18th Annual European Life Sciences CEO Forum

We are pleased to announce that the 18th Annual European Life Sciences CEO Forum (Sachs_ELSF) will take place on the 26th – 27th of February 2025 at the Hilton Zurich Airport Hotel. While the European HealthTech CEO Forum will not be held in 2025, the ELSF programme will include some HealthTech topics, such as AI, convergence, and diagnostics. You will also have the opportunity to register for the HealthTech Investment Forum during the Sachs Autumn Life Sciences Week later in the year.

The success and longevity of the forum is built on the goodwill and repeat attendance of major corporate and financial investors, and pharma licensing executives and advisors, who are seeking to network with biotechs. The programme and presentations allow all to keep up with the latest industry developments and strategize for 2025. The physical programme will consist of the usual panels and keynotes, which will be available on demand from the 4th of March. Additionally, there will be pre-arranged in-person meetings, live and on-demand company showcases, and a reception. During the online week, virtual meetings will be available through the audio/video online meeting system.

The main programme for the 18th Annual ELSF is spread over 2 days (26th – 27th of February) and will feature more than 12 hours of high-level keynotes and panel discussions. In addition, there will be a global company showcase of 50+ presentations by established public, private, emerging, and seed companies, offering innovative solutions and seeking investment and partnering opportunities. This will include a limited number of live presentations taking place in dedicated presentation tracks, alongside virtual company showcases, which will be available on demand during the virtual week. We anticipate 400+ delegates will register for the forum from all Life Sciences sectors, with the target audience being corporate and financial investors/partners, banks, and advisors with part of the audience participating virtually.

The In-Person meetings will take place on the 26th – 27th of February, while virtual meetings will occur on the 4th – 6th of March. For the virtual meetings, the system will allow you to have a secure audio/video call, as well as the option to present slides using a screen share function and we will have a dedicated room for in-person meetings. We expect around 2000 meetings to be completed during the event.

The conference will be held in the Central European Time Zone and the programme will consist of:

Day 1 (Wednesday, 26th of February)

• Industry Roundtable
• Investment Outlook for VC & PE in 2025 Panel
• Next-Gen Platforms Panel: Opportunities for Investors
• New Modalities Panel: The Future of Gene Editing
• MedTech, Biotech, & Digital: The Convergence Panel
• Advances in the Treatment of Neurological Disorders Panel

Day 2 (Thursday, 27th of February)

• Pharma Dealmakers Panel
• Greater China Biopharma Panel
• Partnering in Oncology Panel
• Cancer Progress Panel
• Early-Stage Investment Panel
• Rising Stars – Biotech Seed Companies Session

In-Person Meetings – 26th – 27th of February
Virtual Meetings via Online Meeting System – 4th – 6th of March
Networking Reception – 26th of February
On-Demand Content – from 4th of March

• Albert Seymour, CEO, Seamless Therapeutics GmbH
• Alexander Gebauer, Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, Galimedix Therapeutics, Inc.
• Andreas Pahl, CEO, Heidelberg Pharma AG
• Andrew Saich, Chief Medical Officer, Avata Biosciences
• Astrid Maria Dahl, COO & Head of Europe, Innovent Biologics
• Avencia Sanchez-Mejias Garcia, CEO, Integra Therapeutics
• Ben Turner, Venture Science, Corporate Business Development, Eli Lilly and Company
• Bryan Kobel, Chief Executive Officer, TC Biopharm
• Cem Baydar, Chief Investment Officer, Eczacibasi Pharmaceutical and Industrial Investment Co.
• Chandra Leo, Partner, HBM Partners AG
• Darren Ji, Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO, Elpiscience Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.
• David Venables, CEO, Laverock Therapeutics Ltd.
• Davor Kosanic, CEO, Reconnect Labs AG
• Esteban Pombo-Villar, CTO, TargImmune Therapeutics AG
• Esther Melo, Manager, Global Business Development, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG
• Evonne Sepsis, Managing Director, ESC Advisors
• George Tzircotis, Associate Director, Business Development, Cancer Research Horizons
• Gregor Macdonald, VP, Head of BD & Licensing, Search & Assessment, H. Lundbeck A/S
• Georgia Frost, Senior Associate, SV Health Investors LLP
• Jenny Laird, VP, Search & Evaluation Neuroscience, Eli Lilly and Company
• Jeremy Griggs, Executive Director, Search & Evaluation, GSK
• Joachim Vogt, Director Search & Evaluation International, AbbVie, Inc.
• Johannes Virkkunen, Head of Division – Equity Investments, European Investment Fund
• Jonathan Tobin, Partner, Brandon Capital
• Karen Wagner, General Partner, Ysios Capital Partners S.G.E.I.C., S.A.
• Katya Smirnyagina, Senior Partner, Oxford Science Enterprises
• Kelly Curtin, Managing Director, Stifel
• Khatereh Ahmadi, Head of Search & Evaluation Business Development, Europe & Middle East, MSD
• Konstantin Petropoulos, CEO & Managing Director, Secarna Pharmaceuticals GmbH & Co. KG
• Kristian Elverum, CEO, AIRNA Bio Germany GmbH
• Marc Martinell, Co-Founder & CEO, Minoryx Therapeutics
• Michael Altorfer, CEO, Swiss Biotech Association
• Michael Hübner, Director Early Innovation Partnering, Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC
• Nathalie ter Wengel, European Lead, Worldwide Business Development, Pfizer, Inc.
• Naveed Siddiqi, Senior Partner, Novo Holdings A/S
• Neil Torbett, CEO, PhoreMost Ltd.
• Olav Zilian, Senior Financial Analyst, Pictet & Cie
• Ole Mensching, General Partner, Apollo Health Ventures
• Patrick Schwab, Senior Director, AI & Machine Learning, GSK
• Peter Llewellyn-Davies, CEO & CFO, invIOs GmbH
• Rainer Metzger, Head of Integrated Clinical Services, Medicover AB
• Regina Hodits, Managing Partner, Wellington Partners
• Richard Ward, Executive Director, Search & Evaluation,    of AstraZeneca
• Sandra von Meier, Head Business Development, Debiopharm International SA
• Sarah Holland, President of Swiss Healthcare Licensing Group & CBO, Cureteq AG
• Sean Kendall, Senior Associate, ARCH Venture Partners
• Søren Møller, Managing Partner, Novo Holdings A/S
• Stefan Luzi, Partner, Gilde Healthcare Partners B.V.
• Stephanie Léouzon, Managing Director & Vice Chair of European Healthcare Investment Banking, Stifel
• Stephen Myatt, CEO, Macomics Ltd.
• Sylvie Ryckebusch, CBO, BioInvent International AB
• Ted Fjallman, Partner, Flerie Invest AB
• Thibaut Roulon, Senior Investment Director, Bpifrance
• Thilo Schroeder, Managing Partner,   of Nextech Invest Ltd.
• Tim Lohoff, Senior Associate, Forbion
• Ulrich Wendt, Global Head Business Development Immunology & Inflammation, Sanofi
• Victoria English, Co-Founder & Editor of Evernow Publishing Ltd, publisher, MedNous
• More TBA…

Complimentary passes are provided for qualified institutional (buy/sell-side), private equity and venture investors. The number of passes is limited, and priority is given to regular participants, however, the organiser has the discretion to reject registrations. Other participants may consider purchasing access, which includes in-person or virtual participation, with different options to showcase your company.

The Online Meeting System will open on the 12th of February for uploading profiles and sending meeting invites. The in-person meetings will take place on the 26th – 27th of February, while virtual meetings will take place on the 4th – 6th of March. For the virtual meetings, the system will allow you to have a secure audio/video call, as well as an option to present slides using a screen share function and we will have a dedicated room for in-person meetings.

Presentations are a popular and useful way to gain additional exposure with potential investors and pharma partners, which make up over half the audience. We are pleased to announce that once again we will have 20-minute and 10-minute presentations taking place in person at the dedicated presenting tracks. Here you will be able to showcase your company in front of investors attending the physical event. The recording will be added to your company’s profile later, which will be available on demand for registered participants until the event portal closes. Start-up companies, which are looking for seed financing can apply for a Rising Stars – Seed Companies Session.

For those who are not able to present in person, but are still interested in showcasing their company, there is an option to purchase either a 20 or 10 minute presentation, which will be pre-recorded in advance and available to all registered attendees on the event portal. Start-up companies may also purchase a 5-minute pre-recorded showcase instead.

The Sachs Team can assist with the pre-recording of the presentation, or you can upload a video you already have. Interested viewers will be able to message or request a meeting with you using the Online Meeting System.