Too often, one falls in love with a modality, a platform, or a technological breakthrough, before asking the only question that matters: is there a patient? In 5-7 years’ time , will we be first-in-class or best-in-class? If these questions are not answered early and forcefully, the entire innovation stack risks accelerating in the wrong direction.

Sven Fraterman, Partner at BCG and lead of its Center for Oncology Insights, will examine how CEOs can use Target Product Profiles (TPPs) as a strategic instrument.

Monthly informal lunchtime session hosted by Nikolai Ahrens.

Members-Only: Funding & Financing Breakfast

For early-stage founders, capital relationships start before the pitch. How you first connect with investors, and how you stay visible between rounds, has long-term implications, well beyond closing a single raise.

Rainer Christine is Managing Partner at Earlybird Venture Capital, where he works with biotech and medtech founders building from first data through to growth.

In early-stage biotech, investors aren’t just betting on the science, they’re betting on you. Your groundbreaking science got you this far, but in investor meetings, how you show up matters as much as what you’ve discovered. Your executive presence is what transforms brilliant science into investor confidence. Joel Garfinkle is based in the US, on the West Coast. He is the bestselling author of Executive Presence: Step Into Your Power, Convey Confidence, & Lead With Conviction and has coached over 2,500 leaders worldwide, including helping pharma and biotech executives become confident, commanding leaders. He is a Master Certified Coach and recognized as one of the top 15 executive coaches in the world.

Monthly informal lunchtime session hosted by Nikolai Ahrens.

A well-orchestrated narrative can accelerate your venture. When it's misaligned either too cautious or too promotional, it limits optionality rather than creating any. Iraj Ali has worked at that edge. He raised significant capital, led a UK-based company through a U.S. IPO during a global crisis, and maintained credibility through market shifts and programmatic changes. His perspective will offer you a unique view into how narrative clarity, when actively managed, reinforces strategy not just externally, but inside the organisation as well.

Tariq Ahmed has a wealth of experience gained across multiple business sectors. In his last role as Executive Vice President, People at Achilles Therapeutics he helped navigate their growth from a small private bio-tech to a NASDAQ listed company.

Monthly informal lunchtime session hosted by Nikolai Ahrens.

Kevin brings a broad vantage point to the culture conversation: as a repeat CEO and a Venture Partner/EIR inside venture capital firms on both sides of the Atlantic, he has seen culture done well and done less well. He has brought his insights into authentic and people-focused leadership to Enara to help build the company’s culture from its earliest days as a seed-funded company through to where it stands today. Enara’s internal work was recently validated through the iEVP survey that we ran withing the LifeScience ORG community, developed by Harvard’s Amy Edmondson and INSEAD’s Mark Mortensen, revealing a rare alignment between leadership intention and employee perception. Kevin draws on frameworks from Reinventing Organizations by Frederic Laloux, but applies them within the high-consequence environment of early-stage life sciences.

Pedro Gómez - CEO and co-founder of Orbem

Orbem is a Munich-based techbio company unlocking new applications for AI-powered imaging. Founded as a spin-out from the Technical University of Munich, Orbem has raised over >€50 million and built strategic partnerships across sectors including agriculture, health, and logistics. Pedro holds a PhD in Biomedical Imaging and Informatics and has led the company from academic research through product development, fundraising, and commercial deployment.

Monthly informal lunchtime session hosted by Nikolai Ahrens.

Emma Tinsley - CEO and co-founder of Weatherden

Prior to co-founding Weatherden, Emma was part of SV Health Investors, where she specialised in venture capital company creation, forming five biotech companies across immunology and oncology. Earlier in her career, she worked within the Life Sciences team at KPMG.

Tom Goodman and Ellen Dewhurst - Cooley LLP

Nadiya Ishnazarova and Christian Uhrich - M Ventures

We asked an investor and a law firm to join us for this conversation, as these two perspectives will illuminate the nuances founders must understand - across legal protections, economic rights, and governance control.

Monthly informal lunchtime session hosted by Nikolai Ahrens.

Florian Burgdorf - Global Head of Procurement Academy 4.0 and Negotiation Trainings at Boston Consulting Group

Florian holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering and is a leading member of BCG's Operations and Industrial Goods practice areas, with a focus on procurement and R&D transformations, both digital and conventional.

Florian Burgdorf - Global Head of Procurement Academy 4.0 and Negotiation Trainings at Boston Consulting Group

Florian holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering and is a leading member of BCG's Operations and Industrial Goods practice areas, with a focus on procurement and R&D transformations, both digital and conventional.

Monthly informal lunchtime session hosted by Nikolai Ahrens.

Jill McCullough - Personal Impact Coach

With over 30 years of experience coaching C-suite leaders from global organizations like KPMG, Mercedes, EY, and British Airways, Jill McCullough specializes in helping leaders refine their communication skills to project authority and inspire trust.

Monthly informal lunchtime session hosted by Nikolai Ahrens.

Josua Jordi - Co-Founder of EraCal Therapeutics

Josua co-founded EraCal Therapeutics in 2018 as a spin-off from the University of Zurich and Harvard University, with a mission to develop first-in-class treatments for obesity and metabolic disorders.

Vanessa King - Former CEO Tenpoint Therapeutics

Vanessa is a serial biotech CEO and Board member with global breadth. She brings a track record of significant financings, strategic partnerships, and of building exceptional organizations.

Monthly informal lunchtime session hosted by Nikolai Ahrens.

Cheryl Strauss Einhorn - Founder and CEO of Decisive

Cheryl is a long time educator, teaching at Columbia University and at Cornell University’s SC Johnson School of Business and Cornell Tech. She has also authored three books.

Cheryl Strauss Einhorn - Founder and CEO of Decisive

Cheryl is a long time educator, teaching at Columbia University and at Cornell University’s SC Johnson School of Business and Cornell Tech. She has also authored three books.

Monthly informal lunchtime session hosted by Nikolai Ahrens.

Cheryl Strauss Einhorn - Founder and CEO of Decisive

Cheryl is a long time educator, teaching at Columbia University and at Cornell University’s SC Johnson School of Business and Cornell Tech. She has also authored three books.

Monthly informal lunchtime session hosted by Nikolai Ahrens.

Koenraad Wiedhaup - Founder and CEO at Leyden Labs

Koenraad has a background in science, studying Life Sciences and Biotechnology at the Universities of Leiden and Delft and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York.

Barnaby Balmforth - CEO and Co-Founder of BioFidelity

Barnaby’s strategic approach to team building on both sides of the Atlantic - emphasizing the recruitment of top talent, fostering an agile and innovative culture, and aligning the team with BioFidelity’s global mission - has been critical to the company’s rapid growth and international success.