LTS announces retirement of Michael Hoffmann and the appointment of Dr. Claudia Schaefer as the company’s Chief Operating Officer

Andernach – After more than 45 years at LTS, of which 8 as Board Member, Michael Hoffmann will retire from LTS on 31 December 2023. The position of Chief Operating Officer will be taken over by Dr. Claudia Schaefer, currently SVP Production and member of the global leadership team, as of 01.01.2024.

After high school, Michael Hoffmann started an apprenticeship as a chemical technician at Lohmann GmbH&Co.KG in Neuwied. He became a group leader at LTS and, alongside his job, attended the master school for two years, which he successfully completed in 1987 as “Industrial Master of Chemistry”. He was promoted to head of department and was actively involved in the works council. From 2000 to 2009 he was an employee representative on the Supervisory Board. At the Rheinische Academy in Cologne, Michael Hoffmann completed his further training as a technical business economist, supporting his promotion to head of production in 2006. Three years later he became plant manager at LTS. Parallel to his professional career, he studied production optimization (lean operation management) at the Donau University in Krems in Austria and acquired a “Master of Science” in 2013. Michael Hoffmann was appointed to the Executive Board in 2016.

Bas van Buijtenen, Chair of the Executive Board of LTS AG commented: “We would like to thank Michael Hoffmann most sincerely for the essential and valuable contributions he has made at every stage of LTS’s history: without him, we would not be where we are today. We wish him all the very best for his future.”

Dr. Claudia Schaefer studied pharmacy at the University of Tübingen and completed her practical year at a public pharmacy and at Bayer in formulation development with the state examination in 1999. From 2000 to 2003, she worked as a research associate at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology at the University of Tuebingen and received her PhD in 2003. In the same year, she joined LTS as head of an R&D formulation laboratory focusing on the development of oral thin film formulations. In 2008 she moved to the production department and was appointed Head of Production in 2009. In 2022, she became a member of the global leadership team at LTS.

Bas van Buijtenen emphasizes: “I am very pleased that with Claudia Schaefer an experienced and committed colleague is taking over as Chief Operating Officer of LTS. She has a deep analytical and pharmaceutical understanding with a strategic perspective and is an ideal fit for this position, in which she will play an important role in the further implementation of our ambitious growth strategy.”

Dr. Martin Thunhorst will succeed Dr Schaefer as the Head of Production.

About LTS
We CARE. We CREATE. We DELIVER. The driving philosophy behind LTS. As a trusted technology partner for the pharmaceutical industry, we develop and manufacture innovative drug delivery systems such as Transdermal Patches (“TTS”) and Oral Thin Films (“OTF”) as well as wearable drug delivery devices (“OBDS”). LTS´ commercial offering encompasses more than 20 marketed products and a diverse pipeline of more than 40 development projects targeting multiple disease indications. LTS’s innovation pipeline contains both partner-funded as well as proprietary, LTS-funded projects. LTS maintains its leading position through the continuous refinement of its core TTS and OTF technologies and by advancing emerging drug delivery technologies, including Microneedle Array Patches (“MAP”) for the transdermal delivery of small and large molecules, biological actives and vaccines. With its SorrelTM wearable drug delivery platform LTS offers patient friendly solutions for complex drugs delivery at home. Founded in 1984, LTS operates today from four sites: in Andernach, Germany, West Caldwell, NJ, USA, St. Paul, MN, USA and Netanya, Israel. LTS has also a representative office in Shanghai, China.

Contact
Dr. Iris Schnitzler
iris.schnitzler@ltslohmann.com