2024 Speakers

Born in June 1958 in Pamiers, France, Alain Barbal is a Swiss resident since 1986. He is now an accomplished and happy CEO, Project manager, and Board member with extensive expertise in innovation and high-tech industries. He studied Mechanical Engineering at the University Paul Sabatier in Toulouse, then earned a Master’s in Innovation Management from ESST, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, followed by a Master’s in Strategic Management from EM-Lyon.

His career spans both private and public sectors, where he honed his management skills in production and innovation. He contributed to quality and productivity improvements, as well as the development of breakthrough products, particularly in Medical Devices, Microelectronics & Photovoltaics, and Precision Mechanics. In the public sector, he cultivated long-term thinking, perseverance, diplomacy, analytical skills in complex situations with conflicting objectives, and open-mindedness, qualities essential for fostering economic development and international cooperation.

Born in June 1958 in Pamiers, France, Alain Barbal is a Swiss resident since 1986. He is now an accomplished and happy CEO, Project manager, and Board member with extensive expertise in innovation and high-tech industries. He studied Mechanical Engineering at the University Paul Sabatier in Toulouse, then earned a Master’s in Innovation Management from ESST, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, followed by a Master’s in Strategic Management from EM-Lyon.

His career spans both private and public sectors, where he honed his management skills in production and innovation. He contributed to quality and productivity improvements, as well as the development of breakthrough products, particularly in Medical Devices, Microelectronics & Photovoltaics, and Precision Mechanics. In the public sector, he cultivated long-term thinking, perseverance, diplomacy, analytical skills in complex situations with conflicting objectives, and open-mindedness, qualities essential for fostering economic development and international cooperation.

His experience encompasses both operational and strategic roles in production, R&D, quality assurance, plant management, and public/private international cooperation across multinationals, large companies, SMEs, and startups.

His professional journey has taken him to multiple countries, including France, Switzerland, the UK, Italy, Germany, Japan, China, Argentina, Brazil, and Russia, enriching his understanding of global markets and enhancing cross-cultural collaboration.

His leadership values are inspired by Victor Hugo’s quote: “Faites les gens heureux, vous les rendrez meilleurs.” Throughout his career, he did observed that when employees feel valued and happy, they not only grow but they better to the success of their projects and teams.

Leveraging his professional experience, he now supports individuals, businesses, and organizations – both public and private – in projects focused on building a more inclusive, equitable and sustainable society.

Alain Martelli is a molecular and cellular biologist by training, with a PhD in Bioorganic Chemistry from the University of Grenoble, France. Alain worked for more than 15 years in academic research, where he developed a strong expertise in molecular biology, iron metabolism and rare disease, specifically in the rare neuromuscular disorder Friedreich ataxia. In 2016, Alain joined the Pfizer Rare Disease Research Unit in Cambridge (MA), USA, where he led several early-stage programs and collaborations involving both gene therapy and small molecule approaches. In 2022, Alain moved back to France to join a small biotech company, Innoskel, as Senior Director of Translational Medicine, to oversee the translational development of a novel gene therapy for a rare bone disorder. In July 2023, Alain was hired back by Pfizer as Emerging Science Lead to help build strong collaborations between Pfizer and the French academic research and biotech ecosystems.

Andreas Kastenbauer is a seasoned executive in venture capital and biotech, currently a Partner at MIG Capital AG in Munich, Germany, with a focus on biotech, animal health, medtech, and digital health. He holds board positions at instrAction GmbH, mimi hearing technologies GmbH, and HawkCell SAS. Previously, he founded PremioPet.com, a pet feed startup, where he led product development and market entry. Andreas also served as CEO at IDT Biologika GmbH, driving global expansion and leading a successful divestment. His background includes executive roles at Klocke Holding GmbH and a decade of management consulting working primarily for private equity with expertise in business strategy, M&A, and corporate venture management. Andreas holds an MBA from Bocconi University and a BSc from Syracuse University.

Anela joined Apollo Health Ventures as COO in 2020 and has since been helping shape R&D strategy and clinical development plans in the fund’s venture creations. She takes an active role and supports companies both as an advisor and operator as needed. She currently serves on the board of directors of several companies including Samsara Therapeutics, Cleara, Booster Therapeutics and RefoxyPharmaceuticals. In addition, Anela helps evaluate new investment opportunities and initiates company creation projects, especially in the area of neurodegeneratio n and brain health. Before joining Apollo Health Ventures, she worked at a boutique consulting firm Catenion T here she has managed international projects for Big Pharma and biotech upstarts regarding R&D strategy and advised top tier VC’s and hedge funds o n their investment decisions. Anela holds a PhD in neurobiology from the Free University of Berlin and her work was published in top ranked peer reviewed journals.

Benjamin August is a member of the Global Business Development & Licensing team at Daiichi Sankyo, where he is focused on external innovation. His academic background is a PhD in Cell Biology with focus on immunology, followed by post-doctoral training in hematology and oncology. He has held Medical Affairs and Business Development roles in biotech and pharmaceutical companies for the last 17 years. Benjamin received his executive MBA from Mannheim Business School and ESSEC. He is currently looking for early stage research across therapy areas and technology platforms that show promise in finding next generation therapeutics.

Chris is a Partner and Head of Life Sciences at UK law firm Penningtons Manches Cooper, based in Oxford.  He is a commercial and IP lawyer specialising in licensing transactions, with many years’ experience of acting for companies and institutions working in life sciences, engineering, environmental sciences and publishing.  He has particular expertise in technology transfer, acting both for research institutions and their spin-out companies. Chris is top-ranked in Chambers, in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame, a Transactional IP Star and Highly Recommended for transactions by IAM Patent 1000.

Clément Bertholet is Partner at AdBio Partners, and spent the first part of this carreer between life science and corporate finance. He graduated from Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS Paris Saclay) with a major in Biology and Health and several experiences in Institut Curie and Cancer Research UK, before joining the Corps des Mines, a senior officials corpse, of which he is engineer in chief.

Before being promoted Partner, Clément was Operating partner for AdBio, co-founder and CEO of Calida Therapeutics (thrombo-inflammation), and former VP Corp. Dev. of Thabor Therapeutics (mucosal inflammation).

Before joining AdBio Partners, Clément was deputy governmental delegate for business restructuring, reporting directly to the Ministers in charge of Economy and Finance, Industry, and Labor, and head of a business restructuring unit. He created and managed a €500m credit line to support companies affected by Covid-19 economic crisis. Prior to this, Clément held several positions at the French Treasury, BNP Paribas CIB New York and GDF Suez.

More information coming soon!

I am an enthusiastic and versatile executive with deep knowledge and extensive experience in the pharmaceutical or diagnostic research and development. I have multi-disciplinary management capabilities, including scientific, research and development, clinical genetic laboratory, and legal or intellectual/industrial property. I possess excellent ability to identify clinical utilities, design clinical trials, evaluate research projects, and re-focus in research and development (R&D) process. I am a native communicator of Spanish, with fluency in English.

Eric Wyart is the Operational Director of the LiEU Network, the network of technology and knowledge transfer offices of the French-speaking universities in Belgium (TTO/KTO). After completing his engineering degree from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, he began his career at Cenaero when the centre had just been created in 2002. He completed his doctoral thesis on the industrialization of crack propagation computation methods for aeronautical structures under the supervision of Professors Pardoen and Remacle at the Université catholique de Louvain.

Subsequently, he was successively in charge of the Metallic Structures & Processes and Computational Multiphysics Software Development teams at Cenaero. During this period, he contributed to the setting up of regional and European projects while pursuing actions to promote and raise awareness among companies. Activities he led until his departure for the R&D center of Plastic Omnium where he was in charge of the multiphysics design platform dedicated to fuel tanks.

Ester is a multidisciplinary scientist with a background in biotechnology and bioengineering. After working in different roles across startups, pharma, and consulting, she is now the Director of Strategic Innovation at Chiesi USA, where she is scouting companies for partnerships or acquisitions that have innovative technologies to treat patients with rare diseases.

At MIT, Ester developed a pill to administer insulin orally, and was recognized as one of the 35 Innovators Under 35 by the MIT Technology Review in 2019. She serves as an advisor to various international startups. Ester speaks seven languages and is passionate about advocating on career development for women in science.

As an Academia-Industry Alliance Manager, Dr. Fadwa Benkessou is responsible for identifying strategic partnership opportunities, facilitating collaborations, and ensuring seamless communication between academic researchers and industry partners. Dr. Benkessou holds a PhD in Medical Sciences from Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and a Master of Science Degree in Biotechnology from Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane.

The function of Dr. Benkessou’s role is an integral part of Karolinska Institutet’s mission to advance knowledge and contribute to improvements in human health. Forging alliances with industry partners can actively contribute to the translation of scientific results into tangible solutions that have a meaningful impact on global healthcare.

Florian Denis is an Investment Director at Elaia. Florian first joined the team as an Investment Manager in 2019 and focuses on investments in biotech and techbio.

Prior to joining Elaia, Florian was Associate at Auriga Partners and more recently Equity Research analyst within the healthcare division of Société de bourse Gilbert Dupont (Société Générale).

Education

Master MTI (Management de la Technologie et de l’Innovation) – Université Paris Dauphine – Mines Paristech – ENS

MSc Sup’Biotech Paris

Dr Frank Hensel holds a PH.D. in biology and has a longstanding experience as Entrepreneur in a Start-Up developing human monoclonal antibodies for cancer treatment. Since being part of HTGF in 2015 Frank built a solid portfolio of start-ups with a focus on drug development companies. Out of this portfolio several companies entered the clinical stage, and 2 companies (Amal Therapeutics and Cardior Pharmaceuticals) were successfully exited to global pharma companies Boehringer Ingelheim with a deal volume of up to 1030 Mio. €.

Geoff is the Chief Executive of Bionow (www.bionow.co.uk), the life sciences membership organisation for the North of the UK. Having founded the business in 2011, Bionow has more than 20 University members and 330 industry members across the North. Geoff is regularly invited to advise and comment on industry requirements and represent the Bionow membership both regionally and nationally. Previously, Geoff founded 2 biotech companies, both spin-out companies from the University of Manchester, focused on developing point of care diagnostic technologies. Geoff has a degree in Biochemistry and a PhD from the School of Pharmacy, University of Manchester where he began his career undertaking postdoctoral research in the area of enhanced payload responsive liposomal drug delivery systems.

Geoff is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and works with two investor organisations as a member of the LYVA Labs Investment Committee and member of the Deepbridge Capital Investment Advisory Committee.

Georges Rawadi holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Paris VI (Pierre et Marie Curie) and completed advanced training in business and management at ESSEC Business School. With over 25 years in the pharma and biotech sectors, Georges has worked across a range of roles, from scientific research and drug discovery to business development, executive leadership, and entrepreneurship, helping biotechnology companies to build cutting-edge pipelines and strategies. Currently, Georges is the CEO of StromaCare and serves as a board member and consultant to various biotech companies. Previously, he was CEO of Celyad Oncology, a company listed on Euronext, and of YSOPIA Bioscience. He also held the role of Chief of Biotech Studio Development at EureKare and served as Vice President of Business Development & Intellectual Property at Celyad and Cellectis. Georges has also excelled in senior business development roles at Galapagos, ProStrakan and has led numerous consulting projects focused on strategic development. Georges’ extensive experience uniquely positions him to drive innovation and strategic growth in the biotech industry.

Gerald has a background in Management Consultancy and academia. A London Business School alumnus with a Doctorate from Oxford University, he has experience of several start-ups and their exits, with considerable experience in building company executive boards, which has led him now to sit on VC investment committees, among other roles.

In 2010, he founded Innovation DB. Developed under contract from the UK MOD, IDB has now created an AI-enhanced data gathering system, that identifies, captures and describes emerging technologies, drawn from around 20,000 academic institutions. This provides an unparalleled dataset of research with real-world applications, that includes all biotech and pharma-related tech transfer activity to be found globally.

Guerric is a veterinarian, independent consultant, and investor. After completing his veterinary degree and an MBA, he spent four years as a strategy consultant in France and Germany, advising companies and investment funds in life sciences. He then transitioned to the pharmaceutical industry, holding global marketing and commercial roles at Boehringer Ingelheim and Novartis/Sandoz in Germany before returning to France.

A passionate veterinarian, Guerric now divides his time between practicing as a companion animal vet, advising small and large companies as well as investors on animal-related matters, and lecturing at French veterinary universities in Paris and Toulouse. He also invests in and serves on the boards of companies focused on sustainability or animal-related businesses.

Guerric is married and has a son. During his spare time, he loves to enjoy the great outdoors and to play basketball and rugby.

“Currently, in 2024, I hold the position of Director/CTO for Healthcare & Public Sector throughout EMEA at Microsoft, with a keen focus on leading Generative AI Transformation initiatives. My professional background includes being the former Director for Government & Public Sector in the UK and Ireland at Google Cloud, amounting to over three decades of experience in the field of technology.

As a passionate advocate for technology, especially within the public sector and healthcare, I am committed to leveraging tech for the greater good. I am actively engaged in driving business improvement and outcomes while advocating for environmental protection and pursuing sustainability objectives. Bringing extensive expertise and enthusiasm for Technology, AI, and Business Transformation, I excel in orchestrating transformative changes across various industry sectors. My specializations cover a wide range of areas including AI, Multi-Cloud, Novel Technologies, Strategic Planning, Roadmaps, Architectural Design, and Management. My role involves leading the creation of ambitious, long-term transformation strategies, communicating them to clients, and crafting designs that align with business goals. Collaborating extensively with various stakeholders, I ensure to extract the full value of technological change, balancing the potential against the necessary investment justification. I am deeply involved in promoting diversity in tech, particularly supporting women in the industry. I lead multiple initiatives to foster growth and development within the Women in Tech Network and am proud to be selected as a UN Women UK Delegate for CSW68 in 2024.

A distinguished BCS Fellow and a pioneer member of the Fellows Technical Assurance Group, I have taken the helm for Digital Health & Social Care in the UK. Additionally, I produce a podcast titled “The Healthcare Hacktivist”, which spotlights talent, startups, and innovations in healthtech and medtech. With accreditation in public speaking, I am a renowned presenter, confidently engaging audiences at large-scale international and national events. I am dedicated to guiding businesses in sound technological decision-making by sharing my seasoned insights, championing best practices, and narrowing down the disconnect between customers and providers.”

Jean-Patrick Hennebelle joined Ipsen’s Global Partnering organization in 2015. Holding a number of positions of increasing responsibility within business development and alliance management, Jean- Patrick now leads Ipsen’s late-stage business development strategy as Senior Vice President, Late Stage Partnering.  Within his role, Jean-Patrick is responsible for expanding Ipsen’s late-stage portfolio across the three Therapeutic Areas of Oncology, Rare Disease and Neuroscience through strong, global, collaborative partnerships.

Prior to joining Ipsen, Jean-Patrick held the roles of Business Development Manager and then Dermatology Business Unit Manager during which he oversaw licensing and acquisition deals for Laboratoires Expanscience. Before that, he worked for the biotechnology division of EFS (French Blood Service), during which he was responsible for key strategic alliances with partners in the U.S. and Asia for the provision of monoclonal antibodies. He started his career as Strategy Consultant for EY.

Jean-Patrick holds a Masters in Economic Sciences from I.A.E. Lille/University of Galway (Ireland). He also graduated as Executive Master in Corporate Finance from ESCP Europe.

Jeroen is a Stanford-trained life science investment and BD professional with a 12+ years track record in Venture Capital investing in high-impact startups and executing partnerships in an academic, industry, non-profit and VC setting. As an operator he has worked at director, CBO, and CEO level, with a track record of company formation and negotiating pharma- and biotech-partnerships.

Jeroen joined General Inception in 2022 where he leads academic innovation sourcing and VC partnerships in Europe. General Inception is a Palo Alto (USA) based venture builder, and through it’s European team, Igniter Europe, Jeroen has helped spin-out and co-found Tavira Therapeutics in Leuven, sCellgen in Utrecht, and led investments in Pharmacelara in Barcelona, o.a.

Jeroen has worked in Silicon Valley for almost 8 years where he, prior to returning to the Netherlands, led BD and partnerships at the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy in San Francisco. Here he managed an IP portfolio of 110 inventions across 6 member TTOs: UCSF, UCLA, Stanford, MD Anderson CC, MSKCC, and Upenn; of which 19 had been out licensed or optioned, 5 resulted in company formation. At PICI, Jeroen was involved with early investments in Arsenal Biosciences, ImaginAb, Xyphos Biosciences, Lyell Immunopharma, 3T Biosciences, o.a., executed clinical partnerships with BMS and Amgen, and co-funding partnerships with non-profits Cancer Research Institute, Breast Cancer Research Fund, and CureSearch.

He gets his energy from connecting with innovators and now uses his operational and investment experience to help amazing founders build high-impact companies.

Jessica Garestier is Of Counsel in Dentons’ Paris Life Sciences group. She provides legal advice to global companies and start-ups in the life sciences sector on a broad variety of strategic European and domestic regulatory matters, including clinical trials, partnerships and licensing, manufacturing, product approvals, regulatory pathways, market access, promotion and advertising, distribution schemes, post-market and compliance requirements. Jessica’s practice covers medicinal products, biotechnology, medical devices, cosmetics, food, chemicals, and other regulated products. She also represents life sciences companies before competent authorities and in local litigation in France. Jessica also handles related matters of commercial and consumer law.

Joachim spent more than 20 years in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry in BD and research roles. He is enthusiastic about cutting-edge technologies and projects that ultimately can be developed into new medicines. Joachim holds a diploma in chemistry and received his PhD in protein crystallography at the University of Freiburg.

Dr. Bauer is a graduate of Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt (Biology) and holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology.

After spending four years as a research scientist at the Nestlé Research Center in Lausanne, Dr. Bauer joined the R&D Center of Lesaffre International, the world leader in the baker’s yeast market, where he was Head of the Molecular Biology and Genetics Team. In 2000 he joined Axaron Bioscience AG in Heidelberg, a joint venture of BASF and Lynx Therapeutics from where he moved on to Gentana GmbH, a biotech company providing gene expression analysis services based on its proprietary technology platform.

After acting as CEO of Gentana for two years, Dr. Bauer joined EMBL Enterprise Management Technology Transfer GmbH, a 100% subsidiary of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory as Business Development Manager. As of May 2011, he was appointed as Deputy Managing Director of EMBLEM and responsible for Business Development.

Dr. Bauer is alumnus of the Chemical Industry Fund within the German Chemical Industry Association and the St. Gallen Business School. He serves as board member of different companies, associations and consortia.

Jürgen studied biology/molecular biology in Osnabrück and Aberdeen (UK). After his diploma thesis at the EMBL in Heidelberg, he worked at Genentech, Inc. (USA). He undertook his PhD-thesis at the Max-Planck-Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen. He joined Cellzome AG (Heidelberg, now part of GSK) as the first employee where he was instrumental in setting up the company and was later responsible for IP-issues. After a stint in the patent department of Baxter AG in Vienna, he changed to technology transfer. At Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH, Vienna, he was managing life science inventions developed at Austrian universities.

In 2007, he moved to PROvendis, the central technology transfer agency of the universities of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where during most of his time he served as a head of the Life sciences team. In between, he stayed for another one and a half years in Vienna, as head of technology transfer at the University of Vienna and furthermore for about one and a half years as Managing Director of Life Science Nord, the cluster organisation of the life science industry in the German states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein.

He also holds a Master´s degree in Pharmaceutical Business Development and Licensing from the University of Manchester.

Kaare Engkilde is an entrepreneur with extensive experience in the life sciences, including medtech, diagnostics, and therapeutics. He specializes in business development, investment, and strategic partnerships, with a proven track record of scaling early-stage biotech companies. Kåre is currently an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with the BioInnovation Institute and is engaged in ventures covering omics/metabolomics, diagnostics, and precision therapeutics.

Katya Ascher focuses her practice on patent law issues in litigation and transactional matters across technology sectors. She has over 15 years of experience counseling clients in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom. Her clients include mid-sized companies and start-ups, operating in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, nutraceutical, veterinary and engineering fields.

She regularly negotiates every type of agreement associated with research and development, technology transfer, services, manufacturing and distribution.

She also represents French companies in patent litigation and contractual disputes in the US, handling all facets of pre-suit matters, pretrial discovery, case management and trial preparations.

Katya Ascher spent the first five years of her career as an associate in one of the top New York intellectual property boutiques where she litigated cases in district court and the International Trade Commission and advised clients on patent validity and infringement. Before studying law, Katya gained technical experience as an intern in a genomic research laboratory of a major biotechnology company.

Kevin Carvalho PhD is the Head of Partnerships at DeepLife, a pioneering biotech company leveraging Omics and AI for the development of digital twins of cells. Kevin Has a strong expertise in academia-biotech collaborations from both sides, and a record of building diverse partnerships and securing major national and European funding to drive health innovation. His role at DeepLife allows him to bridge public, and private sectors, fostering partnerships that accelerate research and bring cutting-edge biotech solutions to life. Passionate about collaboration, Kevin brings a strategic perspective on how academia and biotech can work together to unlock new possibilities in health research and application.

Lubor Gaal is working as CFO and CBO for Circio, a key player in the emerging field of circRNA biology, a new therapeutic modality to make gene therapy cheaper and safer and to create novel protein (enzyme) replacement therapies. He currently is also Managing Director at BDLG, and has provided services from strategic consulting to licensing, asset divestures or M&A for various European biotech or pharma companies.

Lubor Gaal has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry having worked in senior BD positions at Bayer (CNS and CV, NJ, US), Bristol-Myers Squibb (Head of Europe, Global CNS and Fibrosis, UK/USA) and Almirall (Global Head of BD & External Innovation, and member of the R&D management committee, Barcelona, Spain) and in senior management positions at biotech companies in France, Germany and Norway.

Lynn Coorevits is a Health Innovation Manager at imec, a world-leading R&D and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies. Lynn has over 15 years of experience in the cross domain of (deep)tech, innovation and health. By involving key stakeholders she accelerates and optimizes innovations. In every step of the innovation process she translates  human requirements into technological ones. From patients to buyers to policy makers, every voice counts. With and for them she identifies needs, barriers, potential value and market entry strategies for these novel technologies.

She is passionate about disruptive health tech and  aspires to transform peoples lives by making them a reality.

Lynn holds MSc degrees in Psychology and Marketing Analysis from Ghent University, Belgium.

Marie Duranteau, PhD, is an Associate and Program Manager at Sofinnova Partners. As part of the Sofinnova Biovelocita strategy, she actively supports the creation and acceleration of biotech startups in Europe.

Marie joined Sofinnova in 2017 as an analyst in the Sofinnova Capital Strategy , where she focused on early-stage investments, and the sourcing of biopharma opportunities. In her current role, Marie oversees, the collaboration with the Gustave Roussy Institute to foster the development of French oncology start-ups. In addition to her investment role, she also takes on an operational role in the projects and companies Biovelocita invests in and contributes to the translation of innovation alongside scientific founders.

She holds a PhD in cellular biology from Paris Diderot University, carried out at the Jacques Monod Institute and a Master’s in Entrepreneurship from HEC Business School, Polytechnique and the Imagine Institute.

Martyna Wroblewska is a Manager of Innovation & Sourcing at BaseLaunch. BaseLaunch works with scientists and entrepreneurs and helps them build exceptional biotech ventures from scratch, by providing convertible loan financing, access to partners (Roche, J&J, Novo Nordisk, Abbvie, CSL Behring, CMS, BridgeBio, and Pureos Bioventures), and drug development expertise. She studied at the University of Zurich, and before joining BaseLaunch in 2021 worked for a Zurich-based biotech start-up as a Project Leader, where she was responsible for the design, development, and management of projects focused on oncology and vaccine development. At BaseLaunch she works with projects and companies across the application pipeline.

Michel is a business development and licensing professional with experience in all elements of the business development search, evaluation, and transaction processes within the global pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostics industries. Michel is a scientist by training, specialised in infectious diseases, with an emphasis on virology. In addition to a PhD in molecular virology from the University of Amsterdam, he holds an MBA from Rotterdam School of Management at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Michel joined the Global Business Development & Licensing (BD&L) team of MSD after having had various BD&L roles at a diverse range of biotech companies and research institutes. The goal for the BD&L team at MSD is to augment the pipeline. Within the team, Michel is responsible for Search and Evaluation of opportunities in Europe and the Middle East in the therapeutic areas of Immunology; Infectious Diseases & Vaccines; and Cardio, Renal, Respiratory and Metabolic Diseases.

Mikaël Le Clech, PhD, is a Business Developer at ChemBioFrance – CNRS. He leads several activities ranging from forging alliances with industrial partners to communication. Before joining ChemBioFrance, Mikaël held various positions in the field of biotechnology R&D, entrepreneurship and quality assurance. He was also head of the monoclonal antibody platform at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Munich. Mikaël holds a PhD from the University of Montpellier.

Dr. Neel Patel is the co-founder and CEO of ZiO Health, a biotech startup bringing lab testing technology to the point of care to improve patient outcomes. It was while practicing as a doctor, Neel recognised the benefits an increase in the efficiency and turnaround time of diagnostics could bring both patients and medical professionals. Whilst completing his MBA at the University of Oxford, Neel set out to take this idea forward. He has raised five rounds of investment to bring ZiO Health’s AI-driven therapeutic drug monitoring device to market.

Oliver Boucher is responsible at Zoetis for securing value-adding business opportunities relevant to the company’s future growth. He has extensive B2B transactional experience in 6 countries across human and animal healthcare (biotech, pharma, diagnostics and digital opportunities). Oliver’s background is in business development across multinationals (buy-side) and start-ups (sell-side) drawing on expertise in opportunity assessment, fund-raising, deal sourcing, negotiation and execution to maximize value. Before Zoetis, he served executive and non-executive roles in a succession of biotech companies after having gained executive level experience for seven years as a director of business development at GSK.

Pascal Breton PhD has been a Manager BD&L and Global Alliances within Vetoquinol since January 2024. Prior to his current position within this highly regarded top 10 animal health global player, he used to be a serial entrepreneur (Virsol, VitamFero, WaveImplant, OPGS Pharma, KeenaMics). Innovation and technology transfer have always been the drivers of its international career (>32 y) in the Life Sciences industry (UPSA, BMS, Halisol, IDM Pharma, SGS-LSS…), in human and animal health, from R&D to commercialization.”

Patrick Di Stefano is a Technology Transfer Officer at the Knowledge Transfer Office of Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB-KTO). Throughout his carrier Patrick acquired an outstanding experience in all the fields of knowledge and technology transfer and has been strongly involved into the creation of several ULB spin-off companies. Patrick is a member of the Board of ULB and several research centers. He is also a Senior Lecturer at the ULB Faculty of Pharmacy. Patrick holds the degree of Ph.D. (Biochemistry) and is a RTTP (Registered Technology Transfer Professional) fellow since 2011.

Paul Bravetti (PharmD, HEC Paris) is a strategic executive with a particular interest in scientific innovation and entrepreneurial adventures.

With his international experience in major pharmaceutical companies, which has shaped his understanding of the biopharmaceutical industry, he has successfully led the launches of therapeutics in immuno-oncology and biomolecular diagnostics across Europe and Asia. He joined Brenus Pharma in 2020 and became Chief Executive Officer in 2022 with a clear vision, mission, and leadership to address current unmet needs and make a significant impact for cancer patients.”

Brenus Pharma is a French clinical-stage biotech developing a pioneering technology platform, Stimulated-Tumor-Cell (STC).

STC is designed to generate ‘off-the-shelf’ and ‘first-in-class’ therapeutic cancer vaccine leading the way to a new precision medicine in immuno-oncology.

Brenus Pharma is on the brink of a breakthrough and will start its first-in-human study in 2024 in colorectal cancer, 2^nd cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.

We are building a strong portfolio in solid tumors, leveraging our patented STC platform, to change a paradigm in oncology.

Dr. Philippe Monteyne MD, PhD is Partner of the VC Aliath Bioventures in Barcelona. Aliath aims to fund sustainable businesses that can create a significant impact on patients’ lives by providing new medical solutions and technologies that impact access, effectiveness and efficiency in the health sector.
Philippe Monteyne has extensive and highly successful experience as a life sciences investor and pharmaceutical professional. For the past eight years, Philippe has been a Senior Partner of the private equity fund Fund+ in Belgium, having contributed to multiple investments including very profitable ones such as Ogeda and Iteos. Philippe Monteyne is a Neurologist and holds a PhD in viral immunology from the Catholic University of Louvain and a postdoctoral degree in neuroimmunology from the Pasteur Institute in Paris.
Dr. Monteyne has held senior positions in SmithKline Beecham, GSK, and Sanofi. He served as the Head of Global Vaccine Development at GSK for several years, and then served as Senior VP-Head of Development and CMO at GSK Rare Diseases from 2010 to 2012.
Amongst his achievements, was the development and launch of GSK’s Cervical Cancer Vaccine, Cervarix, the R&D work that allowed to develop Strimvelis and Tegsedi (gene therapy and oligonucleotide in rare diseases).
He also served as Vice President R&D France at Sanofi until early 2015. During that period, he was also Board Member of SARD (Sanofi Aventis R&D), of the LEEM (Pharmaceutical association in France “Les Entreprises du Médicament”), of the Bioaster Insitute in Lyon, and of the « Fondation Plan Alzheimer France ».
He is a Board Director of several Biotech companies, in Belgium, France and Spain. Dr. Monteyne was also visiting Professor of Neurology at the UCL (Université Catholique de Louvain), and is part-time Professor and course coordinator of an Advanced Master in Biotech & MedTech Ventures at Solvay Management School, Brussels.

Segolene is the CEO and co-founder of Kantify. Kantify is a TechBio company, using AI to discover breakthrough therapies that change patients’ lives. Its cutting-edge AI platform, Sapian, has a proven track record of identifying novel therapeutic targets and small molecule drugs, and has recently disclosed its breakthrough model for off-target prediction of any small molecule. In addition to her role at Kantify, Segolene is the VP of the Board of the Brussels Lifetech Cluster, and she served as European Commission nominated Expert on the Global Partnership on AI until 2023. Segolene was nominated Young ICT Lady of Belgium, AI Personality of the Year in 2019, and was a winner of the InspiringFifty contest for women in tech. She also received the Business Trophy from the Cercle Montaigne.

Shobhit is the Fund Manager of Oncode Oncology Bridge Fund where he creates and invests in early stage oncology focused companies. He currently holds board roles and led investments in Flindr Therapeutics (formerly Immagene) and sCellgen. Prior to joining Oncode Bridge Fund, he was an early stage investor at UvA/AMC Ventures for 4 years, where he made investments in tech and life science spin offs from the two institutions. He trained as a pharmacologist at the University of Oxford and started his drug discovery career at Pfizer UK. Shobhit holds a PhD in immunology from the University of Amsterdam.

A biochemist by training, Stefanie has spent more than 20 years in the biotech- and pharmaceutical industry and technology transfer. She has broad experience in in- and out-licensing of clinical and preclinical projects. In particular, she successfully worked on numerous major collaborations between academia and industry. Since 2012 Stefanie is a Director Technology Management at Ascenion GmbH, an independent knowledge and technology transfer company that supports more than 30 European partners with a life-science focus. In this role, she has also been very active in supporting start-up projects.

Stefanie joined Ascenion from Novartis, where she served as Director Strategic Alliances with global responsibilities for the Musculoskeletal Disease Area and Oncology. Prior to that she worked as Director Business Development at Santhera Pharmaceuticals, a Swiss-based specialty pharmaceutical company for orphan neuromuscular diseases.

Stefanie holds a PhD from the Philipps University of Marburg. During her thesis she spent time at the Biocenter in Basel and worked closely with researchers at the Institut de Myologie in Paris, France.

Steve Nanchen has been working in the Animal Health Industry for more than 10 years. Steve holds a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Basel, Switzerland. After a postdoctoral stay at Stanford University in the US, Steve started his industrial career as a medicinal chemist at Novartis Animal Health. Since then, he has held various positions in R&D, leading global projects from early discovery to development and regulatory submissions. Steve is now working in the External Innovation group of Elanco Animal Health. There, Steve first worked on leveraging R&D assets from Lilly. He is now responsible for the identification and evaluation of new and innovative animal health solutions for Elanco Animal Health in collaboration with biotech companies and academic groups.

Dr. Tamar Raz has nearly two decades of experience in technology transfer and an impressive track record of bringing medical innovations from the lab to the marketplace. Prior to joining Hadasit, she served as VP of Marketing and Strategy at Ramot, the technology transfer company of Tel Aviv University. Tamar was the founder and CEO of Allergene Ltd, an Israeli drug development start-up company. She received her MSc and PhD in cell biology from the Tel Aviv University School of Medicine.

Ulrich Mahr is a member of the general management at Max-Planck-Innovation GmbH, where he played a key role in establishing the start-up department and managing its portfolio. With a background in business administration and over 25 years of experience in tech transfer and start-up creation, particularly in life sciences, he brings extensive expertise to his role. Ulrich is an RTTP and has served as Vice President on the board of ASTP and several start-up incubators. He is a jury member of “EXIST Forschungstransfer”, Germany’s central start-up grant scheme. Additionally, he is or has been actively involved on the boards of several high-tech start-ups and the investment board of the Bavarian Growth Fund.

William is a biotech entrepreneur and advisor with a passion for driving innovation in healthcare. He currently serves as Co-founder and CBO of Exert Therapeutics, a clinical-stage rare disease company, and CBO of Enterome, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company. Additionally, he provides strategic guidance to multiple biotech companies and investors. Prior to his current roles, William held senior leadership positions in strategy consulting and investment banking at Alira Health and Locust Walk, where he led numerous successful transactions and consulting projects.