As a podcast listener, you can redeem exclusive discounts with a growing list of biotech vendors and get $500 off your first equipment lease by using promo code “TBSP” on https://www.excedr.com/rewards.

Part 3 of 4. 

My guest for this week’s episode is Derek Hennecke, a veteran biotech entrepreneur and board member with over 30 years of experience in the CDMO industry, whose mission is to support the biotech revolution and create value for patients, customers, and investors.

In addition to his Board work, Derek previously held leadership positions at DSM and was the Founder and CEO of Xcelience, which he eventually sold to Capsugel Lonza in 2016. Xcelience was a Florida-based CDMO specializing in preformulation, micronization, analytical services, formulation development, cGMP manufacturing, and more. His extensive pharma and cell therapy expertise makes for an insightful conversation that founders can learn from.

Please enjoy my conversation with Derek Hennecke.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/ 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@excedr 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/excedr_inc 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExcedrInc 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/excedr 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@excedr 

Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/

MDS Pharma Services: https://www.mdsps.com/

Xcelience: https://www.linkedin.com/company/xcelience-llc/

GMP Operations Roles: https://www.linkedin.com/advice/0/how-do-you-identify-common-gmp-roles-responsibilities-skills-gmp

GMP Practices: https://safetyculture.com/topics/gmp/

GMP vs. GLP: https://www.excedr.com/resources/gmp-vs-glp-whats-the-difference

Matrix Organizations: https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/matrix-organization-structure-reason-evolution-1837

Sales-Leasebacks (SLB): https://www.excedr.com/blog/what-is-a-sale-leaseback

Equipment Leasing: https://www.excedr.com/leasing

00:00 Intro

01:50 Starting a role in Operations

04:01 Derek’s move to Egypt; Improving safety, performance, and cost structure

08:03 Scaling the Egypt site and expanding into other markets; Improving product quality and employee safety

10:01 Moving back to Montreal, Canada; Dealing with a site failure, deciding to leave the company

13:50 Lessons learned from leaving, the importance of saying “no,” and communicating clearly

20:16 Becoming VP of GMP Operations of MDS Pharma; Overseeing multiple locations

25:08 Navigating the hurdles of a closing business; Buying one of the units in Tampa, Florida

27:45 Derek’s jump into entrepreneurship: Founding Xcelience

30:00 Early days of running the company, looking into a sales-leaseback, and securing capital

38:21 Outro

The Biotech Startups Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so