A team of industry experts providing customized and integrated product development and commercial solutions
Atheln is a biopharma/biotech/medtech product development and commercial strategy consulting group. Our team of over 100 industry seasoned experts come from Fortune 500 companies, have between 20-40 years of global strategic and operational experience, and know how to tailor solutions to the dynamics of small companies given their experience working in or with start-up and emerging growth companies.
We have been involved in developing and commercializing products from concept to regulatory approval, and from new product planning to pre-launch, launch, and life cycle management. We are highly adept at maximizing the value of our Client’s products through our ability to foresee risks and implement mitigation strategies while integrating commercial drivers and key stakeholder needs into strategic and operational plans.
Our story
Atheln was founded in 2010 by two biopharma executives with over 25 years of experience each in development and commercialization in the US and globally. Having navigated the landscapes of large multinational biopharma/biotech firms, startups, and consulting, the founders possess a comprehensive perspective gained from roles on both sides of the industry spectrum. Their firsthand knowledge underscores the pivotal importance of early collaboration between development and commercial teams, recognizing the profound impact on assessing the commercial viability of products. Strategic alignment, they learned, is instrumental in optimizing outcomes related to managing expectations, budgets, and portfolio decisions with key stakeholders. The founders also recognized the valuable role of consultants in bridging resource gaps and providing diverse experiences to solve complex challenges.
It is against this backdrop of industry insight that Atheln was established. Atheln offers a distinctive value proposition: end-to-end integrated and cross-functional product development and commercial strategies and plans that are not only comprehensive but also implementable across companies ranging from startups to more mature enterprises.
Founded with a core team of highly experienced consultants, carefully selected based on previous collaborations in the industry, Atheln has since expanded to include over 100 industry-seasoned consultants. Under the leadership of Adriana and Monica, who serve as team leaders for each project, the company prioritizes transparent communication, continuity, and the development of integrated product development and commercial strategies. The name “Atheln,” derived from an ancient South-American native language, reflects the company’s ethos: “Understanding people helps get the job done.” This encapsulates Atheln’s approach to partnering with clients to achieve successful outcomes.
Adriana E. Manzi, PhD
Monica Alfaro Welling, MBA
Team directory
The Atheln team covers all core areas critical for integrated product development and commercialization or due diligence solutions. Discover the wealth of knowledge and expertise that fuels our success by exploring the diverse backgrounds and exceptional experiences of some of the experts
Team directory
Team Leadership
Adriana E. Manzi, PhD
Technical leader / integrated product development
Dr. Manzi is the Co-founder and Managing Director of Atheln, Inc since 2010. With over 30 years of experience in R&D, Adriana is a technical leader with extensive experience on due diligence, technical strategic and operational planning, troubleshooting and problem solving and solid business acumen rooted on her extensive global work with multidisciplinary teams in many therapeutic areas.
As a consultant, Adriana has led Integrated Product Development (IPD) programs for drugs, biologics and combination products, interacted with regulators in the US and EU, advised international investors, provided technical opinions to law firms and participated in global due diligence efforts. Since founding Atheln, Adriana has been IPD team leader for over 50 programs and has advised over 100 startup companies globally.
Prior to consulting, Dr. Manzi was Sr. Director of Research for Baxter Healthcare Corp., Director of Analytical Development / Quality Control at Nextran Inc., and Cytel Corporation as well as Director of the Glycobiology Core Facility at the University of California San Diego (UCSD).
Dr. Manzi received her BS (Chemistry) / MS (Industrial Chemistry and Food Sciences), and her PhD in Organic Chemistry (suma cum laude) from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. She completed her Postdoctoral Research in biochemistry and glycobiology at the University of California San Diego Cancer Center where she became an Assistant Professor. She is an expert on structural analysis of complex biomolecules, including glycosylation, and has taught glycobiology for UCSD, SDSU and IBC as well as the FDA and the National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST). Dr. Manzi has published 29 original research articles and 21 book chapters. She is a member of the Advisory Board of Bioprocess International and active in professional organizations.
Monica Alfaro Welling, MBA
Integrated product development and commercialization, portfolio and strategic panning, early-stage strategist
As a Co-founder and Managing Director of Atheln, Monica is a biopharma executive with over 30 years of experience working in a variety of strategic and operational executive positions in multi-national biopharma companies, start-ups, and boutique consulting firms.
She is a strategy expert spanning the entire value chain of both early- and late-stage product development and commercialization. Monica excels at incorporating critical market drivers and key stakeholder needs when developing risk-mitigated development and commercial strategies and plans. Her experience spans across all phases of product development, strategic planning, portfolio analysis, early- and late-stage commercialization and due diligence in a variety of therapeutic areas and technologies including medtech. Monica has built and led high performing teams in the US and internationally and led cross-functional product development teams resulting in numerous IND clearances and regulatory approvals. She has global experience in building billion-dollar brands like BOTOX® and launching products/new therapeutic applications globally while at Novo Nordisk. With an extensive network, Monica is a connector of people and companies, and opening doors to new opportunities.
Before co-founding Atheln, Monica held management and executive roles at Novo Nordisk's corporate headquarters in Denmark, as well as with prominent U.S. entities including Allergan and a publicly traded emerging growth healthcare services company. With a proven track record in P&L management, a successful tenure as a turnaround CEO in the oncology sector, and various other C-suite positions, Monica's extensive experience extends to fundraising in both private and public markets. This background equips her to engage effectively in boardroom discussions and build successful relationships with key stakeholders.
She has an MBA from Southern University of Denmark, and a BS in Biology and a BA in Economics from the University of California, Irvine.
