Founder-CEO Interview Archives

John Boghossian

20 November 2024 by Sejelas

Can you share the inspiration and vision behind founding Kadence Bio?
The inspiration for Kadence Bio stemmed from our founders’ early investigations into potential acute treatments for mood disorders, where they explored different classes of alkaloid small molecules. We discovered a compound scaffold with a distinctive pharmacokinetic profile that also exhibited an unexpected effect of delayed ejaculation. This – rather unexpected! – The finding was corroborated by the elucidation of its potential mechanism of action.
We then identified a significant unmet need, as no FDA-approved treatments exist for premature ejaculation, a condition that affects at least 1 in 20 men and their partners globally and hinders intimacy and well-being in these relationships. We quickly decided to found Kadence Bio, with a vision of cultivating sexual and mental well-being by developing novel treatments for sexual health and mood disorder applications.

Sharon Cunningham

13 November 2024 by Sejelas

You are a chartered accountant turned biotech Founder-CEO. Can you share your journey with us?
After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Finance, I trained to become a Chartered Accountant with PwC. I later secured a role as a Management Accountant with pharmaceutical company, EirGen Pharma, progressed to Financial Controller and then Head of Finance. During my time there, I obtained my executive MBA. In 2018 I co-founded Shorla Oncology, a specialty pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing innovative oncology drugs addressing unmet needs. I come from an entrepreneurial family and I always knew I would run my own business eventually but I wanted to spend time in practice and industry and gain as much formal education as possible in order to maximise my knowledge and skills, build an industry network and ultimately enhance my credibility in order to ensure success.

Matthieu de Kalbermatten

6 November 2024 by Sejelas

Tell us about your background.
For the last 15 years, I have held management positions in medtech and biotech companies, mainly in the field of cardiology. Having trained as an ETH engineer, I’ve always been attracted by cutting-edge technology at the service of innovation, which led me to decide 8 years ago to take over the management of the biotech start-up CellProthera, a specialist in stem cells, which offers immense potential for therapeutic innovation.

Wahid Awad

28 October 2024 by Sejelas

Your experience spans the globe. Tell us more about your background?
I am the CEO and Founder of Rosetta Omics: an innovative deeptech healthcare startup incubated at Agoranov and in a mission to unlock the road to precision medicine using spatial multiomics and AI and starting with cancer.
Having lived in four countries: Egypt, the Netherlands, USA and now France & studied in 13 total (in 5 continents), I acquired a multidimensional, multidisciplinary and multicultural understanding of the complexities that may rise in any life sciences biopharma/health organization and developed the ability to approach them with an innovative problem-solving attitude. My bachelor was from Egypt, my master was from the Netherlands, my PhD, from the USA, my postdoc from France and I did an executive MBA from ESCP business school between nine countries.

Paul Bravetti

2 October 2024 by Sejelas

Tell us about your background.

I am Paul Bravetti, a passionate executive with a strong focus on scientific innovation and entrepreneurial ventures.

My background combines a Doctor of Pharmacy degree with an MBA in business management from HEC Paris. I joined Brenus Pharma in 2020 and became CEO in 2022, with a clear mission to (address the limitations of current cancer treatments and) create a meaningful impact for patients.

My international experience/journey in major pharmaceutical companies (Takeda, Servier, Roche) across Europe and Asia has been key to giving me a deep insight into launching therapeutics and addressing unmet medical needs.

Simon Mølgaard

26 September 2024 by Sejelas

Teitur means happiness in Old Norse. What inspired you to choose this name for the company, and how does it reflect your vision for developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases?
At Teitur, our name captures the essence of our mission. Meaning “joyful” or “bright” in Old Norse, Teitur reflects our commitment to bringing light and hope to patients and families affected by Huntington’s and Parkinson’s diseases. We are developing innovative, disease-modifying treatments that go beyond symptom management, aiming to alter the course of these conditions.

Jana Fischer

21 August 2024 by Sejelas

Tell us about your background. My background is in computational biology and bioinformatics, which I studied at ETH Zürich. I then went on to combine my fascination for cancer research and my data analysis skills and joined the research group of Prof. Bernd Bodenmiller for my PhD. We used highly multiplex tissue imaging in order to characterize tumors and better understand their biology, the different tumor subtypes and the complex interactions between tumor and immune cells. Throughout my PhD I analyzed datasets of large patient cohorts and was able to show the remarkable potential of this type of data in explaining different patient outcomes such as drug response or survival.

Patrick Guye

14 August 2024 by Sejelas

Tell us about your background.
My career began with a PhD in molecular biology and microbiology, fueling a lifelong fascination with the complexities of biological systems. This path led me to a pivotal role in synthetic biology at MIT, where I was inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of the Boston area. After building two labs at Sanofi, I served as Chief Scientific Officer at InSphero in Zurich, sharpening my expertise in scaling biotech ventures.

With Tim Mak, my co-founder in Trilliome, we launched a consulting business focusing on scientific and technical matters, transitioning over time increasingly to business development and strategy. My engagement in rejuvenation and longevity started during my tenure as ad-interim COO at Rejuveron, focusing on pioneering drug discovery initiatives. My career has spanned many topics, including inflammation & immunity, metabolic diseases, immuno-oncology (IO), and neurodegeneration, across most therapeutic modalities.

Claudia Scheckel

25 July 2024 by Sejelas

Can you tell us more about Oncobit and the reasons you decided to found it? Two of my co-founders are professors at the University and University Hospital of Zurich and experienced first-hand the limitations linked to cancer monitoring. So Oncobit was really founded out of an unmet need. What are some of the key challenges you faced when transitioning from academia to entrepreneurship and the MedTech industry, and how did you overcome them? To be honest I believe academia has prepared me quite well for my entrepreneurial journey at Oncobit in a lot of ways.

Amir Hefni

26 June 2024 by Sejelas

Amir, you’ve had an impressive international career across various countries and therapeutic areas. What unique perspectives and insights have you gained from your global experience that you bring to Resolution Therapeutics? I am a big believer in the power of diversity. Having had the pleasure of working across several countries and therapeutic areas, I found the best approach to solving the biggest problems is through the lens of diverse perspectives. It’s not always easy, in fact at times It can feel uncomfortable and frustrating, especially when you are convinced that your approach is the right one. However, if I reflect on some of the toughest challenges I have faced in my career, it is the diversity of perspectives from the team around the table that delivers the best ideas. It makes the impossible possible!