Dr. Schneider-Mergener is a co-founder of Pharvaris. In 1994, he founded Jerini AG as a service company for the pharmaceutical industry. In 2000, he took over as CEO of Jerini AG and transformed the company into a pharmaceutical company specializing in the development of medicines for rare diseases. In 2005, he listed the company on the Frankfurt stock market. Following the launch of the drug FIRAZYR™ in 2008, he sold Jerini to Shire Pharmaceuticals. He then founded the Kusala Foundation and worked as a coach in Berlin supporting both individuals and start-up companies. Jens is currently the CEO of Andrenomed AG, a private biotechnology company in Germany, and a board member of the ’Charité Foundation’, Berlin.
Jens studied chemistry and biochemistry at the Universities of Bielefeld and Munich and holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from LMU Munich in the field of tumor virus research. From 1986-1989 he worked at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, where he discovered the HIV-1 protease, which allowed the development of specific HIV drugs. In early 1990 he moved to the Medial Faculty Charité Berlin, where he habilitated and in 1999 accepted a professorship for biochemistry.