MORRISVILLE – NightHawk Biosciences has announced a leadership change for its San Antonio, Texas-based subsidiary, Scorpion Biological Services.  The contract research, and contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), which recently announced a second facility in Manhattan, Kansas, now has a new interim CEO.

A statement from NightHawk Biosciences announced Stephan Kutzer, Ph.D., as the subsidiary’s Interim CEO.  Kutzer had previously served on the advisory board for the company and was previously the president and CEO of Alcami Corporation among other former roles, according to a LinkedIn profile and a statement from NightHawk.

“Given the dynamic evolution of Scorpion and rapid progress with construction of our San Antonio and Manhattan, Kansas biomanufacturing facilities, we are delighted to welcome Stephan on board,” said Jeff Wolf, CEO of NightHawk and Chairman of Scorpion, in a statement.  “Throughout his more than 25 years in the biomanufacturing space, Stephan has built and managed several successful contract development and global manufacturing organizations. We tapped Stephan from Scorpion’s advisory board to lead Scorpion through its next phase of growth, and we believe his proven track record will be invaluable to our future success.”

The new facility in Manhattan, Kansas, is expected to employ about 500 workers and focus on large molecule and biologics manufacturing, with a particular focus on biodefense, according to a statement shared earlier this year.

NightHawk Biosciences rebranded from Heat Biologics earlier this year, as well.

Morrisville life science firm Heat Biologics is changing name to NightHawk Biosciences

From Heat to NightHawk

WRAL TechWire published a story from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center in April that outlines NightHawk’s rationale for changing its name and the firm’s history and subsidiary companies.

“Over the past 18 months, we’ve built a powerful drug discovery engine in our SkunkWorx subsidiary,” Wolf told reporter Bryant Haskins for the April 2022 story.  “We’ve been building our Scorpion subsidiary to deliver world-class biomanufacturing. And we announced the acquisition of Elusys Therapeutics, a biodefense company, which we intend to grow into a biodefense powerhouse.”

The company’s acquisition of Elusys was announced late last year and signaled the intention to focus on biodefense.

NightHawk is a 2008 University of Miami spinout.  The company relocated in 2011, and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center played an instrumental role in the process, providing the firm’s initial source of funding through a $225,000 strategic growth loan while also providing temporary office space.

The firm would later move to Morrisville where it set up its headquarters, and the company announced last year that it would expand its square footage in the region, with plans to double its research and development facility.

Morrisville’s Heat Biologics to double its R&D center, grow to 15,000+ sqft