Flot.bio x Philip Hemme Flot.bio

We’re super privileged to chat online with Bahija Jallal, the CEO of Immunocore. Immunocore is the largest biotech in the UK and the 5th largest in Europe with a market cap of just over 3 billion dollars. We talk about how Immunocore has helped thousands of cancer patients and has become a commercial biotech. We also talk about why she thinks gender and race diversity are a business case and how AI is changing protein and biologics engineering.

💎 ABOUT THE SPEAKER
I’ve “known” Bahija for over 10 years, after reading her profile in a student pharma magazine when I was studying bioengineering in France. At that time, she was head of MedImmune and SVP R&D at AstraZeneca. Now as the CEO of Immunocore, with their pioneering T cell receptor platform, she has helped to bring incredible treatments for cancer patients to market.

🔗 LINKS MENTIONED

- Bahija on the Breakthrough Labs podcast - https://open.spotify.com/episode/2X4xedUdJid9GeioRSkCrP?si=39d8c7511aab443f
- Immatics builds on its PRAME Success (and competes with Immunocore) - [OncologyPipeline.com](https://www.oncologypipeline.com/apexonco/immatics-builds-its-prame-success)

📜 TRANSCRIPT
Read the full transcript here:

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🎙️ ABOUT FLOT.BIO
Flot.bio is a show to watch the best Europeans in biotech to help you grow. Hosted by Philip Hemme. 15k monthly views. Free.

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⏰ TIMESTAMPS

[00:00:00] Intro

[00:00:34] Welcome

[00:01:46] Immunocore’s life-changing cancer drug

[00:07:40] Commercializing Immunocore

[00:13:46] Explaining the TCR technology

[00:20:40] Targeting tumors with PRAME

[00:23:26] Immunocore now and then

[00:35:37] Why Bahija chose Immunocore

[00:40:22] Top lessons from Bahija Jallal

[00:45:48] How is risk appetite connected to innovation?

[00:49:10] Diversity in biotech

[01:00:59] Biological innovation

[01:05:49] AI in protein engineering optimization

[01:14:42] Thanks for listening

We’re in Brussels with Edwin Moses, the former CEO of one of the most successful platform companies in Europe, Ablynx, now part of Sanofi. We talk about how he feels 5 years after the exit from Ablynx and his lessons. We also talk about the parallels between industrial biotech, AI bio and cell therapy, and how a chairman can help CEOs grow.

💎 ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Edwin Moses is Chairman of Achilles Thx (cell therapy for solid tumors), Avantium (bioplastics) and LabGenius (AI biotech). He is the former CEO of one of the most successful platform companies in Europe, Ablynx, now part of Sanofi. I interviewed him back in 2018 when he sold the company.

📜 TRANSCRIPT
Read the full transcript here: https://flot.bio/episode/edwin-moses-biotech-platforms/



🔗 LINKS MENTIONED


Sanofi to acquire Ablynx for €3.9 Billion - https://www.sanofi.com/en/media-room/press-releases/2018/2018-01-29-07-19-03-1313306

Edwin Moses on stage in 2018 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWkd99rxVhc&t=802s&pp=ygUVZWR3aW4gbW9zZXMgbGFiaW90ZWNo

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- Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/h_fnmH
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/flot-bio/
- X (Twitter): https://x.com/FlotBio

🎙️ ABOUT FLOT.BIO
Flot.bio is a show to watch the best Europeans in biotech to help you grow. Hosted by Philip Hemme. 15k monthly views. Free.

⭐️ SPONSORSHIP
Ready to amplify your brand to influential leaders in biotech and biopharma? Contact nick@flot.bio and unlock sponsorship opportunities in our podcasts!

🙏 LIKE/FOLLOW/REVIEW
Did you enjoy the episode? Please hit the like and subscribe button. Also, please let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

⏰ TIMESTAMPS

We’re in Copenhagen with Jens Nielsen, the CEO of BioInnovation Institute. We will talk about what works best to translate academic research in bio into innovation for humanity, especially how everything is connected. We also talk about how BII is solving some of the main challenges scientist entrepreneurs face and the drawbacks of Novo financing most of Denmark’s biotech ecosystem.

💎 ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jens Nielsen is one of the best in this space in Europe. Not only is he the CEO of BII, he’s also a professor of systems biology at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, and is the most cited researcher in the field of metabolic engineering as well as industrial biotechnology. He’s the founder of the International Metabolic Engineering Society and has also founded many biotechs.

📜 TRANSCRIPT
Read the full transcript here: https://flot.bio/episode/jens-nielsen-translation-of-life-science-research/

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- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/flot-bio/
- X (Twitter): https://x.com/FlotBio

🎙️ ABOUT FLOT.BIO
Flot.bio is a show to watch the best Europeans in biotech to help you grow. Hosted by Philip Hemme. 10k monthly views. Free.

⭐️ SPONSORSHIP
Ready to amplify your brand to influential leaders in biotech and biopharma? Contact nick@flot.bio and unlock sponsorship opportunities in our podcasts!

🙏 LIKE/FOLLOW/REVIEW
Did you enjoy the episode? Please hit the like and subscribe button. Also, please let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

⏰ TIMESTAMPS
[00:00:00] Intro
[00:00:29] Welcome
[00:01:43] Translation of science
[00:08:48] Being flexible is key
[00:11:58] When to stop being flexible
[00:19:34] Listen to your gut
[00:22:38] The importance of network
[00:28:05] Entrepreneurial mindset recipe
[00:31:08] Role models
[00:32:38] Interaction with industry
[00:43:07] Results of BII
[00:54:14] How to be cost-effective in helping startups
[00:57:56] Novo Nordisk
[01:11:07] Closing the lab
[01:17:46] Thanks for listening

We’re in Amsterdam with Sander van Deventer, the CEO of VectorY. We will talk about VectorY and what’s missing in gene therapy.

💎 ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sander has an impressive track record, being a professor, operational biotech founder and a VC. In 1998, he co-founded uniQure, which brought the first gene therapy to the market. He also co-founded the leading VC Forbion as well as Dezima. He is now building a new venture VectorY, again in gene therapy. I interviewed him in 2017 back at Labiotech so it’s great to catch up with him again.

📜 TRANSCRIPT
Read the full transcript here: https://flot.bio/episode/sander-van-deventer-gene-therapy/

🫶 FOLLOW US
- Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/h_fnmH
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/flot-bio/
- X (Twitter): https://x.com/FlotBio

🎙️ ABOUT FLOT.BIO
Flot.bio is a show to watch the best Europeans in biotech to help you grow. Hosted by Philip Hemme. 10k monthly views. Free.

⭐️ SPONSORSHIP
Ready to amplify your brand to influential leaders in biotech and biopharma? Contact nick@flot.bio and unlock sponsorship opportunities in our podcasts!

🙏 LIKE/FOLLOW/REVIEW
Did you enjoy the episode? Please hit the like and subscribe button. Also, please let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

⏰ TIMESTAMPS

[00:00:00] Intro
[00:01:54] VectorY: Raising the largest Series A in 2023 in 🇪🇺
[00:05:01] What's coming for ALS
[00:07:50] How Vectorized Antibodies work
[00:17:57] New Vector (AAV) technologies
[00:22:55] The pipeline of VectorY
[00:27:22] Where VC money is moving to
[00:32:29] The Netherlands as a biotech cluster
[00:35:31] CRISPR approval and gene therapy reimbursement
[00:48:15] Where Sander came from
[00:56:14] How to have the energy to be a serial entrepreneur

In an online special, we’re interviewing Thomas Clozal, the co-founder and CEO of Owkin. We talk about scaling AI in biotech and how it feels to be the child of billionaire biotech parents.

💎 ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Thomas founded Owkin in 2016 and I first met him in 2017. At that time, Owkin was still a baby and I wasn’t sure where it would go. Now it’s a unicorn following a $180M investment from Sanofi in 2021 and has over 300 employees.

🔗 LINKS MENTIONED

- Exscientia Expands Biologics Design Capability with Automated Laboratory https://investors.exscientia.ai/press-releases/press-release-details/2022/Exscientia-Expands-Biologics-Design-Capability-with-Automated-Laboratory/default.aspx
- Marc de Garidel, Abivax | How to make two billion 💶 exits (kind of smoothly) | E09
https://youtu.be/njZR8udGBTQ
- How AI Can Tackle Cancer - Leader in Innovation (Fast Company) https://open.spotify.com/episode/2LQGtAaD7ALSsHslNZJ1mC?si=96a0ba9ddafd4fbc
- Aviv Regev leads Genentech's next revolution with AI - https://endpts.com/aviv-regev-leads-genentechs-next-revolution-with-ai/

📜 TRANSCRIPT
Read the full transcript here: https://flot.bio/episode/thomas-clozel-ai-biotech/

🫶 FOLLOW US
- Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/h_fnmH
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/flot-bio/
- X (Twitter): https://x.com/FlotBio

🎙️ ABOUT FLOT.BIO
Flot.bio is a show to watch the best Europeans in biotech to help you grow. Hosted by Philip Hemme. 10k monthly views. Free.

⭐️ SPONSORSHIP
Ready to amplify your brand to influential leaders in biotech and biopharma? Contact nick@flot.bio and unlock sponsorship opportunities in our podcasts!

🙏 LIKE/FOLLOW/REVIEW
Did you enjoy the episode? Please hit the like and subscribe button. Also, please let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

⏰ TIMESTAMPS

[00:00:00] Intro

[00:01:26] You need a good pipeline

[00:09:24] How Owkin is scaling AI in biotech

[00:16:46] Augmenting AI in biotech

[00:23:05] How AI can work for small/medium biotech companies

[00:27:18] Always looking for more data

[00:33:58] Anonymization of data and federated learning

[00:42:18] Becoming a biotech company

[00:47:29] Small molecules

[00:49:10] Limitations

[00:51:51] Growing up with billionaire biotech parents

[00:56:37] Becoming unfocused and having fun

[01:09:02] Getting the best investors

[01:18:51] Thanks for listening

Today, I’m in Paris (🇫🇷) to chat with Marc de Garidel, the new CEO of Abivax. We talk about the challenges behind the exits and why Abivax could be a third big success.

💎 ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Marc is a biopharma veteran with an impressive track record. He has made two billion-dollar exits, was CEO of Ipsen, and has recently made the biggest French IPO ever with Abivax.

📜 TRANSCRIPT
Read the full transcript here: https://flot.bio/episode/marc-de-garidel-abivax-exit/

🫶 FOLLOW US

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/h_fnmH
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/flot-bio/
X (Twitter):
https://x.com/FlotBio


🎙️ABOUT FLOT.BIO
Flot.bio is a show to watch the best Europeans in biotech to help you grow. Hosted by Philip Hemme. 10k monthly views. Free.

⭐️ SPONSORSHIP

Wanna reach 10,000+ biotech leaders at companies like BioNTech, Immunocore or Genmab? Feel free to message Nick (nick@flot.bio) to learn more.

🙏 LIKE/FOLLOW/REVIEW
Did you enjoy the episode? Please hit the like and subscribe button. Also, please let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

⏰ TIMESTAMPS
[00:00:00] Intro
[00:01:32] Behind the scene of the 2 billion-dollar exits
[00:20:48] Lessons on compliance analysis
[00:24:09] What to do when the market is against you
[00:36:08] Abivax: Phase II compared to standard of care
[00:42:51] IBD and the microbiome
[00:51:20] Why is 70% of the market in the US?
[00:59:07] The best way to sell a company is to make a great product
[01:03:48] Find people who inspire you
[01:10:45] Thanks for listening 🙏