By SERB
One year into her role, SERB Pharmaceuticals CEO Vanessa Wolfeler reflects on the strategic acquisition of RSDL® and the company’s growing leadership in global Medical Countermeasures and CBRN preparedness.
In May 2024, SERB Pharmaceuticals marked an exciting leadership milestone with the appointment of Vanessa Wolfeler as CEO. Vanessa is a dual French-American citizen with over 20 years of experience in the global healthcare and bio-tech industries, most recently with Sanofi. With just over a year at the helm, Vanessa reflects on recent additions to SERB’s offering and shares her perspective on the EU’s proposed stockpiling strategy, highlighting opportunities to further strengthen international readiness and resilience.
Q. What attracted you to SERB and how would you describe the company’s mission today?
SERB holds a truly unique and impactful position in the pharmaceutical and healthcare landscape. With a dynamic portfolio spanning rare emergency medicines, CBRN risk preparedness, and treatments for rare diseases, our products are not only valued by healthcare professionals but also by those working in emergency response and national defence. Many of these therapies are lifesaving – and that’s no exaggeration! This exceptional blend of innovation, purpose, and global relevance makes SERB an inspiring and deeply rewarding place to be. At SERB, the breadth of our capabilities truly sets us apart. Although we’re a mid-sized company of over 500 employees, we operate on a global scale and offer the full spectrum of pharmaceutical capabilities – from development and manufacturing to launch and commercialization of specialist medicines. That range of end-to-end expertise is quite rare for a company of our size.
What truly makes SERB special is our people. Behind every product and every achievement is a team of passionate, talented individuals who bring deep expertise and a shared sense of purpose. Across the organisation, there’s an unwavering commitment to helping patients and the physicians who treat them – everyone understands the urgency of delivering these vital medicines to those who need them most. I’m proud to be part of an exceptional leadership team that embodies collaboration, energy, and heart. Our culture at SERB is one of mutual support, innovation, and urgent action – where people rally together, challenge the status quo, and consistently find smarter, better ways to make a difference.
Q: Could you tell us more about SERB’s position and interest in the CBRN market?
Medical countermeasures are at the core of SERB’s mission to protect lives in high-risk situations. For over a decade, we’ve built a trusted presence in this critical space – delivering lifesaving products that help safeguard against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats. From cyanide antidotes and neuro-toxin treatments to therapies for heavy metal poisoning, anthrax exposure, and acute nuclear incidents, our portfolio equips responders and healthcare providers with the tools they need when every second counts. And we’re not stopping there. We continue to expand and evolve our medical countermeasures offering, with a clear goal: to deliver protection and preparedness to more countries, more communities, and more people around the world. At SERB, our purpose is rooted in impact. We exist to be a trusted partner – standing shoulder to shoulder with governments, military forces, first responders, hospitals, and global institutions—to help protect lives when it matters most. Through decades of dedication, we’ve built enduring relationships with healthcare providers, NGOs, and national and international programs like the Critical Medical Alliance and RescEU. Our role extends beyond medicine – we’ve supported the safe operation of events on the global stage, including the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup, by ensuring critical medical countermeasures are where they’re needed, when they’re needed. This isn’t just what we do – it’s who we are. And it’s why we take immense pride in the trust we’ve earned and the lives we’ve helped safeguard. We don’t just supply critical medical countermeasures – we partner to strengthen global preparedness.Our teams bring deep, hands-on experience across a wide range of organizations and emergency scenarios. We’re eager to collaborate and share practical insights on how to optimize preparedness strategies, from stockpile sizing and lifecycle renewal to supply continuity and long-term readiness planning. Our regular engagement with governments, health agencies, and defence partners ensures we stay aligned with evolving needs -and allows us to proactively scale our manufacturing capacity to meet future demand. We also stay actively connected to the global CBRN community, participating in key conferences and field events – like the NCT series across South America, the Middle East, the US, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific – so we continue listening, learning, and contributing to the shared mission of protecting lives.
Q: What have been the most re-cent additions to the SERB port-folio?
Last year, we took an exciting step by acquiring the US rights to Aurlumyn™ (iloprost) – a treat-ment for severe frostbite in adults to reduce the risk of digit ampu-tations. Launched last winter, Aurlumyn™ addresses a critical need for those exposed to ex-treme cold, including soldiers operating in harsh climates. While not a traditional CBRN therapy, its relevance to military readiness has already attracted significant interest from US defence agencies. We further deepened our commitment to emergency preparedness with the acquisition of RSDL® (Reactive Skin Decontamination Lotion) – a trusted name in CBRN protection. Used to remove or neutralize chemical warfare agents from the skin, RSDL® is a go-to solution for military, first responders, and emergency teams worldwide. With this acquisition, we also assumed full control of the Hattiesburg, Mississippi manufacturing site where RSDL® is made and welcomed the experienced local production team. These additions are more than just portfolio expansions – they reflect our mission to build a leading portfolio and to deliver critical solutions that improve the standard of care for more patients around the world.
Q: Where does RSDL®fit within SERB’s current portfolio?
For over two decades, RSDL® has been a trusted frontline defence in CBRN incidents, protecting more than 600,000 users across more than 15 countries. Its track record speaks for itself – but its future is even more exciting. By welcoming RSDL® into our portfolio, SERB is reaffirming its commitment to global biosecurity and emergency preparedness. With our deep roots in the CBRN community, a solid footprint in Europe, and a growing interna-tional distribution network, we’re uniquely positioned to expand RSDL®’s reach to new regions and new users who can benefit from this vital medical device. Originally developed by Defence Research and Development Canada, with key support from the US military to secure expedited FDA approval, RSDL®has long been a cornerstone of North American preparedness. But we see even broader potential: this is a product with truly global relevance, and we’re energized by the opportunity to help nations and organizations around the world strengthen their defence against CBRN threats. RSDL® has been tried, tested, and trusted. It’s more than just a kit –it is a symbol of protection and preparedness.
Q: How has the current geopolitical climate affected the demand for your products?
CBRN risks are rising and more complex than ever. Geopolitical tensions, the accessibility of harmful agents, and emerging technologies like AI and drones are reshaping the threat landscape. In this rapidly evolving environment, stronger collaboration between governments and the pharmaceutical industry is essential to ensure timely access to effective medical countermeasures. The COVID-19 pandemic under-scored the vital importance of emergency preparedness, resilient supply chains, and health sovereignty. At SERB we take this seriously – nearly all of our CBRN countermeasures and ac-tive ingredients are manufactured in Europe or the US, ensuring reliability when it matters most. In any crisis – conflict or pandemic – rapid, repeated deployment of lifesaving products can’t be an afterthought. SERB is ready to help partners build the robust response systems they need to protect their military personnel and their citizens.
Q: Speaking of preparedness, the European Commission is due to present its stockpiling strategy at the beginning of July. What do you expect from it?
CBRN threats have emerged as a critical focus for EU health security. Since 2022, HERA has underscored the urgency of a coordinated EU-wide approach to stockpiling medical countermeasures – essential for safeguarding the health of 450 million citizens and reinforcing our collective defence. As these risks continue to escalate, disparities in preparedness across Member States can create vulnerabilities in the face of cross-border threats. Our teams are actively working alongside policymakers to help close these gaps and strengthen Europe’s resilience. A common EU strategy can strengthen resilience, support supply security, and reinforce Europe’s sovereign pharmaceutical capabilities. It must also align with broader defence initiatives like the ReArm Europe plan and NATO programs. SERB is committed to being a trusted partner – bringing our decades of experience in medical countermeasures, stockpile design, and secure supply chains to help safeguard Europe’s future.
SERB is a pharmaceutical company that specializes in the development, manufacturing, and supply of specialized medicines, in the areas of rare emergency care and rare diseases. SERB has the broadest antidote portfolio in the world, including medical countermeasures for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) risks, making them a trusted partner and one-stop-shop for hospitals, emergency services, health departments, and governments.
