Three decades of work.
One window of opportunity.
Building BNCT into a clinical reality has been Prof. Sauerwein’s life’s work. The science was always there. The infrastructure is being built now.
Japanese Government, 2019
A life dedicated to treating the impossible.
Prof. Dr. med. Wolfgang Sauerwein is Europe’s leading authority on Boron Neutron Capture Therapy. Based at the Universitätsklinikum Essen, he has spent more than three decades building the scientific, clinical, and regulatory foundations that BNCT Global now rests on.
He led the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) BNCT trials, the first and only systematic clinical BNCT programme in European history. He trained many of the researchers who went on to build Japan’s BNCT infrastructure, and holds a Specially Appointed Professorship at Okayama University in recognition of this work.
In 2019, the Japanese Government awarded him the Order of the Rising Sun for his extraordinary contributions to the field. He is President of the DGBNCT (German Society for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy) and co-editor of the definitive reference work on the subject, published by Springer.
BNCT Global is his answer to a simple question: the science has been proven in Japan for 50 years. Why does Europe still have no center? The answer has always been infrastructure, not evidence. BNCT Global builds the infrastructure.
Leadership
Running the company day to day.
Two managing directors lead operations, partnerships and growth, alongside founder Prof. Sauerwein.
André Minne
Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer
André Minne is a German certified tax advisor and Diplom-Finanzwirt. After the tax administration he held senior positions in the tax departments of German DAX corporations, completed an international education in London and the German tax advisor examination, and held several managing director roles. Since 2002 he has worked as a partner in tax advisory firms, advising clients as a generalist on tax and related business matters.
Dr. Christian Köster
Managing Director and Chief Legal Officer
Dr. Christian Köster has over thirty years of experience as in house and external legal counsel, working with lawyers across the world. A legal generalist with deep knowledge in IT and data protection law, international business law, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, compliance including antitrust and export control, and litigation. His industry experience spans manufacturing, chemicals, healthcare, retail and fashion, with projects across EMEA and roles at companies including Linde, PwC Legal and Gruner and Jahr. Languages: German and English.
Expertise
Seventeen leaders. One mission.
Our advisory board spans radiation oncology, medical physics, boron chemistry and cross-border industry, from Harvard and Nagasaki to the CNRS, Loma Linda and Varian.
Joseph W. Cotchett Endowed Chair in Radiation Oncology, MGH, and Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School
Paul M. Busse
M.D., Ph.D., FASTRO. He completed his residency in Radiation Medicine at MGH, Harvard Medical School, and until 2003 was lead physician and Principal Investigator for the Harvard MIT BNCT Program. Chief of the Head and Neck Service and Clinical Director in the Department of Radiation Oncology at MGH, and a member of the NCCN Head and Neck Panel. Recognised as an ASTRO Fellow in 2018, an honor held by fewer than 3 percent of the membership.
From discovery to clinical reality.
88 years in the making.
Gordon Locher first proposes the concept of neutron capture therapy for cancer treatment.
William Sweet and Gordon Brownell conduct the first BNCT treatments in humans at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Hiroshi Hatanaka begins systematic BNCT treatment for brain tumors in Japan. The programme continues for decades.
Prof. Sauerwein leads the first systematic European BNCT clinical programme under the EORTC framework.
The European BNCT facility at Petten, Netherlands operates with Prof. Sauerwein as principal investigator.
Reactor-based neutron sources become unavailable in Europe. The technical barrier appears insurmountable.
Hospital-based particle accelerators reach clinical grade. The reactor barrier is gone. BNCT can move to any hospital.
Japan’s health system formally reimburses BNCT for head and neck cancer. BPA approved under the name Steboronine®.
Prof. Sauerwein founds BNCT Global GmbH. The European standard begins to be written.
The science is proven. The technology is ready. The infrastructure is being built. This is the moment.
Built on the shoulders of decades of collaboration.
BNCT Global draws on a network of clinical, scientific, and regulatory expertise developed across Europe and Japan.