SESSION 3:
Financial Perspectives on the Future of the Industry
09:00
Introduction by Session Chair
Mr Stephan JENN
NOVALIX, Illkirch, France
09:05
Title of talk to be announced (KL06)
Dr Matthias BUCHER
CEPTON STRATEGIES, Paris, France
09:30
Financing Early Stage Life Sciences Innovation in Europe: a New Model of Venture Building (KL07)
Dr Magali RICHARD
HOME BIOSCIENCES, Paris, France
Magali has 15 years of experience in biotech, combining academia and industry. From 2009 to 2011 she was a Scientist at Biomarin (US biotech), in the rare diseases space. Subsequently, Magali spent 6 years at the Boston Consulting Group, member of the Healthcare practice, working with various large pharma, biotech companies and investors, notably around new value creation models for emerging technologies. She then joined the Executive Committee of DBV Technologies as Chief Strategy Officer between 2016 and 2019.
In 2020, she co-founded Home Biosciences, a Venture Builder dedicated to biotechnologies in Europe. Home Biosciences founded two biotech companies: One Biosciences in France and Sequantrix in Germany.
Home Biosciences is backed by two leading biotech funds, Redmile Group and Sofinnova Partners.
Magali graduated from Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole des Mines de Paris, and holds a PhD in Molecular Biology.
09:55
Title of talk to be announced (KL08)
Dr Vanessa MALIER
IVIBIOPLUS, Paris, France
10:20
Coffee Break & Exhibition
10:50
Round-table discussion: Future Financing of Drug Discovery
Discussion moderated by
Mr Stephan JENN
NOVALIX, Illkirch, France
SESSION 4 (Part 1):
Unmet Therapeutic Needs: Current Challenges
11:35
Introduction by Session Chair
Dr Sylwia HUBER
F. HOFFMANN-LA ROCHE, Basel, Switzerland
11:40
Challenges and Opportunities in Cancer Therapy: a Perspective Across Modalities (KL09)
Dr Tobias SCHMELZLE
NOVARTIS, Basel, Switzerland
Tobias Schmelzle earned an MSc from ETH Zurich, a PhD from the Biozentrum at University of Basel (TOR signaling, advisor Mike Hall) and completed his postdoctoral studies on 3D breast cancer models at Harvard Medical School (advisor Joan Brugge).
Having started in Novartis Biomedical Research Oncology in 2007 in the Target Identification and Validation (TIDVal) group, Tobias worked on several early programs and co-lead the global TIDVal group, which completed large-scale functional genomics campaigns, such as project DRIVE. Prior to embarking on his current role in 2021, Tobias was also a Drug Discovery Biology Group Leader serving on the local Oncology Leadership Team and a Project Team Leader of the YAP/TEAD LMW program (clinical development candidate NVP-IAG933). At current, Tobias is the Head of Oncology Drug Discovery in Basel and collaborates closely with the Oncology Radioligand Therapy group, while as a member of the global Novartis Biomedical Research Oncology Leadership Team contributing to the strategy and portfolio across multiple cancer indications and therapeutic modalities.
12:20
Gene Therapy of Rare Diseases. A Quantum Leap in Medicine. (KL10)
Dr Serge BRAUN
AFM TÉLÉTHON, Evry, France
13:00
Lunch & Networking
SESSION 1 (Part 2):
Present and Future Tools for Drug Discovery
14:40
Introduction by Session Chair
Dr Stefan GESCHWINDNER
ASTRAZENECA, Mölndal, Sweden
14:45
Where AI Meets the Real World (KL11)
Dr Dave HALLETT
EXSCIENTIA LTD, Oxford, United Kingdom
Dr Hallett joined Exscientia in 2020 with more than 20-years experience in drug discovery and alliance management. He is currently Chief Executive Officer (interim) & Chief Scientific Officer.
Prior to joining Exscientia, Dr Hallett was Executive Vice President at Evotec, where he held a number of positions including EVP of Alliance Management and Discovery Chemistry. At Evotec, he created and led the Alliance Management function, responsible for their strategic collaborations and human iPSC-based drug discovery efforts. Before Evotec, Dr Hallett trained as a medicinal chemist at Merck & Co. progressing to Research Fellow and leading teams who delivered preclinical candidates into Merck’s psychiatry portfolio.
15:25
Title of talk to be announced (KL12)
Dr Maria M. FLOCCO
ASTRAZENECA, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Dr. Flocco is Vice President, Global Head of Mechanistic and Structural Biology at AstraZeneca.
Maria has 25 years of pharmaceutical industry and drug discovery experience. Previous to joining AstraZeneca, she held various positions of increasing responsibility in Pfizer. She was Senior Director and Head of External R&D Innovation Europe, Sr Dir and Head of Internal Medicine Chemistry, Sr Dir and Head of Lead Discovery, and Director and Head of Structural Biology and Biophysics. Before joining Pfizer, Maria was Head of Structural Chemistry at Pharmacia.
Prior to her career in the pharmaceutical industry, Maria was a lecturer at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, and a researcher at the Uppsala Biomedical Centre, Sweden. Maria received a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the City University of New York, and postdoctoral training in X-ray crystallography at the Fox Chase Cancer Centre, Philadelphia, and the
Uppsala Biomedical Centre.
Maria is currently a member of the Structural Biology Advisory Panel of the Rosalind Franklin Institute, Oxford. During her career, she has been a member of the MRC Molecular and Cellular Medicine Board, the SAB of the Chemical Biology Institute of Imperial College London, the SAB of INSTRUCT EU, and the SAB of INSERM Transfert Initiative, a seed funding body from INSERM in France. She is a co-founder and co-organiser of the Next Generation Biophysics Symposium, Cambridge UK.
Maria has a track record of successfully embracing innovative approaches and expanding capabilities that make an impact on drug discovery.
SESSION 5 (Part 1):
Vision for the Future of Drug Discovery
16:05
Introduction by Session Chair
Dr Sandra JACOB
NOVARTIS INSTITUTES FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH, Basel, Switzerland
16:10
Enabling New Paradigms in Drug Discovery Through Biophysical Characterization - virtual lecture (KL13)
Dr Frank LAUKIEN
BRUKER, Billerica, United States
Frank Laukien is Chairman, President and CEO of Bruker Corporation
(Nasdaq: BRKR; www.bruker.com). He is an innovation-focused second-
generation biotech entrepreneur, who took Bruker public on the Nasdaq
in August 2000, and has dramatically grown the company over 25+ years.
Since 2022, Frank Laukien is founder and executive chairman of Gauss
Fusion (www.gauss-fusion.com), a European cleantech fusion venture.
Dr. Laukien is a Visiting Scholar in the Harvard Department of Chemistry
& Chemical Biology and in the Harvard Origins of Life Initiative
(www.chemistry.harvard.edu/people/frank-laukien-0).
Frank is co-founder of the Galileo Project together with Professor Avi
Loeb (projects.iq.harvard.edu/galileo/home). He also is co-founder and
chairman of Copernicus Space Corporation (www.copernicus.space), a
next-generation space exploration company focused on finding Life in our
solar system, and eventually spreading terrestrial life in our galaxy.
Frank served on the Dean’s Advisory Committee of the MIT School of
Science for many years until 2014, and presently serves on the Visiting
Committee for the MIT Department of Chemistry.
Frank holds a Bachelor of Science in physics from MIT (1984), and a
Ph.D. in chemical physics from Harvard University (1988).
Dr. Laukien is the author of two books:
- Active Biological Evolution (2022, bestseller - multiple categories)
- Origins & Evolution (available now, official launch in 2024)
Dr. Laukien is co-founder and former co-chair of the AACR Cancer
Evolution Scientific Working Group
(www.aacr.org/professionals/membership/scientific-working-
groups/cancer-evolution-working-group/). He was a member of the
Columbia University-hosted The Oncology Think Tank (TOTT), and he
serves on Scientific Advisory Boards of the Moffitt Cancer Center &
Research Institute’s Center of Excellence for Evolutionary Therapy, and of
the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Center for Cancer Evolution.
In 2023, Frank was elected a trustee of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
In 2017, Dr. Laukien was elected a Senator of acatech, the German Academy of Natural & Technical Sciences.
Frank Laukien serves on the board of directors of the Analytical, Life Science and Diagnostic Association (ALDA),
and was previously the Chairman of the ALDA industry association.
Dr. Laukien serves on several Scientific/Strategic Advisory Boards (SABs):
- Australian National Phenome Center (ANPC) – Perth, WA
- Berlin-Brandenburg Virchow 2.0 Innovation Cluster for Cell-based Medicine – Berlin, Germany
- Metabolomics company Sapient Bio – La Jolla, CA
- Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute’s Center of Excellence for Evolutionary Therapy, Tampa, FL
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Center for Cancer Evolution – Boston, MA
- Board observer and science & technology committee of Mercy Bioanalytics – Natick, MA
Dr. Laukien has numerous publications and patents.
He is an Angel investor in two start-up companies in biotherapeutics and space exploration.
Frank was born and raised in Germany. In 1979, he was Valedictorian of Fanny-Leicht-Gymnasium (High School in Stuttgart, Germany with the best Abitur (high school diploma) GPA in prior school history. In 1980, Frank completed the German federal defense forces (Bundeswehr) paratrooper junior officers’ course with the highest score, as a draftee. In 1980, he came to the United States as a physics freshman at MIT. Frank has lived in New England ever since, became a US citizen in 2006, and a resident of New Hampshire in 2020.
Frank is a dedicated, proud father and husband. He enjoys hiking, swimming, skiing, tennis, and writing. Frank is passionate about contributing to major advancements in science and medicine, and about entrepreneurial ventures that innovate at scientific or medical inflection points in cancer, infectious disease and neurodegeneration. Over a long career, Frank has done well financially as a focused entrepreneur, but his focus remains on entrepreneurialism and science philanthropy, and he prefers a modest, low-key lifestyle with a life-long goal of making a positive difference and meaningful contribution.
Dr Falko BUSSE
BRUKER SWITZERLAND, Fällanden, Switzerland
Falko Busse is President of the Bruker BioSpin Group, and as such an
Executive Officer of Bruker Corporation (Nasdaq: BRKR; www.bruker.com).
He is a transformative leader in the life-science domain with a proven
track record in reshaping established businesses, as well as growing new
paradigm changing business concepts.
In 2018, Falko took the leadership role for Bruker BioSpin, the global leader in magnetic resonance-based products. He successfully drives Bruker BioSpin to provide comprehensive analytical solutions including automation and data management, serving an increasing portfolio of applications. Thereby, Bruker BioSpin enables science and industry developers to find answers to the vital questions facing our society.
Before Falko joined Bruker in 2015, he created the Radiology Solutions organization within Philips Healthcare. The entrepreneurial team designed and implemented solutions focusing on clinical decision making, practice improvement and quality metrics in a healthcare environment that transitions from volume to value of care.
Prior to leading Radiology Solutions, Falko established a Therapy business
within Philips, with a focus on completely new image-guided therapeutic paradigms especially in Oncology.
In previous functions Falko served as the Chief Technology Officer of the Philips’ MRI business, as well as the Vice President for Medical Imaging Research.
Falko holds a Master of Science in physics (1991), and a Ph.D. in solid state physics from the University of Bonn, Germany (1994).
Falko received a Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship from the Alexander
von Humboldt Foundation, and a PhD scholarship from the Konrad- Adenauer-Stiftung.
16:50
Coffee Break & Exhibition
17:20
25 Years of Thinking Small (KL14)
Dr Harren JHOTI
ASTEX PHARMACEUTICALS, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Harren Jhoti co-founded Astex in 1999 and was Chief Scientific Officer until November 2007 when he was appointed Chief Executive Officer. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to Cancer Research and Drug Discovery in the King’s New Year Honours in 2023. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2018, the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2016, and of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2015. In January 2018 he was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the UK BioIndustry Association (BIA). He received the Prous Institute-Overton and Meyer Award for New Technologies in Drug Discovery from the European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry in 2012 and was also named by the Royal Society of Chemistry as “Chemistry World Entrepreneur of the Year” for 2007. In September 2023, Dr. Jhoti won Business Person of the Year at the 21st annual Asian Achievers Awards.
He has published widely including in leading journals such as Nature and Science, and has also been featured in TIME magazine after being named by the World Economic Forum a Technology Pioneer in 2005. He has served on the board of the BIA, the UK BioIndustry Association and currently consults for life science venture capital firms. Before founding Astex in 1999, he was head of Structural Biology and Bioinformatics at GlaxoWellcome in the United Kingdom (1991-1999). Prior to Glaxo, Dr. Jhoti was a post-doctoral scientist at Oxford University. He received a B.Sc. (Hons) in Biochemistry in 1985 and a Ph.D. in Protein Crystallography from the University of London in 1989.
18:00
Adding Years of Life and Quality of Life: How the Healthcare Industry Can Bring Value to the World (KL15)
Dr Paul STOFFELS
GALAPAGOS, Beerse, Belgium
Dr. Paul Stoffels is a visionary leader who inspires and drives transformational innovation to bring years of life and quality of life to millions of people around the world.
As Chief Executive Officer (Acting via Stoffels IMC BV) and Chairman of biopharmaceutical company Galapagos, his mission is to help people live longer and better lives, focusing on adding years of life and quality of life.
Previously, Paul was Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer of Johnson & Johnson where he led teams across the organization to set the company-wide innovation agenda, discovering and developing transformational healthcare solutions.
Prior to that, he was Worldwide Chairman of Pharmaceuticals for Johnson & Johnson, where he significantly rejuvenated the product pipeline and implemented a transformational R&D operating model, resulting in the global launch of 25 innovative medicines, including 10 in oncology. Paul joined Johnson & Johnson in 2002, with the acquisition of Virco and Tibotec, where he was respectively CEO and Chairman and led the development of several breakthrough products for the treatment of HIV. Paul was a member of the Board of Directors of Galapagos NV from its incorporation until 2002. He is currently a member of the Supervisory Board of Philips Healthcare in the Netherlands.