At Novaliq, we research and develop water-free eye drops—a unique and, at first glance, almost counterintuitive innovation. When I first learned about Novaliq in 2016, I was immediately intrigued. It raised a fundamental question: why, after thousands of years, are almost all eye drops still based on water or oil, despite the eye’s outer tear film being primarily lipid-based?
Tell us more about yourself and what motivated you to found Arxx, which has since become Calluna Pharma following the merger with Oxitope.
I was born in Norway and lived there until I moved to Copenhagen to study medicine. I never actually considered medicine as a career path until I trained as a medic during my mandatory service in the Norwegian Armed Forces which triggered my interest in clinical work.
What motivated me to co-found Arxx was my ambition to make a larger impact than I felt I was having at my existing job. Arxx co-founder Dr. Rizwan Hussain and myself started looking at the biology of a protein known as S100A4 and the broader class of DAMPS (Damage Associated Molecular Patterns or alarmins).
We were immediately captivated by their therapeutic potential. To further validate our approach, we engaged with Professor Eugene Lukanidin’s research group in Copenhagen, the pioneers in S100A4 research.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Tell us about yourself. My current role is that of a Managing Director of Fresenius Medical Care Ventures GmbH. I have been part of the Ventures team since it was established in 2016. My role has developed over the past 8 years, but I am still involved in the daily routines from opportunity sourcing, due diligence, preparing the requests for approval by our Investment Committee, deal execution and management of portfolio companies.
If you had to describe yourself with one word, what would you choose? Resilient. What is your background? I hold an MSc in Economics from the University of Copenhagen, supplemented by executive education courses at Harvard Business School, INSEAD, IMD, and Kellogg Business School. With over 20 years of experience in the life sciences industry, I’ve held various commercial leadership roles. My career has been driven by a passion for business growth, patient care, commercialization, and the intersection of technology, people, and business.
