Florian Maria Wurm
Expertise
Florian has executed research and development work with Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells since the 1980s. He contributed to numerous first generation products derived from such cells (transfection to high yield manufacturing). He published extensively on CHO and HEK-293 cells and the company ExcellGene SA, cofounded by him and his wife has become a highly regarded innovator for the industry at large.
Current work
Florian continues to be active scientifically and in other functions, most notably within the company ExcellGene SA in Monthey. He also co-founded with his wife a company in Portugal (Magellan Biologics) and another company in Monthey Carvella Biopharma. ExcellGene and Magellan were recently merged into ExcellGene Group SA, following the entry of an investment company. As cofounder, co-owner, and Boardmember in all companies he continues to contribute to strategic discussions and to advise on potential opportunities in the markets that wish to use recombinant proteins and other biologicals.
Retirement
Professor Wurm retired in March 2015. Florian continues to be active - scientifically and otherwise and can be approached for questions and issues in pharmaceutical biotechnology with emphasis on recombinant protein and biological generation for pharmaceutical use. He has published more than 300 papers and patents and continues to do so with co-workers in companies and in academia.
Florian Wurm received his academic training as a Biologist and Molecular Geneticist at the University of Giessen. He joined the Hoechst AG (Behringwerke) in Marburg as head of a laboratory in Virology.
Working with immortalized mammalian cells for the establishment of production processes for alpha-interferons provided the first opportunity to combine basic research with medical application and subsequently he engaged into work with Chinese Hamster Ovary cells. In 1984 he joined Harvard Medical School in Boston as a Research Fellow in Molecular Biology. 1986 he took an offer from Genentech Inc. in San Francisco to work in Process Sciences on the development of large scale manufacturing processes for recombinant proteins. There he has held a number of leading positions and has acquired intimate knowledge in the generation of protein pharmaceuticals in mammalian cells in bioreactors (a number of which are now marketed products).
In 1995 he joined the EPFL as a Professor for Biotechnology. Wurm has published more than 300 scientific papers and holds more than 20 patents/patent-applications. His work is cited more than 20'000 times. His H-index stands at 67 in 2025.
He was Chairman (2005-2009) and is member of the Executive Board of the European Society of Animal Cell Technology (ESACT). He serves as a consultant to the pharmaceutical Biotech Industry, mainly in the fields of animal cell technology for recombinant protein production and in regulatory affairs. He works as a scientific reviewer and editior/asscciate editor for a number of international journals in the Biotech field. F.M. Wurm teaches classes to pre- and postgraduate students in the fields of Molecular and Cellular Biotechnology.
He was founder and Chief Scientific Officer of ExcellGene SA, a 2001 established company in Monthey, Switzerland. He took the position of President and CEO of ExcellGene in 2015. He retired from the CEO position in 2017 and continued to as Chief Scientific Officer of ExcellGene. In 2025 he was appointed member of the board, following the merger of two of the companies he founded and an investment engagement by the company Archimed.
Working with immortalized mammalian cells for the establishment of production processes for alpha-interferons provided the first opportunity to combine basic research with medical application and subsequently he engaged into work with Chinese Hamster Ovary cells. In 1984 he joined Harvard Medical School in Boston as a Research Fellow in Molecular Biology. 1986 he took an offer from Genentech Inc. in San Francisco to work in Process Sciences on the development of large scale manufacturing processes for recombinant proteins. There he has held a number of leading positions and has acquired intimate knowledge in the generation of protein pharmaceuticals in mammalian cells in bioreactors (a number of which are now marketed products).
In 1995 he joined the EPFL as a Professor for Biotechnology. Wurm has published more than 300 scientific papers and holds more than 20 patents/patent-applications. His work is cited more than 20'000 times. His H-index stands at 67 in 2025.
He was Chairman (2005-2009) and is member of the Executive Board of the European Society of Animal Cell Technology (ESACT). He serves as a consultant to the pharmaceutical Biotech Industry, mainly in the fields of animal cell technology for recombinant protein production and in regulatory affairs. He works as a scientific reviewer and editior/asscciate editor for a number of international journals in the Biotech field. F.M. Wurm teaches classes to pre- and postgraduate students in the fields of Molecular and Cellular Biotechnology.
He was founder and Chief Scientific Officer of ExcellGene SA, a 2001 established company in Monthey, Switzerland. He took the position of President and CEO of ExcellGene in 2015. He retired from the CEO position in 2017 and continued to as Chief Scientific Officer of ExcellGene. In 2025 he was appointed member of the board, following the merger of two of the companies he founded and an investment engagement by the company Archimed.
Selected publications
Production of recombinant protein therapeutics in cultivated mammalian cells
Florian M. Wurm
Published in Nature Biotechnology 22,11, 1393-1398 in 2004
CHO Quasispecies - Implications for Manufacturing Processes
Florian Maria Wurm
Published in Processes 2013, 1, 296-311 in 2013
All publications
Teaching & PhD
Past EPFL PhD Students
Philippe Pierre Girard (2001), Lisa Hunt (2001), Jason Wright (2001), Isabelle Bisson (2002), Frédéric Grosjean (2003), Madiha Derouazi (2005), Natalie Muller (2005), Martin Bertschinger (2006), Mathieu Benjamin Stettler (2007), Gaurav Backliwal (2008), Sébastien Chenuet (2008), Eva-Maria Balet (2009), Sarah Wulhfard (2009), Xiaowei Zhang (2009), Sophie Nallet (2010), Agata Oberbek (2010), Stéphanie Tissot (2011), Francesca Zagari (2012), Divor Kiseljak (2013), Yashas Rajendra (2013), Xiao Shen (2014), Dominique Terry Monteil Jr (2014), Sowmya Balasubramanian (2015)