Molecule to Market: Inside the outsourcing space

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Victor Diaz [https://www.linkedin.com/in/vmdiazperez/], Co-Founder of Solitek [https://solitekpharma.com/]. Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Victor, covering: * Falling in love with medicinal chemistry and ending up experiencing the culture shock of North East England! * Why Victor fell in love with working on a variety of projects at CROs/CDMOs * The benefits of solid state chemistry and its value in pre-clinical formulation development * The starting story of Solitek and the decision not to take the easier path to becoming consultants * His views on the market outlook and how the application of AI will impact the development pathway Victor obtained his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Seville [https://ics-seville.org/university-of-seville/] in 1998 before moving to the UK, where he built most of his professional career. Originally trained as a synthetic and medicinal chemist, he began his career at High Force Research [https://highforceresearch.com/] and Medivir [https://www.medivir.com/]. He later transitioned from drug discovery to early development, marking the start of his journey in solid-state science at Pharmorphix. There, he progressed to Projects Director and later Site Manager, playing a key role in the company’s acquisition by Johnson Matthey from Sigma-Aldrich [https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/GB/en?srsltid=AfmBOorjT00IMGxbJYQLSTzR-cobJp_1YIJIbK_KRhNEgbzmugUwKPz_]. Victor then spent five years as Head of Physical Sciences at Almac [https://www.almacgroup.com/], leading one of the largest solid-state teams in Europe and providing pharmaceutical companies with expert support in crystallisation, polymorphism, and material characterisation. After more than 20 years in the UK, Victor returned to Spain to co-found Solitek, continuing his mission to deliver solid-state and preclinical development services to the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. He currently serves as Operations Director, driving the company’s growth and innovation in the field. Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating! Molecule to Market is also sponsored and funded by ramarketing [https://www.ramarketingpr.com/], an international marketing, design, digital and content agency helping companies differentiate, get noticed and grow in life sciences.

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Jeremie Trochu [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremietrochu/], CEO at Ardena [https://ardena.com/]. Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Jeremie, covering: * The value of hitting the road and getting in front of clients, helping build several career-critical skills * The big decision to leave med-tech giant GE [https://www.gehealthcare.com/?srsltid=AfmBOopQr3fsp9YLe6FiAFWnRCK0W8J6w_ZLoh_xCrCubE1qWsxCLf6B]and move to an ambitious, growing CDMO called...Catalent [https://www.catalent.com/] * How the stars aligned to move back to Europe and join Ardena as CEO...and the secret sauce behind its suite of integrated development capabilities * A transformational acquisition of Catalent's Somerset, NJ facility to help take Ardena to the next level as a global CDMO * The importance of remembering that we are part of a cyclical industry and must ride out the lows, but we must remain adaptive and bullish about the market's growth * Why VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) is inevitable Jeremie joined Ardena as Chief Executive Officer in June 2024. He brings an extensive knowledge of the life sciences and CDMO industry and a proven track record of success in the biopharma sector. He has 20 years of experience building and growing businesses globally, expanding into new markets, and leading large-scale transformations in publicly traded and privately held companies.  Jeremie was previously part of the team that helped transform Catalent from a private equity spinoff into a publicly traded global CDMO. During his tenure there, he led multiple companies' successful acquisitions and integrations. He holds a master's degree in Business Administration from EMLyon [https://em-lyon.com/en], France. Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating! Molecule to Market is also sponsored and funded by ramarketing [https://www.ramarketingpr.com/], an international marketing, design, digital and content agency helping companies differentiate, get noticed and grow in life sciences.

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Rob Wood [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-wood-4bb7856/], pharma portfolio investor and Founder. Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Rob, covering: * Identifying a niche in the pharma services space that led to working with top 50 Big Pharma * Growing STEM into an international powerhouse before eventually selling to UDG Healthcare [https://pmlive.com/pharma_news/udg_healthcare_acquires_stem_marketing_for_84m_1173257/] * Life as a pharma portfolio advisor and investor of seven pharma services companies * Creating an academy that will introduce entrepreneurship to hundreds of thousands of kids * How AI will impact the commercialization of new and existing drugs Rob Wood is an experienced entrepreneur in the pharma services industry. He founded, scaled, and sold STEM for €120 million, expanding into 51 countries and working with all of the top 50 pharmaceutical companies. STEM grew to over 1,000 staff globally and received the Queen's Award for International Trade. After selling STEM, Rob joined UDG plc as CEO & President of Advisory and Head of Group Business Development, leading multiple healthcare consultancies and re-modelling business development across 28 companies. Today, Rob serves as Chairman or Non-Executive Director for several healthcare service companies, focusing on growth, leadership, and investment opportunities. He holds an MBA from Newcastle University. He recently founded the Rob Wood Enterprising Futures Academy [https://www.ncl.ac.uk/enterprising-futures/] in conjunction with Newcastle University [https://www.ncl.ac.uk/]. Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating! Molecule to Market is also sponsored and funded by ramarketing [https://www.ramarketingpr.com/], an international marketing, design, digital and content agency helping companies differentiate, get noticed and grow in life sciences.

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Jon Alberdi [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonalberdi/], CEO at VIVEbiotech. [https://vivebiotech.com/en/] Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Jon, covering: * Falling in love with the world of management and its role in influencing people and society * Why, after 12 years in the B2B automotive sector, did he decide to jump into the life science space? * His first impressions of the sector and the viral vector space, and why he saw nothing but potential to industrialize * The before and after of a PE deal with Ampersand [https://ampersandcapital.com/] - speed, challenge, and intensity * Riding the growth of CAR-T products, and which therapy areas are driving demand Graduating in Economics from the University of the Basque Country - Sarriko, Bilbao, he received complementary education in management and leadership. His professional career is closely tied to the Financial Function of several companies operating in diverse sectors, including investment banking, sports service management, and the automotive and aftermarket industries. In 2008, he joined the global industrial public company GKN [https://www.gknaerospace.com/], where he held several financial controlling roles, including the R&D department at the worldwide product development centre. He later moved to Germany to take on the responsibility of Financial Direction for a global business unit of GKN, where he stayed for five years until he joined VIVEbiotech, gaining a solid background in management within an international environment. Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating! Molecule to Market is also sponsored and funded by ramarketing [https://www.ramarketingpr.com/], an international marketing, design, digital and content agency helping companies differentiate, get noticed and grow in life sciences.

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Philip Lee [https://www.linkedin.com/in/philiplee2], CEO at GeneFab [https://www.genefab.com/]. Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Philip, covering: * The role of luck in the development of his entrepreneurial journey of multiple biopharma start-ups * Bootstrapping a biological tech company and then selling to Millipore, along with lessons learnt from a more prominent global organization * Building a new company from the back of a napkin to an IPO on the NASDAQ [https://www.nasdaq.com/] * Creating a technology platform and operational capability with real therapeutic application that led to the spin-out of Genefab * Bridging the gap for early-stage cell therapy companies with aligned incentives and a non-transactional model Philip Lee is a bioengineer, biotechnology entrepreneur, and executive who has spent the last 20 years building companies and commercializing products, including cell and gene therapies, synthetic biology platforms, scientific instrumentation, cell culture systems, and advanced manufacturing services. He has been the “first employee” at multiple ventures with leadership experience across diverse growth trajectories, including bootstrapping, VC and PE funding rounds, IPO, acquisition, and internal innovation within a large enterprise. Philip holds degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [https://web.mit.edu/] and the UC Berkeley [https://www.berkeley.edu/]/UCSF [https://www.ucsf.edu/] Joint Graduate Program in Bioengineering. Philip is currently the founding CEO of GeneFab, a contract research, development, and manufacturing organization focused on supporting its clients in bringing innovative genetic medicines to needy patients.  Before GeneFab, Philip was the Co-Founder and CTO of Senti Biosciences [https://www.sentibio.com/], a cell and gene therapy company applying gene circuit technology to improve the efficacy and safety of cancer cell therapies. Philip was also the co-founder and CEO of Cellasic Corp [https://www.merckmillipore.com/GB/en/life-science-research/cell-culture-systems/cellASIC-live-cell-analysis/d1Cb.qB.w58AAAE_0j13.MnA,nav], a microfluidics instrumentation company that MilliporeSigma [https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/GB/en?srsltid=AfmBOorn4ShwTR-kQBEr4EYkrh8aSXVuBNxrUsgpGD6531KnOn5zVzg8] had acquired. Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating! Molecule to Market is also sponsored and funded by ramarketing [https://www.ramarketingpr.com/], an international marketing, design, digital and content agency helping companies differentiate, get noticed and grow in life sciences.