By Lucy Parkinson, VP of Investor Research, LSN
There’s a widespread perception that funding and launching new diagnostic technologies is a difficult undertaking. In addition to the scientific and technical challenges of developing a new product, diagnostic entrepreneurs need to build a solid business case that will indicate future success. Many fail to realize that investors will be as interested in evidence of market traction and physician support than in signals of diagnostic sensitivity and specificity.
At RESI Europe, five experienced senior staff from investment firms and major strategics in the industry will explain how they look for good bets in the diagnostics field. Representing a spectrum from early stage investment to potential exit partner, these investors will explain to the audience what it takes to get a diagnostic funded and how they help startups bring new tests and monitoring solutions to market.
Moderator: Tom Miller (Managing Partner, Greybird Ventures)
After receiving a degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, Tom studied Medical Physics at the Harvard/MIT Health Sciences and Technology joint program graduating with a Masters degree in 1982. During his academic career he worked at Los Alamos, the Swiss Institute for Nuclear Research (now the Paul Scherer Institute), Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the Massachusetts General Hospital as a research associate in radiation biophysics. Tom then joined Siemens Medical Systems where, after 9 years, he became the first non-German CEO of a German factory and business unit. He left Siemens after 15 years to become CEO of the global medical operations of Carl Zeiss. Completing a successful turnaround, he joined Analogic Corporation as CEO. After three years and a doubling of the stock price, Tom left to become CEO of LightLab Imaging, a start-up that he helped to establish. Completing a profitable sale of LightLab, Tom re-joined Siemens eventually serving as a member of the operating board of Siemens Healthcare and the CEO of Customer Solutions Division, responsible for 26,000 employees in over 130 countries. Tom co-founded GreyBird in mid-2013 with an investment focus on technologies enabling precision medicine diagnosis.
Walter Stockinger (Managing Partner, Hadean Ventures)
Walter is a seasoned healthcare investor with previous experience in strategy consulting and basic research. After joining the Boston Consulting Group as a member of the Healthcare Practice Team Walter advised pharmaceutical companies and PE firms in the context of commercial projects as well as during buy and sell side M&A transactions. In 2009 walter joined the London office of one of the largest specialist healthcare VC firms. Being responsible for deal sourcing, due diligence and exit management Walter gained significant experience by successfully investing into and exiting portfolio companies.
Walter received a master’s degree and a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Vienna. After his graduation, he worked for over five years as a research fellow at Harvard University. He has published 15 peer reviewed papers in top scientific journals including Cell and EMBO.
Michael Sidler (General Partner, Redalpine)
Dr. Michael Sidler has co-founded Redalpine Venture Partners 2007 and acts as General Partner for Redalpine Capital Funds I to IV. Redalpine invests in European tech and health tech companies. Before Redalpine, Michael was responsible for corporate investments and M&A at Prionics AG, a Diagnostics / Biotech company in, Switzerland, where under his guidance several acquisitions have been completed. From 1998 to 2003, Michael was with The Boston Consulting Group in Zürich and Toronto. Michael Sidler holds a PhD in Life Sciences from University of Zurich. He is a member of several organizations, juries and boards for the support of innovation and startups.
Ekkehard Kauffmann (Global Business Development M&A, Roche Diagnostics)
M&A and Strategy lead in Roche Diagnostic Global Business Development, responsible for external growth strategies as well as evaluating and securing early to commercial stage innovation for Roche Diagnostics through acquisitions and other deal types. Previous leadership roles in business development and R&D at Bayer and in the Novartis spin-off company Zeptosens. Ph.D. in Biophysics and executive MBA education background.
Dr Philipp Rittershaus studied technical biology in Stuttgart and also obtained an MBA in engineering management alongside his doctorate at B.R.A.I.N. AG. Prior to becoming an Investment Manager at HTGF in 2015, he was a self-employed consultant and implemented a range of life science and spin-off projects. At the HTGF Philipp nurses a portfolio of 10 Life Science Companies.
Pierre joined Amadeus Capital Partners in 2012. Pierre has a current investment focus on digital health, medical technology, AI and machine learning and cybersecurity. He is a non-executive director on the boards of Inotec, Repositive, Doctify, Congenica and oversees Amadeus’s investments in PhoreMost, Organox and Antidote (formerly TrialReach). Pierre brings operational experience to these investments, having managed the growth of several life science businesses in Asia and Europe. During a decade at biotech company Avesthagen, he guided the group’s strategy and European activities, contributing to acquisitions, joint ventures and exits. Pierre is French and holds an MSc in Environmental Economics (Hons.-SciencesEco) from Université de Provence, France and a BSc in Finance & Econometrics (Math Spe.-SciencesEco) from Université Louis Pasteur, France. He has attended executive programs at Harvard, MIT and Stanford.
Following a fifteen-year career in investing and strategy consulting and upon returning to Austria, Markus joined IST to start TWIST, IST’s tech transfer organisation, and has been driving the development of IST PARK, the technology park adjacent to IST Austria, and IST CUBE. His background is in venture capital investing with Safeguard Scientifics and the European Investment Fund, strategy consulting with the Boston Consulting Group, and principal investment with QIA, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds. He has supported a broad range of startups in the process, energy and tech industries. He has an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School, an MSc from TU Vienna, and an MIM from WU Vienna and HEC Paris.
Sabine Kaiser has more than 20 years of experience in consulting and entrepreneurial investing. Previously, she worked as a strategic consultant with McKinsey&Company, as a venture capital investor for Technologieholding VC GmbH and 3i plc, and in asset management for BTV, an internationally active German single family office. Sabine is passionate about technological and social innovations that have a significant positive impact on peoples’ lives. She believes in the ability of individuals and companies to create positive externalities while pursuing their business and in the potential for sustainable growth. Sabine holds a Diploma in Human Biology from the Philipps-University of Marburg and a Master in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School. She is also an IHK-certified business mediator, specialized on conflict resolution in Venture Capital financed companies.
Eugene W. Stetson started the Stetson Family Office shortly after he personally led the buyout of The Coca-Cola Company through a public offering in August 1919 by the Guaranty Trust Company of New York, where he subsequently served as Chairman and just before he died and organized, he organize with the much smaller J.P. Morgan. At his death, Eugene was Coca-Cola’s longest serving member of the Board and of the Executive Committee. Chuck Stetson, the third generation running the family office, is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and philanthropist. The Stetson Family Office started Healthcare Impact Foundation, a 501-c-3 organization, in 2017 to bring capital and management expertise to local life science companies and to build and maintain an efficient life science eco-system composed of R&D facilities, incubation facilities, venture capital investors, angel investors, family office investors, and networks of experts in science, management, industry, reimbursement and public policy. Stetson Family Office has set up a unique Global Family Office BioForum with family offices around the globe working closely with their local healthcare innovation. Family Offices are responding with excitement.
Florence Dal Degan joined Novo Nordisk A/S in May 2016 as R&D Innovation Sourcing Director. The R&D Innovation Sourcing team of Novo Nordisk is global, with a presence at the Danish Headquarters, as well as a regional presence in Shanghai, Boston, New-York and Paris. Florence is based in Paris and is responsible for search and evaluation of new opportunities within Europe and Middle-East across the therapeutic areas that Novo Nordisk is dedicated to, such as diabetes, obesity, NASH, chronic cardiovascular diseases, nephropathy and haemophilia. Florence has a PhD in biochemistry from The National Institute of Agronomy (Agro-Paris Tech, France). She has over 20 years of experience in Research and Development in academic, biotech and pharma environments. Since 2000, Florence has worked with drug discovery and early development and has held several positions as group leader within R&D. She has been working with external innovation since 2012.
Marco is Partner at Forbion Capital Partners and joined the firm in 2007. He has a background in molecular biology and biotechnology and brings operational and business development experience from both small and large businesses. Before joining Forbion Marco was Business Development Director and project manager at DSM Pharmaceutical Products and scientist at Cytos Biotechnology in Switzerland. He serves on the Board of Directors of Inflazome, NorthSea Therapeutics, Milestone Pharmaceuticals, Escalier Biosciences, RSPR Pharma, and Engene. After obtaining a master’s degree in molecular biology from the University of Groningen, Marco received his PhD in biotechnology from the ETH Institute for Technology in Zürich, and completed part of his research at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of the Medical Research Council in Cambridge, UK.
Roel Bulthuis is a Managing Director and head of the Healthcare investment team at INKEF Capital. Roel combines close to 20 years of experience across venture capital, pharma business development and M&A and healthcare investment banking. Prior to joining INKEF he served as SVP and Managing Director of M-Ventures which he created and developed into a leading CVC fund. Prior to that, he served in senior positions in global business development and M&A at Merck Serono and in the healthcare investment banking team at Fortis Bank. Roel is a Kauffman Fellow and passionate about continuously challenging the status quo. Roel holds a Msc. in Biopharmaceutical Sciences from Leiden University and an MBA in Finance from the Helsinki School of Economics.
