13th edition

Format
HYBRID

December 3rd & 4th, 2024

IN-PERSON | LILLE, FR

December 11th& 12th 2024

ONLINE MEETINGS

2021 Speakers

We are seeking for speakers to share their experience, expertise, opinions and best practices in BioFIT conferences.
If you are interested, please contact us.

Learn more about BioFIT 2021 speakers

Over 65 international experts from academia, industry and biotech addressed issues to learn about the latest trends and explore hands-on approaches to tech transfer and open innovation in the field of Life Sciences, by sharing their experience and knowledge and keeping these goals in mind: Entail new partnerships, source innovative and competitive early-stage R&D projects, facilitate the emergence of collaborative projects and increase licensing opportunities in the field of Life Sciences.
Arnaud Autret

Arnaud Autret

Investment Principal
The NetherlandsM Ventures

Arnaud Autret, PhD, MSc in Finance, joined the Life Science team as an Investment Principal in March 2019. Previously, he worked at Seventure Partners (Paris, France) as Senior Associate, where he invested in Life Sciences companies (Microbiome applications in all fields, Digital-Health, Medtech, etc.). Before joining Seventure in 2014, Arnaud was a financial auditor associate at KPMG in the Healthcare business unit (Paris, France). Arnaud received his Ph.D. in Immunology from the Pasteur Institute (Paris, France) and continued his scientific career with post-doctoral work at the Trinity College (Dublin, Ireland). He gained his MSc in Finance from ESCP Europe (Paris, France). Arnaud is based in Amsterdam.

Arnaud Autret

Investment Principal
The NetherlandsM Ventures
Björn Joachim

Björn Joachim

Managing Director
GermanyAdvinno

Björn Joachim is Managing Director of AdvInno GmbH and works as an attorney at law with a focus on intellectual property rights, especially in IP and technology transfer of any kind arising in licensing deals, M&A transactions, joint ventures, spin-offs, outsourcing deals, cooperations as well as research and development. He specialises in legal issues surrounding the digitalisation of the economy, including contract drafting and legal project advise in all technology-based areas with a particular focus on issues concercing the handling of (non-personal) data. Furthermore, Björn Joachim provides support with the improvement of IP (risk) management as well as within the scope of assessment and exploitation of intangible assets.

Björn Joachim

Managing Director
GermanyAdvinno
Chris Shelley

Chris Shelley

Partner
United KingdomPenningtons Manches LLP

Chris is a partner in the Oxford office who specialises in intellectual property and commercial law, and EU and UK competition laws. He trained at a multinational law firm, qualifying into the commercial department in 1986. He joined the firm in 1990 and became a partner in 1992. Chris is particularly known for his work in the life sciences, publishing and engineering sectors, and for universities, research councils and their spin-out companies.

One of only ten UK lawyers who are highly recommended for patent licensing in IAM 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners, Chris is described as ‘extremely strong’ and as having ‘an assured command of the life sciences, publishing and engineering sectors’. He is also a Chambers UK leading expert and is rated in band 1 for intellectual property by both Chambers UK and The Legal 500. Client quotes in Chambers UK 2017 describe Chris as having ‘a brilliant grasp of commercial IP matters’.

Chris chairs the life sciences stream of the new IP Transactions: Law and Practice course run by the UCL Institute of Brand & Innovation Law, for which he delivers the patent licensing seminar. This course was highly commended in the Law Society Excellence Awards 2013.

Chris Shelley

Partner
United KingdomPenningtons Manches LLP
Claire Skentelbery

Claire Skentelbery

Director General
BelgiumEuropaBio

Claire has worked in the development of scientific networks and associations for over 20 years. She started her career as part of the Cambridge biotech cluster in the UK, within the cluster business network, and was part of the founding team behind the Council of European BioRegions (CEBR), a network of biotech clusters across Europe.

Following the launch of CEBR in 2003, Claire became Network Manager and moved to Brussels in 2009.  She additionally took on the role of Secretary General for the European Biotechnology Network, working across sectors, organisations and countries. In 2017, Claire moved sector into nanotechnology, as Director General of the Nanotechnology Industries Association, a global organisation with the mission to support the development of nanomaterials and technologies to market.

She joined EuropaBio in November 2020 and is working with Members and the EuropaBio team to position biotechnology as a key technology across sectors to deliver European economic development and global competitiveness.

Claire holds a degree in agriculture and a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Lancaster.

Claire Skentelbery

Director General
BelgiumEuropaBio
Gerald Law

Gerald Law

Chief Executive
United KingdomInnovation DB

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, which links those with novel technologies to those who may wish to commercialise them. IDB offers the world’s largest database of technologies available for license, drawing from around 5,000 academic institutions. Now, in partnership with the UK MOD’s Army Futures Command, IDB is developing military-grade AI code to build a new global data intelligence system, that will feed back into the core product, expanding and enriching it significantly.

Gerald Law

Chief Executive
United KingdomInnovation DB
Jamie Kemler

Jamie Kemler

VP, Intellectual Property Business Strategy
USAStryker

 Jamie Kemler is currently the VP, Intellectual Property Business Strategy for Stryker Corporation with responsibility for the development and execution of Stryker’s enterprise-wide IP business strategy to include monetization activities and relationships with technology transfer and licensing/venture offices of global universities and hospitals. He spent 2019 on temporary assignment in Hong Kong leading business development across Stryker’s Asia Pacific region. Earlier in his career at Stryker Jamie was Group President for the Biotech, Spine, Trauma, and Development divisions, with multiple manufacturing and research operations in Europe and the U.S.

Jamie Kemler received a B.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University in 1979 and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1983.  In 2012 he became a USPTO registered Patent Agent. He is also a Certified Licensing Professional and a Registered Technology Transfer Professional. From 2017 through 2020 he was named to the IAM Strategy 300 – The World’s Leading IP Strategists.

Jamie Kemler

VP, Intellectual Property Business Strategy
USAStryker
Jason Mellad

Jason Mellad

CEO and Co-Founder
United KingdomStart Codon

Jason is a scientist entrepreneur passionate about translating innovative technologies into better patient outcomes. As CEO and co-founder of Start Codon, a Cambridge based accelerator, he aims to identify the most disruptive healthcare founders and innovations worldwide, seed fund them and leverage the exceptional resources of the Cambridge cluster to de-risk and drive the success of their start-ups. Previously he was CEO of Cambridge Epigenetix and Business Development Manager for Horizon Discovery’s diagnostics division. He also served as an associate at Cambridge Enterprise, the technology transfer office of the University of Cambridge.

Jason Mellad

CEO and Co-Founder
United KingdomStart Codon
Jérôme Van Biervliet

Jérôme Van Biervliet

Managing Director
BelgiumVIB

Dr. Van Biervliet has 20 yrs cross-disciplinary experience in the medical, business and biotech environments. Prior to his position as Managing Director in the general management of VIB:

  • he trained as a veterinary internal medicine specialist at Cornell University,
  • was accredited by the American College of Veterinary Internal medicine and
  • continued with a PhD at VIB finishing with a land-mark paper in Science.
  • After his clinical and research training, Dr. Van Biervliet started as a consultant at Bain & Company, advising especially in private equity transactions.

Over the last 10 years, he has been in various roles in the VIB Innovation and Business office of VIB.

  • As the Head of Business Development, Dr. Van Biervliet is responsible for the BD team driving all industry collaborations, licensing of VIB assets and strategic collaborations.
  • He was the founder and Head of VIB Discovery Sciences, an internal drug discovery unit at VIB with a team of industry-trained scientists creating a portfolio of innovative projects.

Dr. Van Biervliet is currently Managing Director for VIB as an institute in a tandem with his colleague Jo Bury and holds end-responsibility for all of the Innovation & Business activities.

Jérôme Van Biervliet

Managing Director
BelgiumVIB
Jürgen Walkenhorst

Jürgen Walkenhorst

Managing Director
GermanyLife Science Nord

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 at PROvendis, he served as a head of the Life sciences team. Except for another stay for one and a half years in Vienna, as head of technology transfer at the University of Vienna, he stayed with PROvendis until May 2022. In June 2022 he became the Managing Director of Life Science Nord, the regional industry network for medical technology, biotechnology and pharma for 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.

Jürgen Walkenhorst

Managing Director
GermanyLife Science Nord
Laetitia Szaller

Laetitia Szaller

General Counsel & VP Business Development
United KingdomAM Pharma

Laetitia has over 18 years’ experience in multiple sectors, including 14 in the pharmaceuticals and medical device industry. She joined AM-Pharma in April 2020 as General Counsel and VP Business Development.

Before joining AM-Pharma, Laetitia was at UCB as global Associate General Counsel BD, M&A and Antitrust. Prior to that, she was Legal Director, Emerging Markets EMEA, Central European Region and Benelux at Zoetis (Pfizer former animal health division) and has also led the EMEA legal department for the Abbott Vascular division at Abbott. She also held global positions at the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group and at the automotive division (Wabco) at American Standard.

Laetitia holds a Master’s degree in International and Comparative Law from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and is a qualified lawyer in both the UK and Belgium, with extensive international experience, regularly speaking at various legal conferences.

Laetitia Szaller

General Counsel & VP Business Development
United KingdomAM Pharma
Laurent Choppe

Laurent Choppe

Managing Partner
IsraelCukierman & CO. Life Sciences

Laurent leads Cukierman & Co. Life Sciences since 2008 and has been involved in more than 100 medtech, biotech and digital health corporate finance transactions and advisory assignments for the Cukierman group. His team works worldwide with venture-backed and middle market companies for fund raising, licensing deals and M&A transactions as well as strategic projects for key life sciences industry players.

After a veterinary practice and an entrepreneurial experience, he worked 10 years in Schering-Plough (acquired by Merck & Co.) in marketing positions in dermatology, allergy, respiratory and animal health in France, General Manager in Israel and Vice President, Virology, Oncology and Cardiology in Canada. He then served 4 years as General Manager at Bellus Health/Neurochem (NASDAQ & TSE) a biotech startup dedicated to Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Choppe is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine of the University Paris XII, laureate of the École Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, CES of Veterinary Ophthalmology and earned a MBA from INSEAD (Fontainebleau, France). He is married, father of three, grandfather of one and lives in Lausanne (Switzerland) and Tel Aviv (Israel).

Laurent Choppe

Managing Partner
IsraelCukierman & CO. Life Sciences
Laurent Nguyen

Laurent Nguyen

Co-Founder & CEO
SpainAccure Therapeutics

Dr. Laurent Nguyen, a French national, graduated as Doctor of Medicine and holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health. Following a 4-year residency at the Paris Hospital Group, he built a solid international 20-year experience in marketing & sales and business Development & Licensing in the pharmaceutical industry at Hoechst-Roussel, Merck KGaA, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and Pierre Fabre. He then moved to the biotech sector in 2012 where he started as CEO of Sensorion, a French private academic spin-off in neurotology that he developed into a publicly traded clinical biotech company on Euronext Growth (ALSEN). He then moved to Bionure, a Spanish academic spin-off that he merged as co-founder with iProteos to form in 2020 Accure Therapeutics, a translational R&D engine specialized in CNS. Based on his experience as seasoned C-level executive, he also acted as advisor in corporate development for several biotech and medtech companies.

Laurent Nguyen

Co-Founder & CEO
SpainAccure Therapeutics
Marion Paolini

Marion Paolini

Head of Global Search and Evaluation, R&D External Innovation
USAServier BioInnovation

Marion Paolini is Head of Global Search and Evaluation at Servier BioInnovation (SBI). SBI is the external innovation entity of Servier, a joint venture between R&D and Global Business Development. SBI has offices in Paris, Beijing and Boston. A Biologist by training, Marion graduated from Ecole Polytechnique and HEC Paris before completing her PhD at Université Paris Saclay, and her postdoctoral training at the Langer lab at MIT.

Marion Paolini

Head of Global Search and Evaluation, R&D External Innovation
USAServier BioInnovation
Michael Karl Bauer

Michael Karl Bauer

Venture Partner
DenmarkNovo Holdings

Michael joined Novo Ventures in November 2020.

From 2006-2020, Michael was employed at Genmab in various positions with increasing responsibility; starting in Project Management taking daratumumab / DARZALEX® into the clinic. Between 2010-2018 he led Clinical Development and was part of the senior leadership team that repositioned and rebuilt the company into a global cancer and antibody powerhouse. From 2018 he led R&D Operations preparing the company for filing of its first own product. Prior to Genmab, Michael worked as Associate at BankInvest Biomedical Venture and as Licensing Associate in Scientific Licensing at Novo Nordisk A/S, after having spent 7 years as Research Scientist at Novo Nordisk A/S covering areas such as endocrinology, metabolic disease, cancer and inflammation.

Before joining industry, Michael worked for 6 years at the Research Centre for Developmental Medicine & Biology at University of Auckland, New Zealand, investigating causes and possible treatment modalities of intra-uterine growth restriction.

Michael earned a Masters (Dipl. Ing. agr.) in Agricultural Science from the University of Stuttgart-Hohenheim, Germany and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Science – summa cum laude- from the University of Göttingen, Germany.

Michael Karl Bauer

Venture Partner
DenmarkNovo Holdings
Naheed Kurji

Naheed Kurji

Co-founder, President & CEO
CanadaCyclica

Naheed is the Co-founder, President and CEO of Cyclica, a leading AI in drug discovery company who advance molecules to medicines by embracing the complexity of disease. In addition to his role at Cyclica, Naheed is also a Co-founder and Director of EntheogeniX Biosciences, a psychedelic inspired biotech company for mental health, a Co-founder, Board Member and Executive Officer of the Alliance for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare (AAIH), and serves as a Member of the Life Sciences Advisory Group for Global Affairs Canada. Naheed is passionate about how people interact with technology to inform effective decision making, while dedicated to advancing the responsible application of AI to healthcare and the impact on patients. Naheed holds an MBA from Rotman School of Business, an undergraduate degree from the University of Ottawa, and a certificate in AI from MIT.

Naheed Kurji

Co-founder, President & CEO
CanadaCyclica
Nathalie ter Wengel

Nathalie ter Wengel

European Lead Worldwide Business Development
The NetherlandsPfizer

Nathalie ter Wengel M.D. is the European Lead Worldwide Business Development at Pfizer, where she is responsible for establishing new collaborations and exploring global licensing and other corporate development opportunities across all therapeutic areas that Pfizer is interested in with European companies. Previous to this role, she was the European Head for External Science & Innovation at Pfizer.

Nathalie obtained her Doctor of Medicine degree at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. She has an international background and a broad knowledge in the medical field, having worked in the hospital with extensive experience in Internal Medicine. Nathalie started her commercial career as European Medical Manager at Pfizer, where she successfully led ambitious international projects, combining a business perspective with her medical knowledge. It was this experience, coupled with her father’s illness that convinced her of the urgent need for change in the pharmaceutical industry. Consequently, she started up a company called myTomorrows focused on compassionate use, where she served as Chief Medical Officer before joining Galapagos as Business Development Director, where she played a key role in the very successful NASDAQ IPO and in the partnering of filgotinib.

Nathalie ter Wengel

European Lead Worldwide Business Development
The NetherlandsPfizer
Nick Hicks

Nick Hicks

Head, European Operations
FranceChase Partners LLC

In 2008, Nick established Commutateur Advocacy Communications and recently forged an alliance with Chase-Partners LLC bridging his patient knowledge across Europe to American based companies interested in furthering their patient focus across geographic boundaries. He is responsible for all EU assignments.  Previously, Nick has gained over 12 years of international experience including Biogen and Sanofi as well as 15 years experience in agencies. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated his advocacy and strategic communications ability and gained deep knowledge in diabetes, lupus, MS, pain, plasma products, renal and wound care.

He has dual  British and Irish  citizenship and currently resides in Paris, France. He received a MS in Neurochemistry at Kings College, London and later earned a Diploma from the European Market Access University (EMAUD), a unique and innovative program addressing key elements throughout each step of the drug life cycle. Since 2012, he continues to lecture on the European Market Access University Diploma bringing patient insight across the life cycle.  Nick is Producer of If Medicine Could Talk, a biweekly flog on best-practice in patient engagement across the the life cycle. More recently, Nick and Jennifer produced, “When Leaders Talk Medicines”, a biweekly video newsletter from C-suite Life Sciences executives who are pushing to break-up the traditional R&D cycle for more efficient drug development in diseases with significant unmet patient need.

He is a trained business coach and specialises in innovation and creativity.

Nick Hicks

Head, European Operations
FranceChase Partners LLC

Rafaela Kunz

Open Innovation Consultant, Biotechnologist & IP Expert
GermanyInseaConsulting
Rémi Soula

Rémi Soula

Founding Partner, Entrepreneur in Residence
FranceArgobio

PhD, MBA, co-founded Adocia SA (Euronext Paris: ADOC), where he was head of Business Development and Legal Affairs. Prior to Adocia, he was Senior Manager at Avadel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AVDL, formerly Flamel Technologies SA). He has also been on the board of several companies, including Cellnovo. (Euronext: CLNV), a former French public medtech company. He is co-inventor on more than thirty patent families.

Rémi Soula

Founding Partner, Entrepreneur in Residence
FranceArgobio
Robert Tansley

Robert Tansley

Partner
United KingdomCambridge Innovation Capital

After seven years working in hospital medicine, Robert worked in development and regulatory roles at Sanofi, the MHRA and Roche. Robert then spent a decade at early stage biotech companies including Arakis (sold to Sosei Inc), founder and CEO at Treague, founding CEO of the University of Copenhagen spin -out Avilex Pharma and part of the founding management team of KalVista (Nasdaq: KALV). Robert qualified in medicine from UCL. He is a member of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine and has an MBA from London Business School and an M.Phil in Biostatistics from the University of Cambridge. Robert manages CIC’s investments in Abcodia, Carrick Therapeutics, CMR Surgical, Exvastat, Gyroscope, Inivata, Microbiotica, Morphogen-IX and PetMedix.

Robert Tansley

Partner
United KingdomCambridge Innovation Capital
Sharon Cunningham

Sharon Cunningham

CEO
IrelandShorla Pharma

Sharon Cunningham is CEO, Co-Founder and board member of Shorla Pharma (‘Shorla’), a speciality pharmaceutical company headquartered in Ireland. The company has developed an innovative pipeline of oncology drugs for global markets focussing on women’s and children’s cancers, solving unmet needs and delivering a significant contribution to patient care.

After half a decade with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and seven years at EirGen Pharma in Waterford, Ireland, Sharon led the raising of an early-stage equity investment of €19m with Waterford and was the internal lead for a $135m sale to US multinational OPKO Health Inc. Following those successful ventures, Sharon co-founded Shorla Pharma with her EirGen Pharma colleague, Orlaith Ryan, in January, 2018. Since its inception, the company has raised over €10m by attracting world-renowned investors, board members, and advisors. Shorla’s advanced portfolio of speciality oncology products are in submission with the US Food and Drug Administration (the regulatory authority approval imminent), and has an exclusive launch planned for 2021.

Sharon was awarded the title of Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur 2019, and was included on a list of 50 people to look out for in 2020 by the Irish Times. She also won the prestigious Worldwide Association of MBA’s Best Entrepreneurial Venture Award in 2020 and was recognised as one of the 100 most influential CEO’s in Ireland by the Business & Finance Media Group 2020.

Passionate about the promotion of equality and in particular, gender balance, Sharon is a current board member of Irish Rule of Law International. With her track record in financial gains, corporate leadership, and strategic board initiatives, Sharon brings key operational, administrative, and governance leadership experience.

Sharon Cunningham

CEO
IrelandShorla Pharma
Stefano Marzario

Stefano Marzario

Senior Investment Officer
LuxembourgEuropean Investment Bank

Stefano Marzario is a Senior Investment Officer at the European Investment Bank. Since 2017, Stefano manages Growth Capital/ Venture Debt investments in Europe, with a focus on Biotech and Medtech.
Before joining the EIB, Stefano worked for several years at Intesa Sanpaolo in the Investment Banking division in the Milan and London office. Stefano lead and executed several international M&A and Leveraged Finance transactions.
He started his career in Deutsche Bank where he worked as a Credit Risk Officer in the Frankfurt and Milan office.

Stefano holds an MSc in Business Administration from Bocconi University in Milan.

Stefano Marzario

Senior Investment Officer
LuxembourgEuropean Investment Bank
Theo Kanellos

Theo Kanellos

Director, Business Development and Commercial Alliances
IrelandZoetis International

Theo Kanellos qualified as a veterinarian from the Aristotle University of Thessalonica in Greece and has been awarded an MSc in microbiology and PhD in molecular medicine from the University of London. He also has a business diploma from the Ecole Supérieur de Commerce de Paris (ESCP). During his career he worked as a clinician, an academic, a governmental official and for the last seventeen years as part of the management within the Pharmaceutical Industry where he has held several strategic roles. He has managed research laboratories, business development and M&A transactions, scientific and multi-functional alliances teams and programmes in several organisations that have led to the spinoff of biotechnology companies, the award of significant scientific grants, the founding of major strategic partnerships and the registration and licensing of successful commercial products and services. In his current role in Zoetis he establishes business transactions and entrepreneurial partnerships with companies, venture capitalist groups, universities, and governmental institutions, internationally and also is leading the Intergovernmental Tender and Grant Business. He holds a visiting professorship at the School of Health and Medicine at the University of Surrey and he is a board member in several organisations including the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines in Africa, The Global Antimicrobial Research Innovation Fund, Action Group of the One Health Platform etc. He is ad hoc advisor in several EU and national scientific and veterinary organisations. He is the author of over 40 peered reviewed papers and his articles, presentations and interviews have also featured in many trade and public media.

Theo Kanellos

Director, Business Development and Commercial Alliances
IrelandZoetis International
Tim Dafforn

Tim Dafforn

Director Knowledge Transfer, College of Life and Environmental Sciences
United KingdomUniversity of Birmingham

“I began my science career studying protein engineering under Professor J. John Holbrook at the Bristol University. During these studies I developing 2 approaches to enzyme engineering based on forced evolution and rational design. I moved to a PDRA position in the laboratory of Professor Robin Carrell FRS in the Cambridge Institute of Medical Research. Working with Dr Arthur Lesk I studied the mechanism of action of a class of serine proteinase inhibitors (SERPINS) involved in innate immunity and blood clotting. During this time I defined a mechanistic and structural explanation which underlies a group of diseases known as serpinopathies. In 2003 I was awarded a prestigious MRC Career development fellowship to continue my work on the SERPINS, as part of this I worked with Professor Alison Rodger (Warwick) to establish Linear Dichroism as an important technique for the study of membrane proteins and protein fibres. More recently I have developed three research strands all enabled by linear dichroism. Firstly I have produced insights into the assemblies that underlie bacterial cell division. Secondly I have developed a novel method that trivializes the production of membrane proteins enabling advances in bioprocessing. Finally I have developed a platform bioassay that represents one of the first commercial applications of synthetic biology.”

Tim Dafforn

Director Knowledge Transfer, College of Life and Environmental Sciences
United KingdomUniversity of Birmingham
Tobias Silberzahn

Tobias Silberzahn

Partner
GermanyMcKinsey & Company

Tobias Silberzahn is a trained biochemist and immunologist and works as a Partner in McKinsey’s Berlin office where he is a member of the Pharma & MedTech Practice and the Innovation Practice. Over the last 12 years with McKinsey, Tobias has served mainly pharmaceutical, medical device, digital health companies and ministries of health across Europe. The focus area of his work is the interface between Research & Development and Commercial, where he support his clients on strategic, digital/analytics and organizational topics. Areas of particular interest for Tobias are precision medicine, genomics programs, (national) health data spaces and disease prediction.
Tobias leads the global Health Tech Network, a community of >500 startups in the healthcare space, where he hosts the Health Tech CEO Roundtable. As part of his R&D work, Tobias also hosts the MedTech R&D Industry Roundtable and the Pharma Technical Development Forum.

Tobias Silberzahn

Partner
GermanyMcKinsey & Company
Vjera Magdalenic-Moussavi

Vjera Magdalenic-Moussavi

Director Industrial Partnerships and Commercialisation, Medicine
United KingdomImperial College London

Vjera is the Director of Industrial Partnerships and Commercialisation (IPC) for the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London. The IPC team is part Imperial Enterprise division, dedicated to building and developing the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Imperial supporting both staff and students. Vjera and her team drive the translation of academic research from basic research, through proof of concept to IP protection and commercialisation through a variety of routes.

A key aspect of the team’s work is the development and management of strategic research collaborations with the healthcare industry with a particular emphasis on building multidisciplinary programmes. The team have College-wide relationship management responsibilities for a number of major healthcare companies including Pfizer, AstraZeneca, GSK, Nestle, BMS, MSD and many others.

Vjera has led the establishment of a number of strategic partnerships with these and continues to work with these Corporate Partners to expand their research and educational engagement with Imperial. Internally, Vjera continues to grow the IPC team engagement and departmental in-reach with the particular focus on assisting early career researchers in their industrial engagements as well as both curricular and extracurricular entrepreneurship training.

Vjera, a dual citizen of both Croatia and UK, holds a BEng in Molecular Biology from University of Zagreb and PhD in Immunology from University of Edinburgh.

Vjera Magdalenic-Moussavi

Director Industrial Partnerships and Commercialisation, Medicine
United KingdomImperial College London

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