Groundbreaking therapy for advanced heart failure: Repairon Strengthens Executive Leadership with Appointment of Detlef Schumann, Ph.D. as Chief Operating Officer

Biotech executive brings global leadership and operations experience to speed clinical development, expand operations, and carry out strategic growth plans.

GÖTTINGEN, Germany and PROVIDENCE, R.I., Oct. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Repairon, a biotechnology company developing regenerative cardiac therapies, today announced the appointment of Detlef Schumann, Ph.D. as Chief Operating Officer. Schumann will report to CEO Lothar Germeroth, Ph.D. and oversee global operations and strategic growth initiatives.

Dr. Schumann brings extensive executive leadership experience across biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices, combining deep scientific and technical expertise in cell therapy, advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), regenerative medicine, and medical devices with a strong track record in operational excellence, organizational development, GMP manufacturing, automation, strategic partnerships, and M&A. He has developed and implemented international growth strategies, with particular expertise in EMEA, Japan and Singapore. As CEO of TETEC Tissue Engineering Technologies AG, he established sustained growth through the restructuring and scaling of GMP-compliant ATMP manufacturing operations and highly specialized CDMO services. He served as Managing Director of CeGaT GmbH, Vice President for Technology Innovation at B. Braun Aesculap, and held senior research and business development positions at DSM Biomedical. Dr. Schumann holds a degree in pharmacy and a doctorate in regenerative medicine and pharmaceutical technology from the University of Regensburg, Germany. His academic research experience includes postdoctoral fellowships at MIT/Harvard and the National University of Singapore.

Repairon’s CEO, Lothar Germeroth, remarked that “the addition of Detlef Schumann to our senior leadership team is crucial for the company’s forthcoming expansion. His experience and leadership will have a direct impact on scaling up production, executing pivotal clinical trials, increasing focus on Far East markets, and managing and growing our revenue-generating activities in Germany. Fueled by the positive clinical outcomes of our Phase I-II clinical study, as the first company to demonstrate the restoration of heart muscle in ischemic advanced heart failure patients, we look forward to developing Repairon’s BioVAT product.

“Contributing to the clinical, regulatory, and commercial development of one of the most significant tissue engineering technologies in cardiovascular medicine is a fabulous opportunity and a significant responsibility,” said Detlef Schumann. “I look forward to applying all my skills, experience, and energy to build Repairon and develop BioVAT for the benefit of millions of advanced heart failure patients worldwide.”
   
High medical need in advanced heart failure: Approximately 5% of the global population suffers from chronic heart failure of any severity, and it remains one of the most common causes of death. In the US, heart failure represents the most common cause of hospitalization and mortality in the senior population, and over 6 million people are affected. As heart failure progresses to advanced stages, patients experience weakness with discomfort during all physical activities and at rest, sometimes even requiring constant bed rest. For these severely ill patients, the only treatment options currently available are mechanical pump devices or heart transplantation.

About Repairon: Repairon GmbH is a German biotech company based in Göttingen, Germany, focused on developing regenerative cell therapies for cardiac medicine. The company was founded in 2014 based on research by Wolfram-Hubertus Zimmermann, MD and his team at the University Medical Center Goettingen, who have developed several tissue engineering technologies with proven applicability for organ repair and drug development. Repairon's lead therapeutic candidate, the human engineered heart muscle patch, is currently being evaluated in the BioVAT-HF Phase 2 clinical trial as a biological ventricular assist tissue (BioVAT) for end-stage heart failure.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/64985d27-8653-4e2b-a6b9-38b0d3a46954

Detlef Schumann, Ph.D.

Detlef Schumann, Ph.D.