"We started a long-term collaboration a long time ago… Step by step they moved to 20% ��� and then to this final acquisition."
The biosafety specialist sees a lot of potential for CMC in a consolidating CRO space.
"Pharma is still heavily outsourcing… Capacity is not sufficient anymore — it's a lot about expertise and specification."
We talked about the increasing traction of cell and gene therapy and how France must can help biotech startups become global champions.
He firmly sees animal testing in CMC becoming a thing of the past in the coming decades, especially with technology like NGS, organoids, and AI.
"This is an area which is going to transform very rapidly."
For transparency, this episode has been sponsored by PathoQuest.
You can now watch and listen to the full episode for free:
-Youtube: https://t.co/AGURLKNrKc
-Spotify: https://t.co/Q2LJgVWdTA
-Apple: https://t.co/omSE1uhUtS
EPISODE: 🇫🇷 Paris-based PathoQuest was spun out of Institut Pasteur in 2010. This year, CEO Jean‑François landed a $70M sale to top CRO Charles River. $CRL
Full episode is linked below.
Avance is where European biotech turns for trusted financial advice. Learn more at https://t.co/6uHqnuNvfS.
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“We believe that founders should own more equity than in most settings” because we appreciate the value of the idea.
”There's no company without an idea.”
We discuss major bottom-up successes including argenx, Ascendis and Genmab, and how https://t.co/UrdbwwAUiV sources drug development expertise for its founders.
Although tech companies have a much more favorable investment math than life sciences, Christoph remains undeterred.
“Our desire is not a dating web page that has 2 million users… Our outcome is that the people who died before now live because they have a medicine.”
Christoph also reflects on the founder-led company Tubulis and how its sale to Gilead for up to $5B took him by surprise.
“I didn’t find it that innovative… Big exit. Wrong.”
You can now watch and listen to the full episode for free:
-Youtube: https://t.co/zkwj0jnKBN
-Spotify: https://t.co/bBL7TiYe5N
-Apple: https://t.co/UohNSF70LG
EPISODE: In 2022, Christoph co-founded https://t.co/lJybjDiXDp. Now the founder-friendly fund manages $1.25B and backs 38 portfolio companies.
Full episode is linked below.
Brought to you by GeneNovate Investors Day, an invite-only event on June 9 for leaders in cell and gene therapies. Learn more: https://t.co/aOqIDF7Oha
We discussed how the Life Sciences VC Coalition could help fix Europe’s financing bottlenecks.
“Together with Sofinnova, Healthcap, Omega Funds and Novo Holdings, we said ‘let's get together and let's make the case for European VC Life Sciences.’”
We also talked about how the life sciences depend less on energy than other sectors, making it more robust to the current geopolitical energy crisis.
"We are probably one of the least affected industries when it comes to everything going on. Our industry has its own dynamic.”
Lastly, we talked about the thriving Chinese biotech space and its limitations, and why life should be fun, not only dealflow.
You can now watch and listen to the full episode for free:
-Youtube: https://t.co/ZM7SMBQSLn
-Spotify: https://t.co/NkOsfKYFmU
-Apple: https://t.co/N4loQb7vCW
EPISODE: In 2006, Sander co-founded Forbion. 20 years later, it’s one of the best investors in Europe with €2.1B raised in 2024.
Full episode is linked below.
The leader in the space is Pfizer’s $7B+ bacterial vaccine Prevnar, showing there is a lot more commercial potential in the antimicrobial space.
Immunethep’s platform is developing vaccines that stop “superbugs” from evading the immune system, similar to immunotherapy in oncology.
“If we target [their] common virulence mechanism, we are stopping a lot of bacteria at the same time.”
Despite the urgency of the resistance crisis and a €10 billion market opportunity, many people are not aware of it.
“When we even tell our family that [antimicrobial resistance] will be greater than cancer if you don't do anything about it, even they think: ‘You're probably overreacting.’”
Immunethep is now raising a €16M round to bring their lead product into human trials.
We also talked about Portugal’s emerging biotech ecosystem and how one pharma company became a big help for them, despite its first representative saying ‘no.’
“The first guy that we first talked [to] from that big pharma company… The only thing he said was: ‘I don’t believe in vaccines.’”
“It was actually the company that helped us the most.”
You can now watch and listen to the full episode for free on YouTube, Spotify or Apple (link in the comments 👇)
For transparency, this episode has been sponsored by Immunethep.
EPISODE: In 2013, Immunethep started in Pedro Madureira’s lab in Porto 🇵🇹 With Bruno Santos’ help, it’s now about to enter human trial for a new kind of vaccine against resistant bacteria.
Full episode is linked below.
Tubulis was just acquired $3.15B upfront + $1.85B options by Gilead $GILD. 4th biggest exit in Europe ever after Actelion, Merus, Ablynx. Ph1 ADC asset. Wow 😱
Here's my video with founder Dominik below.
NEWS: Jeito just closed a mega €1B Fund II 🤑 Equal to LSP/EQT’s €1B Fund 7 (2022) and bigger than Forbion’s €890M Fund 7 (Oct 2024). Money talks!
Picture is partner Pascal Touchon with me in Jeito's office in Paris in Dec 2025 to record podcast episode 49. Links ⬇️
EPISODE: BIAL started as a pharmacy in 1924. Now, the company has grown into Portugal’s largest biopharma, with Antonio as the fourth-generation CEO.
Full episode is linked below.
We’ve added the 50 leading private biotechs in Europe, so now you can discover 163 biotechs in total.
Here are a few more updates to make it easier to explore:
- You can filter by company ownership, in addition to the other filters.
- Market caps for public biotechs now update automatically, so the data stays current.
- We fixed a few bugs and made small improvements throughout.
We've expanded with the top 50 private biotechs and improvements to the map 🗺️ More in the thread
Try it for free at https://t.co/ehMw8vmmb1
If you could ask for any feature to be added, what would you wish for? Maybe we can work on it for the next round 😉
New milestone hit 🚀 A huge thank you to our guests, sponsors, and team for being a part of the journey.
Which episode has been your favourite so far, and who would you love to see next? 👀
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