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14^th edition

Format

HYBRID

December 2^nd & 3^rd, 2025

IN-PERSON | STRASBOURG

December 8^th,2025

ONLINE MEETINGS

14^th edition

Format

HYBRID

December 2^nd & 3^rd, 2025

IN-PERSON | STRASBOURG

December 8^th,2025

ONLINE MEETINGS

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2025 Conference Programme

Home » 2025 Conference Programme

Steered by its prestigious committee, the BioFIT conference programme is shaped to correspond to the interests of every player in the sector and to meet the expectations of its stakeholders, whose sharp minds operate in the fast-paced Life Sciences sector. The 2025 programme is rooted in four custom-made tracks, addressing the right funding sources for early-stage innovation, best practices in academia-industry R&D collaborations, winning ways to nurture early-stage assets and animal health highlights.

Plenary Session
AI: Current and future impacts on drug discovery and development, and beyond

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Track 1 :
Best practices in academia-industry R&D collaborations

Case studies – Proof-of-concept and de-risking: Stories of impactful research partnerships

Toolbox – Best practices to proactively connect academic assets to potential partners

Panel discussion – Early-stage sourcing: How are investors approaching academia partnerships?

Panel discussion – Cross fertilisation: Deliverables and learnings in academia-pharma collaborations

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Track 2 :
Nurturing and licensing early-stage assets

Panel discussion – Licensing or spining-off? Choosing the right course for an academic asset

Panel discussion – Pharmas’ strategies on M&As and licensing: What room for early-stage deals?

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Track 3:
From pre-seed to Series A: Accessing early-stage investment

Panel discussion – Assessing 2025 early-stage investments and expectations for 2026

[Common with MedFIT] Panel discussion – CEOs share their successful fundraising strategies

Toolbox – Academia taking equity in start-ups: What are the key considerations?

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Track 4:
Animal health highlights

Conference to be defined

More details coming soon!

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Plenary and Keynote Sessions

T.1: Best practices in academia-industry R&D collaborations

T.2: Nurturing and licensing early-stage assets

T.3: From pre-seed to Series A: Accessing early-stage investment

T.4: Animal health highlights

Project - CEO Matchmaking

Plenary and Keynote Sessions

Keynote Session

DAY 1 – Tuesday, December 3^rd, 2024

9:00 AM
9:30 AM

Global investment trends in health industries: 2025 outlook

Let’s explore the landscape of global investments in health industries, emerging opportunities and challenges for 2025. What are the key drivers in the sectors of biotech and MedTech? What can we anticipate for the increasingly popular digital health sector, as well as for the One Health approach? How are regulatory changes, technological advancements, and market dynamics impacting these fields? Gain insight into the evolving priorities of investors and the strategic approaches shaping the future of growth and innovation in the health sector.

Antoine de Lachaux, Head of Unit – Life Sciences and Biotech, European Investment Bank

Plenary Session

DAY 1 – Tuesday, December 3^rd, 2024

11:15 AM
12:30 PM

Recent trends within dealmaking and investment industry: An increasing Pharma M&A appetite?

While deal volumes have slowed down in recent years, in line with the overall M&A activity, deals in the life sciences sector started to pick up again at the end of 2023 and continued in 2024.

Experts will discuss this M&A resurgence and its implications for early-stage deals, funding availability, business development prospects and deal pattern observations. What trends are observed in recent M&A deals? What is the current state of M&As and what patterns can be observed in deal structures? Are deals differing for mid-size companies? What are BD heads observing and how are they responding? What has been the impact of IRA on R&D and M&A strategies? What is the balance between acquisitions and partnerships in global strategies? Is the resurgence of M&A activity creating more opportunities or challenges for early-stage dealmaking? What therapeutic areas have been targeted by M&As and how does it affect biotech in a pre-deal environment? Are investors more likely to take risks earlier on as a result? What will large pharmas and investors be looking for in 2025?

Moderator: Claudia Andretta, Founder, Strategic Science & Business Advisor, Sichem Bio

Joachim Vogt, Director, Search and Evaluation International, AbbVie
Michel de Baar, Executive Director BD&L Europe, MSD
Jessica Garestier, Of Counsel – Life Sciences, Dentons
Camille Grellet, Healthcare Investment Banking, Cambon Partners

Keynote Session

DAY 2 – Wednesday, December 4^th, 2024

9:00 AM
9:30 AM

The Future of Medicine: Unlocking the potential of data

Data is the new gold. And what better way to invest it than in health? From precision diagnostics to predictive care models, how is data already transforming medicine and what future breakthroughs lie ahead? How are advancements in data analytics, AI, and secure data sharing impacting patient outcomes and healthcare efficiency, and what challenges need to be addressed? Gain a forward-looking perspective on how data-driven insights are paving the way for more personalized healthcare —making better outcomes and accessibility a reality for all.

Hema Purohit, Strategic Advisor & CTO Healthcare, Microsoft

T.1: Best practices in academia-industry R&D collaborations

TRACK 1: BEST PRACTICES IN R&D COLLABORATIONS

Fostering academia-industry partnerships is key to fuel innovation in the sector. Which sectors are prone to fuel collaborations? What are the elements to forgather to merge the scientific, academic, advocacy and industry spheres? How are the advances in specific fields influencing academia-pharma partnerships? How can these collective efforts question the way the industry is covering the pre-competitive status?

DAY 1 – Tuesday, December 3^rd, 2024

9:45 AM
10:45 AM

Academia-biotech collaborations: an alternative itinerary to foster innovation

Academia and industry have been joining their strengths through collaboration deals to bring cutting-edge research to life as practical innovations. While pharma companies are often considered as the go-to partner for collaborations, biotech can also serve as strategic partner in bringing academic projects to light.

What are the differences between collaborating with biotech vs big pharmas? What advantages does partnering with a biotech offer? How can academic assets spark the interest of biotech? From an academic perspective, what defines the right biotech partner? What are the current challenges for academia and biotech when working side by side?

Moderator: Gerald Law, Chief Executive, Innovation DB

Fadwa Benkessou, Academia-Industry Alliance Manager, Karolinska Institutet
Kevin Carvalho, Head of Strategic Partnerships, Deeplife
Eduardo Salas, Head of Technology Transfer and Business Development, IBEC
Ségolène Martin, CEO, Kantify

DAY 2 – Wednesday, December 4^th, 2024

2:00 PM
3:00 PM

A tale of academia-pharma collaborations: What does the story teach us?

Throughout the years, academia-pharma collaborations have enabled the translation of insights into therapeutics that impact patients’ lives for the better. In this session, the experts will analyse success stories of collaboration deals to try and draw some guidance.

Which success stories have made their mark in the recent history of academia and pharma partnership and what can we learn from them? Is there a common pattern between these collaborations? What challenges did these partnerships come across and how did they overcome them? What best practices can TTOs draw from these academia-pharma collaborations?

Moderator: Matthieu Flourakis, Team Lead “Strategic Partnerships & Stakeholder Management” & Senior Project Manager, Akkodis

Patrick di Stefano, Industrial Relations Manager and Technology Transfer Expert, Université libre de Bruxelles
Julie Edwards, Director, Alliance Management, Boehringer Ingelheim
Stefanie Possekel, Director Technology Management, Ascenion
Alain Martelli, Director External Science and Innovation, Pfizer

T.2: Nurturing and licensing early-stage assets

TRACK 2: NURTURING AND LICENSING EARLY-STAGE ASSETS

Early-stage assets evolve in an ecosystem where TTOs, scientists and entrepreneurs are closely connected. Understanding the mechanisms and difficulties of nurturing and licensing assets is key to properly influence the valuation of assets at an early stage. How can we fully understand the proposition behind the value? How can we transform science into business more frequently and efficiently?

DAY 1 – Tuesday, December 3^rd, 2024

1:30 PM
2:00 PM

The synergy of partnership: the journey of Ipsen and GENFIT

An inside look into the successful partnership between Ipsen and GENFIT, where leaders from both companies will share the story of their journey from collaboration to impactful innovation. This fireside chat will explore how each partner leveraged their strengths to accelerate drug development, while overcoming challenges, nurturing a collaboration that has become a model for success in the life sciences industry.

Moderator: Claudia Andretta, Founder, Strategic Science & Business Advisor, Sichem Bio

Jean-Patrick Hennebelle, SVP, Late Stage Partnering, Ipsen
Pascal Caisey, Chief Operating Officer, GENFIT

2:00 PM
2:45 PM

Navigating a deal structure: Overview, market practices and how to approach

Discussing the landscape of deal structures in the biotech industry, experts will provide their experience in deal-making and asset-licensing. What are the different deal structures? Has there been any innovative and less conventional deal structure types in the past few years for licensing early-stage assets to big pharma? How do deal structures vary based on the area of technology or therapeutic indication, and what factors influence their adoption? What considerations should biotech or TTOs take into account when exploring deal structures with pharma? How will Pharma select potential assets in the future? What are the key points of a successful deal? What best practices can we learn from the recent years and what advice can the experts offer to the newcomers in the sector?

Moderator: Chris Shelley, Partner – IP, IT & Commercial, Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP

Tamar Raz, CEO, Hadasit
Lubor Gaal, Chief Financial Officer, Circio Holding ASA
Lilian Alcaraz, VP, Early Innovation Partnering EMEA, Johnson & Johnson Innovation
Guy Hélin, CEO, Syngulon

3:00 PM
3:45 PM

Information is the key: What should you have ready to present your academic asset to potential industry partners?

Effective communication and presentation of academic assets are essential for engaging potential partners. At what point is a university research asset considered ready to seek potential partners? What information is essential for effectively presenting to industry? How do research and development teams evaluate opportunities and assess the potential value of academic assets? What are the respective roles of the researcher and the university in the preparation process?

Moderator: Markus Lang, Managing Director, Dr Lang Consulting

Katya Ascher, Counsel, McDermott Will & Emery
Geoff Davison, CEO, Bionow
Benjamin August, Senior Director, Research & Technology Search & Evaluation, Daiichi Sankyo

4:15 PM
5:00 PM

TTO to TTO collaborations: Examples and success stories of spinning off academic assets from different institutions into a single company

This session intends to explore technology pooling between TTOs and how they are working together on innovative assets. What motivates TTOs to collaborate on spinning off academic assets? Which feedback can we get from experience: what works, what doesn’t, for which kind of assets? How to overcome the challenge of different organisation working under a license?

Moderator: Jürgen Walkenhorst, Manager Patents and Licenses, PROvendis GmbH

Eric Wyart, Operational Director, Réseau LiEU
Mikaël Le Clech, Business Development Manager, ChemBioFrance
Jürgen Bauer, Deputy Managing Director, EMBLEM Technology Transfer

DAY 2 – Wednesday, December 4^th, 2024

9:45 AM
10:45 AM

Diving into the venture builder model: Unpacking the value proposition in nurturing biotech assets

The venture builder or start-up studio model has gained prominence in nurturing early-stage biotech assets, offering a unique approach to supporting innovation. What distinguishes them from more traditional incubators and accelerators? Is there really a single start-up studio model? How do they collaborate with academic institutions, research organisations, and industry partners? How do venture builders effectively add value to early-stage biotech companies and has this proven effective? What are the challenges and limitations of the model?

Moderator: Gerald Law, Chief Executive, Innovation DB

Clément Bertholet, Partner, AdBio Partners
William Hariri, Co-founder & CBO, Exert Therapeutics
Kåre Engkilde, Entrepreneur in Residence, BioInnovation Institute
Martyna Wroblewska, Manager Innovation & Sourcing, BaseLaunch

T.3: From pre-seed to Series A: Accessing early-stage investment

TRACK 3: FROM PRE-SEED TO SERIES A: ACCESSING EARLY-STAGE INVESTMENT

This track aims to understand the mechanisms enforcing investors’ presence in early stages of development. Are we witnessing surges of investment in specific therapeutic areas? Who are the new players involved in investing on the biotech sector and what are their pre-requisites? Are there increasing interactions and partnerships between pharma and VCs at these initial stages?

DAY 1 – Tuesday, December 3^rd, 2024

5:15 PM
6:00 PM

Gear up for years to come: How to get a ‘seedable’ company?

Pre-seed funding is the very first stage for founders to test their hypothesis and prepare for the next round of funding. Yet, at these early-stage times, there is more needed than just good data for companies attract investors. This panel will try to provide the necessary ingredients to the funding recipe for early-stage companies.

What are investors looking for in a successful pre-seed company? What role TTOs and incubators play in supporting biotech at the pre-seed financing stage? How to prepare for your first round of financing? What are the investors’ expectations in terms of governance? How to build an early-stage biotech dream team and set a healthy ground ready to handle the future ups and downs?

Moderator: Shobhit Dhawan, Fund Manager, Oncode Bridge Fund

Ulrich Mahr, Member General Manager, Max-Planck-Innovation
Jeroen Blokhuis, Head of Academic Innovation Sourcing and VC Partnership Europe, General Inception
Marie Duranteau, Associate, Program Manager, Sofinnova Partners

DAY 2 – Wednesday, December 4^th, 2024

11:15 AM
12:30 PM

Biotech investors’ forecast: Where will early-stage investment go in 2025?

It’s time for an end-of-year review of biotech investing: expert investors share the trends they saw for 2024 and the deals that made a difference. Was 2024 a good year for early-stage investing? Where did larger funds’ money go? What was the geographical diversity of early-stage deals? What’s under and on the radar? What can we expect in 2025? Which therapeutic areas will attract or increase VC interest?

Moderator: Philippe Monteyne, Partner, Aliath Bioventures

Frank Hensel, Principal, High-Tech Gründerfonds
Anela Vukoja, COO, Apollo Health Ventures
Oliver Boucher, Vice President, Business Development & Strategic Alliances, Zoetis
Florian Denis, Investment Director, Elaia Partners

3:15 PM
4:15 PM

Asset-based vs. technology platform-based startups: Analysing investors’ preferences and mechanisms in funding

Biotech start-ups may adopt different business models, either focusing on developing specific assets or leveraging technology platforms to address multiple indications. What are the key differences between asset-based and technology platform-based start-ups, and how do they impact investors’ perceptions and preferences? What are the advantages and challenges of each business model from an investment perspective, and how can entrepreneurs effectively communicate their value proposition to investors? How do funding mechanisms vary and what implications do they have for entrepreneurs?

Moderator: Ester Caffarel-Salvador, Director, Strategic Innovation, Rare Diseases, Chiesi USA

Farzad Abdi-Dezfuli, Partner, Sarsia
Paul Bravetti, CEO, Brenus Pharma
Andreas Kastenbauer, Partner, MIG Capital
Audrey Cacaly, Life Science Venture Capital Principal, Forbion

T.4: Animal health highlights

TRACK 4: ANIMAL HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS

DAY 1 – Tuesday, December 3^rd, 2024

This track features the latest innovation challenges in animal health R&D and intends to provide a clear understanding of the bridges that can be built between human and animal health. International experts from veterinary research and industry will discuss the latest initiatives to improve and accelerate the development of new diagnostics, vaccines and pharmaceuticals for animal diseases and beyond.

2:00 PM
2:45 PM

Investors and Animal Health: Expectations and perspectives for 2025

Co-organised by:

Supported by:

The animal health market is influenced by the demand of sustainable products, the ongoing search for more efficiency, safety and quality, as well as the evolving behaviour of a younger generation towards animal health services. In this session, key players of the sector will discuss the current challenges in animal health investments. What is the state of market dynamics in animal health investments and what trends can we anticipate for 2025? How can the sector become more appealing to investors and stimulate growing interest? In what ways the One Health approach positively impact the sector and what roles can companies and investors play in drawing the bigger picture?

Moderator: Pascal Breton, Manager Business Development & Global Alliances, Europe, Vetoquinol

Oliver Boucher, Vice President, Business Development & Strategic Alliances, Zoetis
Guerric Radière, Independent vet and consultant, Investor, Animal Health Angels
Steve Nanchen, Senior Director, Head External Innovation, Elanco Animal Health

3:00 PM
3:30 PM

The Ageing of Man and Animal: crafting longer, happier and healthier lives for an ageing population of Pets and People through collaborative translational approaches

Sponsored by:

Zoetis, the world’s leading animal health company, invites you to explore how human and animal health can converge for the mutual benefit of people and companion animals. While technological advancements in human and veterinary nutrition and medicine have helped to extend the lifespans of humans and pets alike, with a larger population of elderly patients we witness a corresponding rise in the incidence of certain chronic and age-related health conditions. Innovative solutions to enhance the care and quality of life for both people and our animal companions are more necessary than ever. This session will explore how cutting-edge innovations in human medicine can be harnessed to enhance the quality of life of aging pets, and how data generated in animal patients can accelerate the development of human medicines. As we delve into the shared pathways of chronic diseases between pets and people, we will discuss the potential for startups and innovators in the human health sector to contribute to the progression of veterinary medicine while creating additional revenue streams for their businesses. We will discuss the scientific and regulatory parallels that guide the development of medicines across both industries, emphasizing the mutual benefits that arise from this interdisciplinary approach. Join us to discover how the latest breakthroughs in human health can pave the way for transformative therapies in animal care, ultimately leading to a longer, happier and healthier future for our cherished four-legged companions.

Dieter Vancraeynest, External Innovation Lead, Zoetis

Project - CEO Matchmaking

PROJECT – CEO MATCHMAKING

The Project – CEO matchmaking activity aims to connect representatives of emerging start-ups, technology transfer offices, incubators and investing networks with CEOs and aspiring CEOs. It includes a dedicated visibility for projects looking for CEOs on the partnering platform and a dedicated conference around recruitment or team-building issues.

DAY 2 – Wednesday, December 4^th, 2024

2:00 PM
3:00 PM

The path to becoming a successful CEO: Tips to wannabe founders

For emerging startups in the healthcare industry, the journey to success begins with effective leadership. This session will feature MedTech and Biotech CEOs, sharing their journey and insights for aspiring founders seeking to navigate the challenges of startup leadership.

What are the essential qualities and skills for effective startup leadership? How to ensure founders are “business ready”, especially when coming from academia? How to build the right team that will convince investors? How to work with your board and as them as proper advisors? What are the strategies for attracting and retaining top talents?

Moderator: Lynn Coorevits, Digital Health Innovation Manager, imec

Alain Barbal, Director, Board Advisor, Novostia
Georges Rawadi, CEO, StromaCare
Véronique Foutel, CEO, InBrain Pharma
Neel Patel, CEO, ZiO Health

Interested in joining a panel?

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REGISTRATION TO BIOFIT

WHO WILL YOU MEET?

Contact

Eline Delcroix

Conference Programme Manager

edelcroix@eurasante.com

+33 (0) 978 315 544

With more than 1,200 international actors from 35+ countries, such as big pharma, emerging and small biotech, diagnostic companies, pre-seed / seed / Series A investors, as well as professionals from tech transfer, academia and research institutions, BioFIT is the leading partnering event in Europe for technology transfer, academia-industry collaborations and early-stage innovation deals in the field of Life Sciences. BioFIT is also the European marketplace for pre-seed, seed and Series A investment rounds in Life Sciences.
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Avenue Herrenschmidt,
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