Before joining Asit biotech, he was CEO of Austrian company Intercell AG – which in 2013 merged with French company Vivalis create European vaccine and antibody leader Valneva. Zettlmeissl holds a doctoral degree in biochemistry from the University of Regensburg in Germany and did a post-doctoral fellowship in virology at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. Since 1985, Zettlmeissl has held various R&D and managerial positions at a number of international pharmaceutical companies, among others Managing Director of German vaccine company Chiron Behring.

In 2010, he was named Vaccine Biotech CEO of the Year at the World Vaccine Congress. Zettlmeissl currently serves as non-executive director of Aeras, (USA). Until early 2015, he was chairman of GlycoVaxyn (Switzerland), an innovative vaccine company acquired by GlaxoSmithKline.

Erstwhile Asit biotech Chairman Béatrice De Vos has stepped down “to focus on new projects”.