Interview 15 Apr 2020 Investing in the Microbiome in the Age of Covid-19 and Beyond For Isabelle de Cremoux, CEO and Managing Partner at Seventure Partners, 2020 was going to be an important year for microbiome research. However, the global coronavirus pandemic arrived, presenting one of the greatest unforeseen challenges in human history. I spoke to her about the microbiome field’s progress and the legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic going […] April 15, 2020 - 7 minutesmins - By Larissa Warneck-Silvestrin Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 23 Mar 2020 Riding the Wave of Cambridge Entrepreneurship The University of Cambridge is world-famous, but unlike its US equivalent, the city isn’t as well known for its startup culture. Jason Mellad, CEO of StartCodon — a new accelerator based there — believes the area is a great place to set up a new biotech. “When I arrived in 2004, there were several people, […] March 23, 2020 - 9 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 12 Feb 2020 Boosting Cancer Research by Unlocking Genomic Data More genomic data is produced today than ever before as it’s fundamental to the development of new medicines. But although there is a lot of data out there, much of it is inaccessible. With a background in computer science and bioinformatics, Fiona Nielsen, co-founder and CEO of Repositive, decided to overcome this bottleneck and open […] February 12, 2020 - 6 minutesmins - By Larissa Warneck-Silvestrin Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 5 Feb 2020 Harnessing Genetic Suppression to Treat Rare Disease Through quirks of genetics, some people are naturally resilient to heritable diseases. Thijn Brummelkamp, Managing Director and founder of the Dutch startup Scenic Biotech, explains how the company is using this genetic resilience to treat rare diseases and cancer. Heritable diseases result from genetic mutations that cause essential proteins in the body to malfunction. For […] February 5, 2020 - 5 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 21 Jan 2020 How Biotech Startups Can Have a Stronger Position When Scaling Up Scaling up the manufacturing process can be a daunting task for any biotech startup. Evelina Vågesjö, CEO of Swedish gene therapy biotech Ilya Pharma, and Jesper Hedberg, Director of the Testa Center facility, explained how testing at innovation facilities such as incubators and biotech accelerators can help avoid big pitfalls in the scaling process later […] January 21, 2020 - 6 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 18 Dec 2019 How BioNTech Navigates the Biotech Fundraising Maze BioNTech is on a mission to individualize cancer therapy by developing a range of different innovative therapies, a task that can be a rollercoaster ride, according to its Chief Business and Commercial Officer Sean Marett. It’s been an interesting year for the German biotech. In July the company raised one of the biggest ever European […] December 18, 2019 - 6 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 11 Dec 2019 Collaboration Between Founders and Investors Primes Biotech Startups for Success How can entrepreneurs work with investors to maximize the chances of their company succeeding? Venture capital partner Nanna Lüneborg and biotech entrepreneur Mai-Britt Zocca spoke at Labiotech Refresh in Copenhagen about their experiences in founding IO Biotech, a Danish biotech startup that develops cancer immunotherapies. Zocca and Lüneborg were both involved in setting up IO […] December 11, 2019 - 5 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 25 Nov 2019 Building a Life Science Industry from Scratch in a Small Swedish Town Jennie Ekbeck has taken on the challenge of building Europe’s best life science incubator in Umeå, a small town in northern Sweden. Jennie Ekbeck became the CEO of the Umeå Biotech Incubator in 2012. Before that she was the CEO of a probiotics startup called Probac. “The reason why I applied to be the CEO […] November 25, 2019 - 8 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 23 Oct 2019 Channeling the Power of AI into Personalizing Medicine Artificial intelligence has been much discussed of late, but will it really help us solve important problems like how to bring personalized medicine to as many patients as possible? Kate Hilyard, COO of Healx in Cambridge in the UK, believes it can. Getting a drug to clinical trials currently requires a large investment of both […] October 23, 2019 - 7 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 8 Oct 2019 Biotech Hubs: A Tale of Two Cities Life science investors differ widely across biotech hubs in Europe. At Labiotech’s recent Refresh event, two investors from Cambridge and Paris compared the progress of these hubs and discussed the challenges that need to be overcome in biotech investment. Funding is the lifeblood of early biotech startups, and investors are a crucial supplier. For this […] October 8, 2019 - 6 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 30 Sep 2019 Taking Your Product Forward Against All Odds Having to let go of your flagship product after years of development is not easy. Nor is fundraising for another product after a major partner backs out — a challenge that Angela Hildreth had to confront when she joined the British company Futura Medical as Finance Director last year. Angela Hildreth had never worked in […] September 30, 2019 - 5 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 18 Sep 2019 Why Communication is Key for Getting Ahead in Biotech Many biotech founders and executives look to VC investors for advice and inspiration, but the attraction can go both ways. After more than a decade of investing in life science companies, Renee Aguiar-Lucander, now CEO of Calliditas Therapeutics, decided it was time to try sitting on the other side of the table. Prior to moving […] September 18, 2019 - 11 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email