BioFIT Steering Committee gathered last week to design a brand new conference programme for its 2017 edition. Always aiming at fulfilling our audience’s expectations and fit at best its concerns, our experts rethought the overall organisation and topics of the sessions. 

Organised around 3 brand new reshaped tracks, BioFIT 2017 conference programme is designed to address the needs of its varied and diverse audience. Appealing to academia, TTOs, research institutions, pharmas, biotechs, but also law experts and investors in seed and series A, BioFIT 2017 programme will be organised around the following axis:

• Track 1: New players and new sources in the health sector
• Track 2: Maturing and licensing early-stage assets
• Track 3: Bioentrepreneurs’ challenges at seed stage and Series A.

This meeting was also the occasion to define this year’s awaited plenary session.

Scheduled on November 28^th from 11.00 am to 12.30 pm in Strasburg, we will have the pleasure to see heavy-league speakers debate :

“How to promote in Europe a culture of entrepreneurship?”

We can’t wait to tell you more about the programme, that will be issued shortly.

In the meantime, go check BioFIT 2016 Conference programme

Want to speak at BioFIT ? Contact us

How should TTOs choose between out licensing the IP, creating a spinoff or a contract-based R&D collaborations ?

What translation efforts don’t fit into this classical TTO model ?

How are these decisions taken ?

BioFIT is this year again the occasion to oppose point of views and learn from each other through an international panel !

On December 1st, at 2.30pm, in Van Gogh room, three TTOs, three continents, three different way to apprehend the matter will face each other in a panel, completed by a VC deeply involved in academic affairs:

• Katja Rosenkranz, V-Bio Ventures, BE
• Vivien Berlin, Harvard Tech Transfer Office, USA
• Andrew Tinger, Imperial Innovations, UK
• Doo Young Jung, Korea Rsearch Institute of Chemical Technology

What a wonderful Plenary session we have this year!

30th November at 11.30 am, will gather experts from all over Europe to discuss the one-million dollar question which answer is obvious for some, delicate for others, but surely worth having a though on.

“Is Europe competitive enough in life sciences innovation  ?”

Preceded by a 30-minute keynote presentation of Peter Gruss, who has been president of the Max Planck Society for over 12 years, and who will discuss “Academic-/biotech-/pharma-cooperations require new models”, the Plenary session will be an-hour long debate followed by a networking lunch to debrief the heated conversation that will be held from 11.30 to 1.00 am.

Check the line-up !

Keynote : “Academic-/biotech-/pharma-cooperations require new models”

Peter Gruss, former President of the Max Planck Society

Panel : “Is Europe competitive enough in life sciences innovation?”

Moderator : John Carroll, Editor EndPoints, USA

Laurent Lévy, CEO of Nanobiotix, FR

Ron Newbold, VP External R&D Innovation for Pfizer Worldwide Research and Developments, USA

Piyush Unalkat, Head of Technology Transfer Investments Innovation & Technology Investments; LUX

Frank Lescure, Managing Partner, Auriga Partners, FR

Johan Cardoen, Managing Director, VIB, Belgium (to be confirmed)

Don’t miss BioFIT Keynote & Plenary session, Amphitheater Pasteur, 30^th November, 11.30 am.

Dear BioFITers,

BioFIT is the place to find future business partners and accelerate innovation. We have been committed to becoming a meeting point in Europe for tech transfer and for sourcing early-stage innovation and we believe innovation in Life Sciences is crucial. However, it cannot work without proper ways to protect Intellectual Property.

Coming from a joint initiative of Cabinet Beau de Loménie and De Gaulle Fleurance et Associés, BioFIT will consequently feature a workshop entitled “Could your innovations be protected efficiently by tools other than patents ? What about regulatory data protection, trade secret, blockchain & smart contracts?” on the afternoon of November 30th, at 4.30pm, in Matisse room.

For an hour and a half, a panel of experts amongst whom Nicolas Marro, Patent Attorney at Beau de Loménie and Cécile Théard-Jallu, Partner at De Gaulle Fleurance et Associés, will share their expertise.

This roundtable with legal, scientific and entrepreneurial experts in the Life Sciences sector aims at highlighting the best practices in the implementation of a strategic approach to the company’s IP and understanding the various means & protections solution:

Are discression, data exclusivity, blockchain & smart contracts playing in the same league as patents? What can we learn from the new European commission directive on trade secrets? What is new for the Life Sciences actors in the EU General Data Protection Regulation? How are the blockchain and smart contracts implemented in IP protection?

These are the questions that the panel will answer in the first part of the Workshop, enabling the audience to better understand these concepts. It is possible to compare the solutions to optimize asset protection, and through the presentation and explanation of these different tools, our experts are committed to bring out best practices in IP protection and raise more subversive questions: Are patents the Holy Grail of IP protection? Are smart contracts tomorrow’s solution for legal directions? Are we facing a war of worlds?

No matter what the answers, it is crucial to understand the roles and complementarities of the weapons available in the legal gear, to protect our products and understand the future of legal protection.

The panel discussion will be followed by an exchange exclusively dedicated to Question & Answer with the floor; during which Nicolas Marro and Cécile Théard-Jallu alongside fellow experts, will have the pleasure to answer your questions and address your concerns.

Prepare your questions and come on November 30th at 4.30pm in Matisse room to ask the experts, who are readier than ever to discuss the tricks of the trade!

On the same topic: Don’t miss Cécile Théard-Jallu’s interview on New EU general data protection regulation (contact Manuel Ortiz / Cecile Theard-Jallu bd@dgfla.com +33 (0)1 56 64 15 79)

Dear BioFITers,

This week, we have the pleasure to welcome Roberto Gradnik, President of the European Biopharmaceutical Enterprise Network, Former CEO of Stallergenes and VP of Merck Serono, in BioFIT 2016 conference programme.

Now CEO of Ixaltis, which freshly raised €8M in Series A last May, Mr. Gradnik will share his opinion alongside Thierry Laugel, Managing Partner of Kurma Partners, and Philippe Monteyne, VC Partner at Fund +, in a session entitled “How to spark the interest of VCs for Series A financing”?

Mr. Gradnik will share his experience and tell the BioFITers all about Series A, we can’t wait to see that !

You want to be a speaker at BioFIT 2016 ? Check out the programme and contact us!

Dear BioFITers,

 You certainly know that an event exists thank to the support of its trusty Steering Committee. At BioFIT, we have the pleasure to benefit from the expertise of a committee as diverse in backgrounds as in personalities, we are very proud to count them by our side and we ‘d like to share this with you.

Meet the driven 27:

Pharma, Biotech:

On one hand, we have 11 experts from pharma and biotech, currently based in 6 different countries and having global experience of collaborations in Life Sciences.

• Zeina ANTOUN, Clinical Research Director, GSK – GlaxoSmithKline (FR)
• Maria BOBADILLA, Senior Director, Extending Innovation Network, Roche (CH)
• Adrian CARTER, Corporate Vice President and Global Head of Discovery Research Coordination, Boehringer Ingelheim (DE)
• Sami CHTOUROU, Director of technology platforms and innovation, LFB (FR)
• Florence DAL DEGAN, R&D Innovation Sourcing Director, Novo Nordisk (DK)
• Isabelle DIEUZY-LABAYE, Former Director, Strategic Alliances, Zoetis (FR)
• Guy HELIN, CEO, Syngulon (BE)
• Sarah HOLLAND, Head of Europe, External Science & Partnering, Sanofi (FR)
• Stephan LENSKY, Chief Operating and Chief Business Officer, EpimAb Biotherapeutics (CN)
• Sabrina LESAGE, Strategic Alliances Manager, Pfizer (FR)
• Frédéric SCAEROU, Director, Scientific Affairs Oncology, Ipsen Innovation (FR)

Academia, TTOs:

On the other hand, 6 top-notch profiles to represent academia and Tech Transfer Offices from Europe and overseas, ready to share their wisdom and make BioFIT an indispensable tool.

• Hervé ANSANAY, Operations Director, SATT AxLR (FR)
• Ivan BAINES, Chief Operating Officer, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (DE)
• Garold BREIT, Director, City of Charleston, Technology Business Development Initiative (USA)
• Nicolas CARBONI, President, SATT Conectus Alsace (FR)
• Jean-Luc CHAGNAUD, Healthcare Business Development Manager & Intellectual Property Manager, Aquitaine Science Transfert (FR)
• Matthieu FISICHELLA, Life Science Expert, SATT Nord (FR)
• Esther LANGE, Industry Liaison Manager, Ascenion (DE)

Associations, Clusters, Investors & Law firms:

To complete this impressive group, 9 experienced professionals from associations, venture capital firms, law firms and clusters, ready to help you promote and protect your assets.

• Claude-Alain CUDENNEC, General Director, AFSSI – Association Française des Sociétés de Services et d’Innovation (FR)
• Marco FIORINI, General Secretary, Aviesan – French National Alliance for Life Sciences and Health (FR)
• Barbara FREISCHEM, Managing Director, EBE – European Biopharmaceutical Enterprises (BE)
• Didier FROMMWEILER, General Manager, Alsace BioValley (FR)
• Sara NUNEZ-GARCIA, Senior Associate, Sofinnova Partners (FR)
• Christian POLICARD, Administrator and President of the Business Development Committee, France Biotech (FR)
• Emilie ROYERE, Director, Eurobiomed (FR)
• Cécile THEARD-JALLU, Partner Attorney, De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés (FR)
• Etienne VERVAECKE, General Manager, Eurasante & NHL cluster (FR)

Recommending speakers, designing the conference programme in a constant will to improve BioFIT, the Steering Committee member’s role is a corner stone to the event’s organization.

It is our greatest pleasure to welcome two brand new speakers this week, to complete the already impressive list of experts that have been willing to come and share their opinion in BioFIT 2016.

Two good news to share with the BioFITers :

Opened by a special 30-minute keynote session of Peter Gruss, former president of the Max Planck Society, the plenary session held right after will be moderated by no one else than John Carroll, former editor-in-chief of Fierce Biotech, who launched this summer the very addictive Life Sciences newsfeed Endpoints.

Second of all, joining Michèle Ollier, founder of Medicxi Venture, and Sam Fazeli, Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, we are welcoming Soren Moller, Managing Partner at Novo Seeds to talk on the very exciting session “How to create a European seed capital market?” planned to be held on November 30^th at 2.30 pm.

Do you want to speak at BioFIT 2016 ? Check out the conference programme and contact us!

Dear BioFITers,

This is our great pleasure to announce that the session “How can industry and investor incubator models accelerate research translation?” welcomes two heavy-league speakers within its panel.

First, Sabine Louet, Editor at Euroscientist in Dublin, and founder of SciencePOD , will moderate the panel, that Christophe Guichard, Director of Fondation Eclosion freshly joinded.

Completed by Magnus Bjorsne, Director of AstraZeneca BioVenture Hub and by Einat Zisman, Head of FuturX, the panel ought to be completed with a biotech that benefit from an incubator support, and that is now willing to testify on that past experience.

Do you want to join that panel, or BioFIT 2016 conference programme ? Contact us!