General management, finance, marketing and legal

Philippe CARTERON de BALMONT

General Manager & Founder

Philippe founded CarthaGenetics in 2004 with the vision that an international expert team could leverage better synergies between biotech companies, physicians and local authorities in order to speed drug development and get more patients treated in Europe.

Prior to this, Philippe worked for over two decades as country manager at key biotechnology companies involved in the Orphan Drug (OD) market. Philippe was instrumental in “pre-launching” and “launching” some of the most visible OD brands in EMEA, among them: Ceredase®, Cerezyme®, Replagal®, Naglazyme®, SolirisVyndaqel®, Glybera®, Juxtapid®,Lojuxta™, Gattex®, Revestive®, Metopitone®, Translarna™, Mespsivii®.

As General Manager, Philippe has a passion for medical affairs and key negotiations with government bodies, including Health and Social ministers, regulatory agencies and patient associations, and has been participating in policy development and OD implementation, notably in Turkey. Philippe has a Master in Biology, in Pharmaceutical Marketing (Institut Supérieur de Gestion, Paris 16e), and holds an Executive Master in International Negotiation and Policy Making (The Graduate Institute, IHEID, Geneva).

Philippe is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Sabri HAMMAR

Co-Founder

Sabri holds a Master in Accounting from HEC Carthage, and is graduated from ENA (High National School of Administration, Tunis)
Cofounder of CarthaGenetics in 2004 with Philippe Carteron de Balmont, Sabri helped to set up the corporate infrastructure and to develop the Tunisian team.

Sabri is based in Carthage, Tunisia.

ALain AHTEC

Group Finance Controller

Alain joined CarthaGenetics as Group Finance Controller. He brings with him a rich twelve years’ experience of Operational Finance Control gained from various industries,in French and European groups, ranging from public transportation and energy to recycling and regeneration of raw materials.
He is also involved in teaching finance to help university-level students and continuous education employees prepare for French Accounting Degrees.
Alain holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and Logistics Management from Reims Management School, France.
Alain is based in Paris, France.

Salma AYADI

Administrative & Finance Director

Salma holds a Master in Finance from Sfax University. After an experience in audit, she joined CarthaGenetics in 2009, and is responsible for our finance team.
Salma is based in Carthage, Tunisia.

Sabri BEN KILANI

Legal Affairs Director

Lawyer, graduated in Business Law from Tunis University, Sabri was a teacher at INTES, Carthage University. He has been working for CarthaGenetics from the founding of the company back in 2004.
Sabri is based in Carthage, Tunisia.

Administrative and information technology support

Insaf AZZOUZI

Executive Assistant

Insaf is Executive Assistant to the General Manager at CarthaGenetics. She holds a Master degree in English Language and Literature (linguistics). She worked as the Administrative Assistant at the African Development Bank (private and public sectors) before joining IBM Tunisia as the Administrative Assistant of the General Manager. Insaf speaks English, French and Arabic and is based in Carthage, Tunisia.

Oğuz AMASYA

Executive Assistant

Oğuz went to the Galatasaray High School in Istanbul and holds a diploma in Business Administration from Eylül University, the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, as well as an MA in Business English from Istanbul University.
Oğuz speaks Turkish, French and English, and is based in Izmir, Turkey.

Görkem MERGEN

Information Technology Consultant

Görkem is a Chemist and a PhD Toxicologist. After working at Ankara University and University of Porto, as Research Assistant and as Assistant Professor, 10 years in total, he shifted to private sector related with academic information technology. He has been supporting CarthaGenetics and giving consultancy on information technology and pharma-chemical information since 2012.
Görkem is based in Ankara, Turkey.

International medical support

Dr. Amir SHARAF

International Medical Director
Business Development Director

Amir is CarthaGenetics’ International Medical and Business Support Manager. He is a Medical Doctor with 6 years of medical practice in various settings, and 9 years’ experience in Market Access Consulting for the Pharmaceutical Industry. Amir’s research interests include Immunology, Internal Medicine and Oncology. His research works focus on antibodies’ diagnostic value in connective tissue diseases, as well as regulatory and economic requirements for the Market Access of Orphan and Innovative Therapeutics in the EU. Amir provides targeted methodology approaches for CarthaGenetics’ projects, as well as scientific communications to the CarthaGenetics team, to physicians and health authorities worldwide. Amir speaks English, French and Arabic, and is based in Carthage, Tunisia.

Dr. Samira BENMANSOUR

International Medical Manager

Samira is graduated from the University of Medicine of Oran, Algeria, with a fellowship in pediatrics in Oran, in a private practice specialized in orphan diseases, neurology and metabolic diseases. Additionally, she worked as a gynecologic ward at the University Hospital in Oran and in a cardiology clinic, in pediatric plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Hôpital Robert Debré and urology surgery in Clinique Hôtel Dieu, both in Paris, France. Samira also worked as a research assistant on asthma in Latin-American population in Los Angeles, California. She speaks English, French, Spanish and Arabic.
Samira has dual citizenship Algerian/French and is based in Alicante, Spain.

International market access, pricing and reimbursement practice

Dr. Güvenç KOCKAYA

International Market Access,
Pricing & Reimbursement Director

Güvenç joined CarthaGenetics® in 2016 as International Market Access Director, also in charge of Pricing and Reimbursement.
He is a medical doctor and health economist, bringing to the team his triple experience of public, private and academic practice in the Market Access field, particularly applied to large-sized pharmaceuticals and biotechs. He holds a master in Pharmacoeconomics and Pharmacoepidemiology, and a doctorate in Clinical Pharmacology and Medical Pharmacology. He completed a European Market Access Diploma Program in France and studied as a fellow at Temple University’s Center for Pharmaceutical Health Services Research in US.

He has had several articles published in journals or posters presented in congresses. He has also served as the Turkish translation editor of Bootman’s “Principles of Pharmacoeconomics” and WHO’s “Health Technology Assessment in Medical Devices”. He is the lead editor of “Pharmaceutical Market Access in Emerging Markets”. He worked for the Ministry of Health of Turkey as health economist and a member of reimbursement sub-committee, and for medical device and pharmaceutical companies as Market Access lead. Since 2017 Güvenç is Assistant Professor at Turkey’s Beykent University, Medical Faculty, Pharmacology Department. He is based in Ankara, Turkey.

Regulatory affairs

Ghassen BHOURY, PharmD

International Regulatory Affairs Manager

Ghassen is graduated from Victor Babeş University, Timişoara, Roumania and speaks French, English, Arabic and Romanian. His international background makes him the key person with our internaction with local Drug Agencies and Ministries of Health.
Ghassen is based in Paris.

Burcu AMASYA, PharmD

Regulatory Affairs Manager, Turkey

Burcu is graduated from the American College Institute, Izmir, and from the Faculty of Pharmacy from Hacettepe University. She has been running her own pharmaceutical warehouse company in Aydın for seven years. She also worked as a retail pharmacist for eleven years in İzmir. Burcu joined the CarthaGenetics team as Regulatory Affairs Manager and worked on orphan drugs projects in cardiology, endocrinology, neurolog, nephrology,and oncology.Burcu participated in many patient identification programs for clinical trials all over Turkey. She is also responsible for regulatory relations with the Ministry of Health, Social Security Association and all corporate affairs in Turkey.
Burcu is based in Izmir, Turkey.

Nabil BOUNANI, PharmD

Regulatory Affairs Manager, Algeria

Nabil is graduated from the Tlemcen Faculty of Pharmacy. Accumulating 10 years of experience, as a technical director, Nabil  is in charge of Regulatory Affairs Algeria in close relationship with ANPP.

Country and area managers / directors

Erhan KAYA RIVERACONTRERAS

Country Director, Turkey

Erhan is the Country Director of CarthaGenetics® Turkey. She brings on board close to 20 years of experience in medical, sales and marketing departments of international pharmaceutical companies. After obtaining her BA in Chemistry from Boğaziçi University, she first worked for Boehringer Ingelheim and Schering Plough in medical and sales departments; and later joined the Orphan Diseases market as one of the first employees of Genzyme Turkey. She contributed a great deal to the establishment of the Orphan Diseases concept in an orphan disease-naïve Turkey. She later left Genzyme after the Sanofi acquisition, and joined CarthaGenetics®. Erhan speaks Turkish, English and Dutch, and is based in Istanbul, Turkey.

Riccardo LANG

Country Director, Italy

Riccardo has a long business career with top positions in Italian and multinational pharmaceutical companies in the hematological, endocrinology and pediatric fields. Specialist in Orphan Drugs to initiate Early Access Programs, according to the Italian legislation (Laws 326/03 and 648/96), Riccardo has also developed an expertise for market assessment, market development and patients finding.
Riccardo is based in Milano, Italy.

Badreddine SOUICI

Country Director, Algeria

Badreddine is graduated from Mentouri University of Constantine in Ecotoxicology.
He worked as project coordinator of the National Conservatory of Environmental Training in Skikda, then as Junior Environmental Consultant for the Wild World Foundation, then as project associate for the United Nations Development Programme in Algeria.
He joined CarthaGenetics in 2017, first as Sales Manager, and has been promoted as Country Director Algeria.
Badreddine is based in Constantine and speaks French, Arabic, and English.

Stéphane CAMPANA, PhamD

Country Manager, France

Stéphane is a PharmD and holds an MS in Marketing Management from the ESSEC Business School, Paris. He is specialized in Pricing, Reimbursement and Market Access as he holds a postgraduate diploma of the Chairs ‘Health Economy’ and ‘Therapeutic Innovation’ from ESSEC Business School. After his experience in Pipeline Management at Roche, Stéphane joined CarthaGenetics and is now in charge of EAP in France and Italy, w. Stéphane speaks French, English and Italian and is based in Paris, France.

International key account management

Filiz ÇAVUS, MSC

International Account Manager

Filiz is a Medical Biologist (Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty) who holds Masters in Genetics (Istanbul University, Institute for Experimental Medical Research,) and has a degree in Management of Health Institutions. She has expertise in clinical trials management (Phases 2-3), patient finding for orphan drugs and rare diseases, EAP (EndikasyonDışı process) in Turkey and feasibility studies for clinical trials in Bulgaria. She has worked in the nephrology, neurology, metabolic disorders, cardiology; cardiology and infectiology and of course genetics areas.
Filiz has dual citizenship Bulgarian / Turkish and is based in Istanbul, Turkey.

Mustafa AYDIN

International Account Manager

Mustafa joined the CarthaGenetics team as a Pharmaceutical Consultant. He has a university degree from the Anadolu University School of Business Administration. He is an expert in quality management systems, consultancy in medical, pharmaceuticals and healthcare products.
His expertise in regulatory affairs, added to his capacity in establishing good inter-personal relationships, makes him a globally competent partner in the field of healthcare.
Mustafa is based in Ankara, Turkey.