Gregor Kawaletz, CEO, Mabion, in conversation with Unmesh Lal, Vice President, Frost & Sullivan
Download this Transformational Growth Leadership Discussion with Gregor Kawaletz
Beyond Capacity: Building a Differentiated Biologics Platform
The biopharmaceutical industry is entering a period in which capacity alone is no longer enough to differentiate a manufacturing partner. As sponsors increasingly seek specialized scientific expertise, advanced modalities, flexible business models, and greater supply-chain resilience, the role of Contract Development and Manufacturing Organizations (CDMOs) is evolving.
For Gregor Kawaletz, CEO of Mabion, the opportunity is to build a differentiated position around technology, scientific expertise, innovation, and tailored customer models. Mabion combines its CDMO business with co-development of biosimilar assets while expanding its capabilities across monoclonal antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). But Kawaletz sees the opportunity as extending beyond Mabion’s own growth.
The company is pursuing what he describes as the “democratization of biologics”: reducing the cost of goods and expanding the addressable market so that more patients can gain access to modern and novel therapies.
In this Transformational Growth Leadership conversation, Kawaletz discusses how Mabion is using differentiated technologies, strategic partnerships, tailored applications of AI, and regional supply capabilities to strengthen its position in the evolving biopharmaceutical landscape.
“We are looking for the democratization of biologics. That means reducing the cost of goods by at least 50% and, through that, expanding the addressable market. There are patients who are not well funded and healthcare insurance systems that may struggle to pay very high fees. If we can reduce the cost, we can help bring modern and novel products to more patients.”
— Gregor Kawaletz, CEO, Mabion
Scaling Through Expertise, Not Just Capacity
Unmesh Lal: Mabion has established a strong presence in Central and Eastern Europe. As you look at the next phase of growth, how do you see the company expanding beyond that footprint?
Gregor Kawaletz: Globally, there is enough capacity available. Capacity itself is not the main issue. The more important question is whether you have the right capable teams to expand what you can address in the market. For Mabion, this is where our focus lies. The capacity is there, but what matters is having the right skilled scientific team to support those activities and bring the right approach, know-how, and excellence to the market. That is what Mabion is doing. We are using our human and scientific capabilities to expand what we can offer.
The Value of Specialized Expertise
Unmesh Lal: So, in a market where capacity is increasingly available, what do you see as the real differentiator for a company like Mabion?
Gregor Kawaletz: Technical and scientific expertise is extremely important. Mabion’s scale is actually one of our advantages. We are large enough to provide sophisticated development and GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) capabilities but focused enough to give complex programs the senior attention and scientific engagement they require. Many emerging and mid-sized biotech companies need a level of scientific engagement, flexibility and management attention that is difficult to obtain in very large organizations. That creates a very interesting niche for us. We can work with these customers in a way that is more tailored to their needs, and that is an important part of our positioning.
Building Business Models Around Customer Needs
Unmesh Lal: Given that many of your customers are smaller or mid-sized biotech companies, are you developing business models beyond the traditional fee-for-service approach?
Gregor Kawaletz: Of course. This is one of the reasons we are successful. We offer our clients tailor-shaped business models that meet their expectations around financial exposure, regional coverage, and payment phasing. All of these activities are designed around what the client needs. I think we are doing exactly the right things, and it creates a successful and interesting offering for our clients.
Two Engines of Growth
Unmesh Lal: You have this two-fold value proposition, with your CDMO offering alongside the co-development of biosimilar assets. How do you see those two businesses contributing to Mabion’s growth?
Gregor Kawaletz: The CDMO business is, of course, generating revenue faster than everything else. If you look at the next 24 months, it will generate around 60% of our revenue. In the following years, that percentage will gradually decline because we are going to bring more co-development products into the business.
But that doesn’t mean the CDMO business is declining, or that the overall business is declining. With our technological approach, we expect to grow across all aspects of the business.
The CDMO percentage may slowly go down, but the business itself will continue to grow because the other parts of the business will grow significantly.
Putting Technology and Innovation at the Center
Unmesh Lal: Let’s talk about technology for a moment. Where does innovation come into the Mabion story?
Gregor Kawaletz: Absolutely. Innovation is an important topic for us. The majority of the innovative products we are going to onboard, as well as those we are already working on, are related to monoclonal antibodies or ADCs. We have access to four different proprietary linker technologies, and we recently signed an agreement with a Taiwanese company around a very specific linking technology.
The reason this is important is that there is no one-size-fits-all linker technology. Different products require different approaches. Our objective is not to own every technology ourselves. It is to build an ecosystem in which we can select the right technology for the molecule. With our broader portfolio of enzymatic and chemical linkers, we are able to offer clients the right approach for their needs while also giving ourselves the flexibility to work with the different modalities we are going to pursue.
Making Biologics More Accessible
Unmesh Lal: You mentioned the importance of innovation and differentiated technologies. How does that connect with the broader ambition you have for Mabion?
Gregor Kawaletz: When we look at monoclonal antibodies, there are three major aspects that drive the cost of the product. The first is the yield. Are you working at five grams per liter or ten grams per liter? The second is the media. Are you using very expensive media or more cost-effective alternatives? And the third is the process itself. Are you using one process or looking at other technologies that can significantly reduce the cost?
In all three cases, Mabion is looking at how we can reduce the cost. We are looking for the democratization of biologics. That means reducing the cost of goods by at least 50% and, through that, expanding the addressable market.
There are healthcare systems and patient populations for whom the current cost of advanced biologic therapies remains a significant barrier to access. If we can reduce the cost, we can help bring modern and novel products to more patients. For us, the cost side is therefore very, very important.
Building a Platform for the Next Generation of Modalities
Unmesh Lal: If Mabion wants to make these high-value modalities more accessible, continued investment in platform technologies becomes important. What are you doing to build that capability?
Gregor Kawaletz: Absolutely. We are not alone in this industry in looking at how to make these products accessible to a much larger population. We are collaborating with different companies across several areas, including technology, formulation, and cell line efficiency. We will announce more about these collaborations as they come to market.
What is important is that we do not want to compete by simply replicating the standard industry offering. Our goal is to differentiate through technologies, economics and partnership models that solve specific customer problems. Our approach is very innovative, and we want to have pricing leadership by offering modern modalities that allow patients to get access to our products.
A Different Position in the ADC Market
Unmesh Lal: Let’s take ADCs as an example. It’s a very competitive market. Where do you see an opportunity for Mabion?
Gregor Kawaletz: The market is currently dominated by a few suppliers. If you work with a dominant supplier, there can be questions around when your product will actually be delivered. There is also another important consideration: we are living in a world with different political and geopolitical interests and circumstances. I believe companies are well advised to mitigate their risks and have more than one supplier.
I don’t believe we will have global suppliers delivering everything from one location to the entire world forever. I think companies will increasingly look for regional suppliers that can serve regional markets. Whether we are dealing with a difficult period, a pandemic, or something else unexpected, supply chains can be disrupted very quickly. Europe is increasingly recognizing that it is too dependent on suppliers outside the region, and there are many activities underway to mitigate those risks. That creates an opportunity for Mabion to support regional supply.
AI with a Purpose, Not as a Slogan
Unmesh Lal: AI is clearly becoming an important topic across the biopharmaceutical industry. Where is Mabion today in terms of adopting AI across its operations and manufacturing processes?
Gregor Kawaletz: We are watching AI very closely. For now, we are already collaborating with the French company Oddifact on our CD20 rituximab orphan drug. They have an interesting AI solution that is tailored to our needs, and we are already using it. We are also starting another collaboration with a US-based company around AI to improve cell-line yield, which is very important for us.
So, yes, AI plays a very important role for us, but it is tailor-shaped. It is not AI as a slogan. The important question is how artificial intelligence can help us operationally to improve the cell line or the processes themselves.
Building Innovation Through Partnerships
Unmesh Lal: You have already mentioned several partnerships. How important is this broader ecosystem to Mabion’s innovation strategy?
Gregor Kawaletz: I strongly believe that the next generation of biologics will be developed through ecosystems rather than by companies trying to own every capability internally. Partnerships are very important for us. We are strengthening our strategic collaboration with Sartorius across additional areas, and we have several other collaborations underway. Alongside Oddifact in AI and our US collaboration around cell-line performance, we are working with Cell Pharma in Poland around linking technology, with BTI in Germany around linking technology, and with Procos in Italy around payloads.
We have many collaborations because we want to bring together different capabilities and technologies rather than trying to develop everything ourselves. That is particularly important when we are working across different modalities and looking for the right technologies to support our clients.
Simplifying the Supply Chain
Unmesh Lal: We have spoken about Mabion’s technology and innovation. But given the increasing complexity of biologics and ADC supply chains, how do you see the company’s regional position creating value for customers?
Gregor Kawaletz: In the ADC field, you are very well advised if you are able, for yourself and for your clients, to improve and simplify the supply chain because this is one of the most complex topics. Today, the market is dominated by a few suppliers. If you depend on one dominant supplier, you may not know whether your product will be delivered immediately or later. We are also living in a world with different political and geopolitical interests and circumstances, so companies need to think about how they mitigate their risks and whether they should have more than one supplier.
I personally don’t believe we will have global suppliers delivering everything from one location to the entire world forever. I think companies will increasingly look for regional suppliers serving regional markets, because whether it is a difficult period, a pandemic, or another unexpected event, supply chains can be disrupted very quickly.
Europe is increasingly recognizing that it is too dependent on suppliers outside the region, and there are many activities underway to mitigate those risks. That creates an opportunity for Mabion to support regional supply.
Putting People Behind the Strategy
Unmesh Lal: If you had to leave me with a few words that describe Mabion and what will make the company successful, what would they be?
Gregor Kawaletz: The people make the change. My people are the best I have ever met in my entire professional life. I would never undertake what we are doing with another team.
Our scientists, operations and quality teams, and development people are incredibly good, hungry for success, and highly engaged. That makes me really happy to be with them, and I believe this is what will make us successful, as it is doing now. At the end of the day, everything is about people. As CEO, my responsibility is to give that team the direction, opportunities and partnerships that allow those capabilities to translate into sustainable growth.
Closing Reflection: Making Advanced Biologics More Accessible
Mabion’s growth strategy is built around a combination of scientific expertise, differentiated technologies, tailored customer models, strategic partnerships, and regional supply capabilities. But Gregor Kawaletz connects these capabilities to a broader ambition: democratizing biologics by reducing the cost of goods and expanding access to modern and novel therapies.
That ambition influences how Mabion approaches technology, from proprietary linker technologies and advanced modalities to targeted applications of AI. It also shapes the company’s approach to partnerships and regional supply, as Mabion looks to build capabilities that can create value for customers while helping address some of the industry’s emerging challenges.
Yet when Gregor is asked what will ultimately make Mabion successful, his answer is strikingly simple.
The people make the change.
He points to Mabion’s scientists, operations and quality teams, and development professionals as the foundation of the company’s progress. Their expertise, engagement, and ambition, he believes, are what will turn Mabion’s technological and commercial opportunities into sustainable growth.
About Gregor Kawaletz
Gregor Kawaletz is the Chief Executive Officer of Mabion, a European biopharmaceutical CDMO specializing in the development and manufacturing of biologics. With more than 20 years of experience in the CDMO sector, he brings a strong track record in revenue growth, organizational transformation, market positioning, and strategic business development. His career includes senior leadership roles at NextPharma, Catalent, IDT-Biologika, Albumedix, and Recipharm.
Under his leadership, Kawaletz is focused on strengthening Mabion’s position as a specialized partner for biologics development and manufacturing, with an emphasis on co-development, advanced modalities including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), technology partnerships, and expanding the company’s global market position.
Unmesh Lal brings over 20 years of experience in healthcare strategy and consulting, with a focus on global life sciences and bio-pharma manufacturing. He specializes in identifying transformative technologies, innovative business models, and growth opportunities across pharmaceutical contract services. A recognized thought leader, Unmesh has authored key industry insights and presented at leading global events including J.P. Morgan, CPHI, Bio-Asia, Bioprocessing Summit, Biotech Outsourcing Strategies cmc, and others. He holds a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor.
About Unmesh Lal
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Appendix: Industry Developments Shaping Biologics Manufacturing
As Mabion expands its CDMO and co-development capabilities across biologics and advanced modalities, the biopharmaceutical industry is increasingly prioritizing specialized expertise, advanced manufacturing technologies, flexible partnerships, AI-enabled process optimization, and resilient regional supply chains. Frost & Sullivan research provides strategic insight into these shifts and the growth opportunities emerging across the global biologics ecosystem.
📌 Growth Opportunities in Biologics Contract Development & Manufacturing Organizations, Global
📌 Top 10 Growth Opportunities in the European Life Sciences Industry, 2026
