalten. Er entschied sich zusammen mit seinen Studienfreunden Dr. Cornelius Maurer (Ökonom) und Dr. Adrian Fischer (Arzt) für die Gründung von DEMECAN.
Dass die Legalisierung, die zunächst in der Medizin erfolgte, nun mit der Ampel-Koalition auch im Verbrauchersegment bevorsteht, bestätigt seine Entscheidung für den Aufbau der größten europäischen Cannabisproduktionsstätte. Als einer der Geschäftsführer ist Dr. Constantin von der Groeben verantwortlich für die Rechtsabteilung sowie die Bereiche Regulatory Affairs, Strategische Projekte, Kommunikation und Personal.
Jörg Sellmann ist seit 2021 einer der Geschäftsführer von DEMECAN. Der Finanzexperte verantwortet die Finanzierung des Ausbaus zum europäischen Cannabiszentrum in Sachsen.
Nach einer Ausbildung zum Bankkaufmann bei der Deutschen Bank absolvierte Jörg Sellmann ein Studium der Betriebswirtschaftslehre an der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität in Münster. Vor seinem Eintritt in die Geschäftsführung bei DEMECAN arbeitete er mehrere Jahre im Investment Banking, bevor er die Position des Global Head of M&A beim Chemiekonzern Degussa AG in Düsseldorf innehatte. Anschließend war Sellmann Senior Director beim europäischen Private Equity Fond EQT in München.
Nach seiner Tätigkeit bei EQT gründete er erfolgreich Start-ups in diversen Bereichen und ist seither als Business Angel aktiv.