Biotech firm Novozymes appoints new general manager

Human gut health research firm appoints leading scientist to head up its Irish site at the Airport Business Park, Cork

Dr Alison Winger, newly appointed general manager of Cork-based Novozymes Ireland, based at the Airport Business Park, Cork. Photo: Clare Keogh

Biotechnology company Novozymes Ireland has appointed gut health expert Dr Alison Winger as general manager of its growing Irish operation at the Airport Business Park, Cork.

The Novozymes group also includes PrecisionBiotics, which also harnesses nature's friendly bacteria to enhance gut health. Headquartered in Bagsværd, outside of Copenhagen, Denmark, Novozymes specialises in the research, development and production of industrial enzymes, microorganisms and biopharmaceutical ingredients. 

Dr Winger takes over the GM role from leading gut health scientist Dr Barry Kiely, who recently retired from PrecisionBiotics. Living in Ireland since 2014 and working with Novozymes Ireland since 2021, New Zealand-born Dr Winger will also remain as global head of product development at Novozymes within the firm’s human health division, OneHealth, leading a global team of scientists who develop new, innovative products containing Novozymes proprietary enzymes, probiotics, prebiotics and vitamins. 

Dr Winger said: “We are a company with science and innovation at our core. Everything we do starts with our unique One-in-a-Trillion mindset, to help people support their microbiome and take control of their One Health. I’m very much looking forward to the exciting challenges that lie ahead in my new role as General Manager in 2024.” 

Dr Alison Winger, newly appointed GM, at the Novozymes Ireland office at the Airport Business Park, Cork. Photo: Clare Keogh

Based in Cork, Dr Winger heads up a division of Novozymes in Ireland, Denmark and in the US, as well as working closely with the commercial world for the creation of branded products. She has previously held a number of academic research positions. In Ireland, she has worked with Monaghan Biosciences, LEO Pharma, and Deerland Probiotics and Enzymes.

Dr Winger is the author of several publications, including three enzyme patents and nine peer-reviewed papers in the fields of enzymes and probiotics.

“I am absolutely delighted to further my career with Novozymes Ireland by taking up this role, stepping into the shoes of the extraordinary Barry Kiely who has done so much for science in Cork and Ireland through his leadership at PrecisionBiotics. Novozymes Ireland is a fantastic place to work, the technology we use is genuinely amazing, and we are continuing to discover novel solutions,” said Dr Winger. 

PrecisionBiotics was established more than 20 years ago, when scientists began researching thousands of bacterial cultures, together with experts from one of the world’s leading centres of microbiome research, the APC Microbiome Institute in UCC, Ireland.

Novozymes Ireland conducts rigorous scientific tests on bacterial cultures, developing probiotic bacteria to enhance human gut health. Following these trials, the PrecisionBiotics team then creates convenient products containing these solutions for consumers and clinicians worldwide.