Senta Maria Walton
Head Of R&D
Birmensdorf
Summary
Strong project and team management capabilities, leading internal and external projects spanning manufacturing, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, preclinical efficacy, and veterinary clinical studies. Extensive leadership experience in discovery and early drug development across allergy, osteoarthritis, pain, fibrosis, atopic dermatitis, and infectious diseases. Deep expertise in preclinical development, including target identification, PK/PD, efficacy and safety testing, and regulatory submissions. Proven strategic planning skills to deliver R&D programs on time and within budget. Experience in business development, providing strategic recommendations to senior management and Boards. Expert in developing bioanalytical methods for biologics with hands-on laboratory experience. Solid foundation in immunology and early-stage drug development. Fluent in English and German.
Inspirational Project Leader with talents in planning and implementing all stages of projects and selecting the most effective approaches and processes for timely project completion. Outstanding personal organization and risk management abilities. Big picture thinker with expertise in pharmaceutical industry.
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
2
2
Languages
Work History
Head of R&D / Group and Project Leader
Saiba Animal Health AG, Boehringer-Ingelheim, University of Zurich
06.2019 - Current
- Lead the research team and external collaborators for the drug development of a VLP-based veterinary vaccines resulting in the acquisition of Saiba AH by Boehringer-Ingelheim
- Established strategic R&D roadmap for preclinical and clinical development of the VLP platform technology.
- Identified novel drug targets across allergy, osteoarthritis, pain, fibrosis, atopic dermatitis, and infectious diseases.
- Built and managed internal R&D team; led collaborations with academic institutions, industry partners, and CROs.
- Supported business development by pursuing partnerships and licensing deals, resulting in 7 successful agreements.
- Provided strategic input on corporate strategy, financial planning, and equity funding.
- Managed network partners to transition lead candidates from research to GMP development, supporting technology transfer and analytical assay documentation.
- Assisted regulatory interactions and prepared technical documentation, including study designs and label claims, for veterinary medicines (FDA CVM, EMA CVMP, and Swissmedic IVI) and a human SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (Swissmedic scientific advice sessions).
- Played a key role in building the intellectual property portfolio through patent research, prior art analysis, example drafting, and experimental data provision.
Head of Immunology
Ondek Pty. Ltd.
03.2016 - 02.2019
- Responsible for managing a small research team and external collaborators for the drug development of an H. pylori-based immunotherapy to deliver project milestones on budget and on time
- Management of research team, contract research organisations (CRO) and academic collaborators to develop an immunotherapeutic product through the preclinical drug development path to the design of regulatory toxicology and clinical proof of concept studies
- Defined, implemented, executed and managed pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetic and preclinical toxicology studies including preclinical efficacy studies in the field of asthma, atopic dermatitis, inflammatory bowel disease and type 1 diabetes in alignment with company strategy
- Performed data analysis and integrated research outcomes to provide scientific and operational guidance for strategic planning of research and development programmes
- Defined, implemented, executed and managed internal research activities to meet company milestones on time and on budget
- Managed development, validation and implementation of analytical strategy and methods for product characterisation, quality control and stability studies; working knowledge of cGMP
- Prepared project proposals, scientific reports and presentations for the CEO, the Board and external parties
- Preparation of scientific data for partnering activities and patent applications
- Implemented a quality management (QM) system for scientific data and data integrity
- Collaborated with industry partners on formulation development (Lonza - Bend, Leukocare) and manufacturing process development (CSIRO) and management of production of research cell banks suitable for GMP manufacture of drug substance
- In collaborating with consultants and contract research organisations (CRO) actively contributed to development of CMC strategy of drug substance / drug product
Postdoctoral Research Associate/ NHMRC Early Career Fellow
Group of Nobel Laureate Prof Barry Marshall, School of Biomedical Sciences, UWA
10.2010 - 03.2016
- Responsible for investigating immune modulatory mechanisms of H. pylori and consultancy work for Ondek Pty Ltd
- In association with Ondek Pty Ltd. responsible for:
- Product candidate selection
- Development of cell based, molecular biology and biochemical analytical methods
- Development of in house small scale fermentation process
- In vivo preclinical efficacy studies in allergy and type 1 diabetes models
- In vivo and in vitro pharmacodynamic studies
- Co-inventor on Ondek’s core patent
- Independently planned, conducted and analysed research focussed on H. pylori-mediated immune regulation to support understanding of MoA
- Successfully attracted research funding to the value of 675’000 AUD as chief investigator
PhD Student
ETH Zürich
04.2005 - 08.2010
- Company Overview: http://www.micro.biol.ethz.ch
- Responsible for independently conducting research in the field of cellular immune responses in chronic infections
- Independently designed, planned and conducted experiments that resulted in 13 research publications in high-ranking journals in the field of cellular immunology in chronic infection
- Communicate research findings at national and international meetings and actively involved in scientific discussions
- Gained deep knowledge in immunological, biochemical and molecular techniques
- Mentored and supervised three Master students to successfully complete their research studies
- Collaborated with national and international academic groups to maximise research efforts and achieve research aims
Scientific Research Assistant
UniversitätsSpital Zürich
05.2004 - 03.2005
- Responsible for identifying and characterising tumour-antigen for cancer immunotherapy
- Designed, planned and executed experiments in cellular cancer immunotherapy that were published 2 highly ranked journals
- Presented research findings at national meetings as oral and poster presentations
Education
Grundlagen des Führens (The fundamentals of leadership)
01.2022
Spielend Verhandeln lernen nach dem Harvard-Konzept
01.2022
Education for Persons Responsible for Directing Animal Experiments (LTK2)
01.2020
Project Management Principles
01.2014
Doctor of Sciences - Focus on Immunology
01.2010
- Supervisor: Prof Annette Oxenius
- Thesis Title: “CD4 T cell response during MCMV infection”
Diplom Naturwissenschaften - Biology Department
01.2004
Skills
Collaborative project development and effective stakeholder engagement
Publications
- Patents 2014 PCT/AU2014/050087 (2014) Marshall, B., Benghezal, M., Fulurija, A, Walton, SM ‘Immunotherapy composition and uses thereof’
- Publications and grants: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/senta.walton.1/bibliography/public/
Career highlights
- Pioneered a novel VLP platform, securing 7 licensing deals and advancing 12 early drug projects to proof-of-concept, contributing to Saiba Animal Health’s acquisition by Boehringer-Ingelheim.
- Expanded the research portfolio from 2 to 12 projects within six years by leading and transforming the company’s research team.
- Successfully secured AUD 675,000 in research funding as chief investigator during postdoctoral research.
Timeline
Head of R&D / Group and Project Leader - Saiba Animal Health AG, Boehringer-Ingelheim, University of Zurich
06.2019 - Current
Head of Immunology - Ondek Pty. Ltd.
03.2016 - 02.2019
Postdoctoral Research Associate/ NHMRC Early Career Fellow - Group of Nobel Laureate Prof Barry Marshall, School of Biomedical Sciences, UWA
10.2010 - 03.2016
PhD Student - ETH Zürich
04.2005 - 08.2010
Scientific Research Assistant - UniversitätsSpital Zürich
05.2004 - 03.2005
Business Tools AG - , Spielend Verhandeln lernen nach dem Harvard-Konzept
University of Zurich - , Education for Persons Responsible for Directing Animal Experiments (LTK2)
Open Universities Australia - , Project Management Principles
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) - Doctor of Sciences, Focus on Immunology
ETH Zürich - Diplom Naturwissenschaften, Biology Department
Business Tools AG - , Grundlagen des Führens (The fundamentals of leadership)
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