CEO Monthly Issue 7 2018

CEO MONTHLY / ISSUE 7 2018 13 A Pioneer Creating the Future of Immunotherapy Treatment g immunotherapies – it was my first success as CEO. Afterwards, I created Biophysiomics, a company specialised in proteomics. I sold it 18 months after incorporation to a Chinese company. I used this opportunity to better understand China. I spent six years in this amazing country, where I held senior advisory positions with high level Chinese healthcare stakeholders. It was incredibly instructive; working in a country where the entire healthcare system had to be improved was an exciting challenge. I would say that all these cumulated experiences are probably the origin of my success today. In addition of being CEO of Vaxeal, I am also President of the EBE, the European Trade Association representing biopharmaceutical companies from innovative SMEs to worldwide leaders. I feel very concerned about the future of the biotech ecosystem in Europe. Despite the good work of the European Commission, improvements are still needed to better reward EU innovation, access to financing, intellectual property, and information to patients. Within EBE, I am trying to contribute to these improvements. But I am still a researcher, not only an entrepreneur. I am still Senior Associate at the Royal Society of Medicine. CM:What is the key differentiator of Vaxeal? AB: Let’s talk first about the context of cancer today. Over 20 million new cases of cancer are predicted to occur in 2025, an increase from 14.1 million in 2012, with global sales of cancer drugs potentially reaching US$147 billion by 2019, and US$300 billion by 2030. Immunotherapies in oncology have actually been around for decades: cytokines, immunomodulatory agents, and targeted monoclonal antibodies. However, the renewed interest in immunotherapies has primarily been driven by a few promising new classes, such as Dendritic cell (DC) therapies, and CAR-T- cell (CAR-T) therapies – which was FDA approved in 2017. The treatment developed by Vaxeal combined the benefits of both DC and CAR-T treatments, without their disadvantages, such as autologous treatments, complex production, side effects, and cost. Vaxeal’s treatments clearly represent the next generation of cancer immunotherapies. CM:What are your thoughts on the state of your industry currently? Are there any particular issues/changes that are affecting it? AB: Innovation is recognised as an essential component of the economic growth process, but uncertainties that characterise SMEs are amplified for innovative SMEs making it more difficult for them to access to financing. In addition, Europe suffers much greater fragmentation of capital, labour and end-markets for pharmaceutical development than North America. This explains why EU SMEs tend to “sell out” earlier than their US counterparts and, therefore, do not often achieve their value potential. Despite promising approaches, many hurdles do still exist. New approaches are needed in Europe in order to improve research processes, financial processes, competitiveness, and access to new medicines. CM:Tell me about your leadership style. How do you ensure everyone in your organisation understands your vision? AB: My leadership is pretty basic. In a such complex area, you need the aggregation of expertise to create a successful innovative company. My job mainly consists to find the talents in the fields of immuno-oncology and pharmaceutical development, and to give them the means to deliver. The vision is also essential. My main skill is probably my capacity to federate, and to provide the right explanations at the right time, and sometimes with the right tone! CM:What challenges and opportunities have you faced withVaxeal? AB: Again, the economic environment for EU SMEs has been difficult for the past ten years and doesn’t appear to be improving in any significant way. Access to finance at the seed stage remains very challenging. In Europe, it’s becoming very challenging at each development step since the sub-prime crisis. We faced funding issues, and we had to be imaginative to fund Vaxeal. On another hand, when you develop disruptive technologies, potential game- changing products, and when you build a talented executive team, you become attractive and a good opportunity for investors. That is what happened to Vaxeal. Today, CEOs have to be, above all, driven and focused to achieve their goals. CM:What are your achievements at Vaxeal? Do you have any future plans/projects you would like to share with us? AB: Vaxeal has completed the pre-clinical studies of its first immunotherapies. The outcomes are exceptional. Results on multiple relevant animal and human cancer models, showed great efficacy and no toxicity. Our immunotherapies are able to generate strong and sustainable CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses in humans (as DC and CAR-T therapies), irrespective of individual human leukocyte antigen types. One hundred percent memory responses are induced after two injections during our pre-clinical studies, with one-time treatment. The efficacy of our immunotherapies is further increased by the combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors, to also overcome tumour-induced immunosuppressive mechanisms. In addition, our products also have the strong advantage to be safe and easy to manufacture compared to DCs and CAR-T. I now look forward to starting clinical trials, which are planned for early next year. Personally, my only goal is to create another success story out of Vaxeal. The company, our investors, our partners, and our collaborators deserve it. Afterwards, I will certainly look for a new challenge - I am only 53 years old! - but today I am focusing singularly on Vaxeal and on improving the biotech ecosystem in Europe. CM:Within the pharma industry, what developments do you foresee and how will you adapt around these? AB: Big pharmaceutical companies are facing patent expiry not seen in recent years, and patented treatments against cancer are highly strategic for this industry. Immunotherapies are expected to drive the oncology market growth to $300 billion within fifteen years, dramatically changing the market dynamics in the field. Vaxeal is proposing patented game-changing immunotherapies in the field of cancer, which will help to tackle future healthcare challenges. The major pharmaceutical companies will strike licence deals or buy companies that develop new cancer drugs. A representative example is the acquisition of Kyte by Gilead for $12 billion (CAR-T). Vaxeal has adapted its business model according to this market trend. CM:With regards to your own career, what plans do you have to build upon your current success? AB: I built my career with one objective only: to improve access to innovative medicines for all patients. It’s my only motivation. Prior to focus on cancer, I worked during almost two decades on infectious diseases (malaria, HIV, Hepatitis C). I also lately created, during the latest Ebola outbreak, a consortium, called PEVIA, developing a new pan- Ebola vaccine. PEVIA’s strategy is based on two complementary and synergistic approaches for the design of a preventive Ebola vaccine, safe and effective against multiple Ebola virus strains, and readily deployable in endemic regions. PEVIA’s strategy clearly aims to improve vaccine efficacy against various strains of a mutating virus to give a long- lasting protection against multiple exposures to Ebola virus. The consortium, involving 14 high level public and private institutions from Europe and Africa, has received funding from the Innovative Medicine Initiative and the Swiss State Secretary of Research and Innovation, totalling over €10 million. Working on neglected diseases remains a mission. If my current success could help me to be more efficient, I would be proud. CM:Thank you for this interview, and congratulations. Is there anything you would like to add? AB: I would like to associate three individuals to this award: My wife, Yingchao, for her unconditional support, and my partners, Christopher Samuelson and Andrew Obolensky, for writing Vaxeal’s story with me. Contact: Ahmed Bouzidi, PhD, MBA Company: Vaxeal Holding SA Avenue Paul Cérésole 24 1800 Vevey - Switzerland Telephone: 0041 79 917 1434 Web Address: www.vaxeal.net