Peter Späth

Peter Spaeth, PhD, FAMH Immunology,  graduated in Biochemistry from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. After his postdoctoral years he joined the plasma fractionation site of the Swiss Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (BSD-SRC) in Bern, Switzerland. There were exciting times, as the first fully active intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) developed by BSD-SRC started clinical use (later known as Sandoglobulin). This IVIG became the one with which the immunomodulatory potential of IVIG was demonstrated by Paul Imbach working at the Pediatric Clinic of the University Hospital in Bern. Peter’s duty was to build up and run as accredited head a clinical immunology diagnostic laboratory with a particular focus on primary immune deficiencies and diseases with a derailed complement system. The focus on complement primarily served to study the exciting beneficial and the known and unknow severe adverse effects of IVIG therapies. His work allowed Peter acquiring and combining knowledge in manufacturing, pathogen safety and clinical use of IVIG and other plasma products. Over the years Peter was involved in many IVIG studies, e.g. from scratch on the side of the manufacturer in the IVIG Guillain-Barré/plasma exchange study lead by Richard Hughes. Furthermore, Peter recalls lengthy discussions with several leading Italian neurologists.

In the 90’s, for a few years, Peter was invited professor at the Scuola di Specializzazione, Medical Faculty, Università degli Study, Ancona. His teaching efforts for Italian medical students promoted him to the edge of becoming an Italian citizen: he received his ‘Codice Fiscale’.

The expertise of the clinical immunology diagnostic laboratory allowed Peter to build up an international network of collaborations. Publications in various fields of medicine were the basis for a successful application for venia docendi in immunology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Bern. After quitting employment, Peter joined the Institute of Pharmacology of his University. Autum 2025 he changed over to the club of emeriti of the university.