Vas Narasimhan

Modi Ventures and I are pleased to announce our investment in EXCIVA GmbH as part of its €50M Series B financing. Exciva is developing Deraphan, a differentiated approach to treating agitation in Alzheimer’s disease. Behavioral and neuropsychiatric symptoms emerge in the vast majority of patients as the disease progresses, placing immense strain on caregivers, increasing healthcare utilization, and significantly diminishing quality of life. Yet, despite the growing prevalence of Alzheimer’s driven by global aging, innovation targeting these symptoms has remained limited - precisely the gap Exciva is aiming to address. The financing will support the advancement of Deraphan into a global Phase 2 clinical trial across Europe, the US, and Canada. The round was co-led by Gimv and EQT Life Sciences alongside, LifeArc Ventures, Fountain Healthcare Partners, CARMA FUND Management GmbH, Andera Partners, and LBBW. We’re excited to be supporting Exciva’s mission to address a significant unmet need in Alzheimer’s care. Congrats Francois Conquet and team! Evangelia Tzika, PhD

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Excited to share this one. Dr. Maximilian B. Rauscher and I have been talking for a while. What convinced me wasn't just the 20 years in life science and biopharma commercialisation. It was how he thinks about the sales motion for a technology that requires genuine understanding before it can be sold. CLADE's customers are scientists making decisions about analytical infrastructure. That conversation needs someone who can go deep technically and translate that into a commercial relationship. Max can do that. Welcome to the team. #CLADE #Bioanalytics #Leadership

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Very cool. Congrats to our Swiss friendly competition. We are betting that our regenerative Biotherapeutics investments in Sanatela’s cancer therapy diagnostic products that can allow oncologist to use our lab developed test invented at the University of Rochester’s Wilmot Cancer Institute in combination with its Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Institute and exclusively licensed to our wholly owned subsidiaries will target the best targeted cancer stem cell personalized chemo treatment and help prevent reoccurrence and Metastasis. This is a huge leap for cancer treatment undergoing its final trial with leukemia for our invited lab developed test. Proved 97 percent accurate. Our matrix used to attract and target cancer stem cells is made from Wharton’s jelly that is manufactured in a unique process of decellurizarion, homogeneous and Lyophilization yielding a strong lite whate gauze micro engineered to have an internal structure that mimics bone marrow. Trial will steer in August. At University of Galway. 60 AML patients tested at outset to validate our previous tests. This is the final step to launching a lab developed test sending blood to us for analysis of correct dose of perfect chemo to kill cancer stem cells We also have a Wharton’s jelly matrix for winds and burns healing without scarring. See Sanatela trial results with a Cornell University

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I’m energized by the compelling data emerging around BioNTech SE BNT113 in head and neck cancer treatment. Coupled with recent investor conversations, it’s clear there’s real momentum behind the shift toward in vivo immunotherapy. By programming the immune system directly within the body, this approach promises to streamline production and logistics—potentially delivering transformative care at a dramatically lower cost than traditional cell and gene therapies. To put things in perspective: developing a typical cell or gene therapy today can cost upwards of US $1.9 billion from R&D through clinical trials. And that’s just R&D, Cost of goods/manufacturing alone for a gene therapy can be between $500,000 and $1 million. In contrast, true in vivo approaches (which bypass ex-vivo cell manipulation and personalized manufacturing) could dramatically reduce costs and broaden accessibility. BNT113 exemplifies this potential—a solution that could be cheaper, scalable, and faster to deploy. I’m excited to see how this innovation reshapes the therapeutic landscape—and thrilled to be part of this conversation in making immunotherapy more efficient and accessible. References: https://lnkd.in/exCJK4t8 https://www.genengnews.com

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NAVIGATING LONGEVITY HYPE -- Thoughts from the AYU Gstaad Switzerland Family Office Summit The AYU Family Office Summit in Gstaad, Switzerland, was exceptional, with tons of thought-provoking content, rigorous discussions, and an outstanding community (and remarkable fondue). It was a pleasure to reconnect with Gus Morison and Team AYU, and to participate in a longevity panel chaired by Matt Fincham alongside Dr. Bryan Martin, an investor in and Senior Advisor to Thrive Bioscience, Inc. One key theme I emphasized during the panel is that the longevity field risks being tarnished by hype. For those allocating capital or evaluating companies and clinics, disciplined frameworks are essential: 1. Clinical rigor over “wellness theater” Credible longevity platforms resemble translational medicine organizations, operating with clinical protocols, controls, and regulatory awareness, not premium wellness services that sound like a spa menu that include repackaged commodity diagnostics at inflated margins. The optimal approach is neither under- nor over-testing, but hypothesis-driven measurement. 2. Disease-focused endpoints, not abstractions Interventions should target defined pathologies with endpoints recognized by clinicians, payors, and regulators. “Biological age” without linkage to validated clinical outcomes is insufficient. Avoid narratives that imply efficacy without regulatory or evidentiary support. If you hear the words “magic pill” or “of course the FDA would never let me say this, but between you and me…”, run. Run fast. 3. Human data as the standard of proof While preclinical models can be informative, they are not necessarily predictive. It is crucial to distinguish between animal and human evidence and to be wary of claims that blur this boundary. The absence of human data should be clearly highlighted, as the disingenuousness of the presenter can mislead. 4. Causality over correlation Prioritize biomarkers and endpoints with demonstrated clinical relevance such as frailty indices, grip strength, VO₂ max, immune competence, inflammatory markers, and cognitive function. Robust longitudinal evidence in aging remains limited; even landmark (and much delayed) efforts such as TAME are few and underscore the difficulty of generating definitive lifespan/health span data. 5. Capital allocation discipline applies here as well Evaluate supplements and interventions with the same rigor as you would before investing in equities. While certain modalities (e.g., nattokinase, photo-biomodulation) show promise, formulation quality, dosing control, and cost efficiency vary widely. Branded combinations often obscure suboptimal dosing and inflate pricing. Longevity is one of the most important investment themes of our time, but only if approached with scientific discipline and intellectual honesty. #FamilyOffice #Longevity #Healthspan #LongevityInvesting #LongevityScience #HealthcareInvesting #AYUFamilyOfficeSummitSwitzerland

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📄 #SLAS2026 News: Atinary, the American Swiss pioneer of Self-Driving Labs®, yesterday announced the launch of its new AI-powered laboratory in Boston, MA. The new Atinary Lab marks a critical step in moving AI beyond simulation and software into the physical execution of science, enabling faster, more reliable discovery across chemistry, materials, and pharmaceutical R&D.   The facility houses two autonomous platforms called Atinary’s Scientific Discovery Factories envisioned to continuously design, execute, analyze, and learn from real-world experiments. By integrating Atinary’s no-code AI platform with robotics and laboratory instrumentation from ABB, Agilent Technologies, Bruker, Chemspeed, and Mettler-Toledo International, Inc, Atinary augments scientists’ research abilities with AI-driven automation that compounds learning with every experiment for limitless science.   While many AI-first approaches to science focus on prediction or simulation, Atinary operates one level deeper, where hypotheses are physically tested and validated in the lab, data is generated and stored, and learning is compounded with each iteration of experiments. Experiments are no longer run sequentially or manually. Instead, they execute in closed-loop Design-Make-Test-Analyze-Learn (DMTAL) cycles, with outcomes automatically feeding back into Atinary’s machine-learning algorithms and foundation model to determine the next best experiments. This AI-native, closed-loop R&D infrastructure enables higher reproducibility and data quality, faster convergence on optimal chemistry and processes, and more efficient use of experimental resources.   Much of experimental science still relies on slow, manual, and expensive trial-and-error. Atinary addresses this bottleneck by combining human scientific judgment with machine-speed screening, execution and learning. This work is guided by Atinary’s multidisciplinary team and Scientific Advisory Board, spanning chemistry, AI, supercomputing, and lab automation, including MIT Professor Stephen Buchwald, the most cited chemist in the world for 10 years. The Boston lab initially focuses on small-molecule synthesis and catalysis, supporting pharmaceutical R&D from early discovery through process development, with a platform designed to scale across chemical and materials sciences.   “Self-Driving Labs are about bringing AI into contact with reality,” said Hermann Tribukait, Co-Founder and CEO of Atinary. “By closing the loop between experiment design, physical execution, and learning, we enable science to progress at a fundamentally different pace. Our Boston lab is a blueprint for how R&D will be done in the future, where human insight and machine intelligence work together to unlock discoveries that would otherwise take decades.”   Meet the team at SLAS2026 booth 1463-B   Read the full press release below. #RSKSLAS2026 #RSKAtinary

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💡 Valuable input to the ongoing discussion on equitable access to medicines: Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker highlighted that it would be “very easy” to cut US drug prices by 50%—by removing intermediaries and enabling direct-to-patient distribution. According to Schinecker, half of supply chain earnings currently go to middlemen who take “zero risk” in the innovation process. This dialogue underscores a key challenge: ensuring broad access to life-saving therapies while preserving the necessary incentives for those who invest heavily and take the scientific and financial risks to innovate for patients in need. HealthcarePolicy #PharmaInnovation #DrugPricing #AccessToMedicine #Biopharma

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Excited to share my conversation with Swissnex Japan on the future of brain interfaces. We explored how the Swiss and Japanese ecosystems can collaborate to pioneer the next wave of neuro-innovation. Check out the full video.

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When I sat down with Hannah Kuchler at the #FTSummit, we talked about two of the most pressing public health challenges of our time: obesity and Alzheimer’s disease. Both represent enormous human and societal burden — but also an unprecedented opportunity to change the course of health. To truly deliver for patients, we need to treat investment in health as exactly that: an investment in our future. A few highlights from our conversation: “The obesity market of today is not the market of tomorrow.” We’re focused on building a portfolio that reflects the true heterogeneity of obesity, from the degree of weight loss people need, to tolerability, and the role of combination therapies. “Anytime we can take complexity out of patient care, we should.” I spoke about hypertension and the potential of twice-yearly treatment. We know that across many areas, we know that people actually taking their medicines as prescribed, and continuing to do so across the course of a chronic illness, is challenging. Things like fixed dose combinations can decrease the burden, which hopefully increases compliance, and then increases patient outcomes. “It’s one thing to screen and not be able to do anything about it; it’s another to actually know and have options.” Advances in Alzheimer’s disease, including blood-based testing and emerging treatments, offer real hope for families and society at large. Given the cost and complexity of late-stage care, helping people stay functioning and independent isn’t just good for patients, it’s a major economic opportunity for governments.

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As we expand our oncology pipeline, the opening of the new NBE-Therapeutics AG R&D center in Basel represents a significant leap forward in our mission to discover and develop innovative cancer therapies. This investment underscores our commitment to pioneering advanced treatment options. By combining the precision of antibodies with the potency of cytotoxics, ADCs have the potential to redefine targeted cancer therapy and improve patient outcomes. This is a testament of Boehringer´s dedication to transforming the lives of those affected by cancer. I am proud to be part of a team that continuously pushes the boundaries of science to deliver breakthrough innovations! #CancerResearch #LifeForward

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Topas Therapeutics GmbH is committed to advancing TPM502 as a much-needed treatment option for #celiac disease patients, building on data that represent a breakthrough for this and potentially other immune-mediated diseases. With this validation of our technology and its ability to modulate immune responses in a precise and durable manner, we look forward to the next clinical steps for TPM502 and our pipeline. Celiac Disease Foundation Cristina de Min Knut EA Lundin Ryan Cross Endpoints News

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Proud to have completed an advanced, three-day program on Ethics and Regulation of Big Data & Artificial Intelligence in Health at ETH Zurich. As AI capabilities scale rapidly—especially with the emergence of large language models and autonomous decision-support systems—the healthcare sector faces unprecedented ethical, regulatory, and governance challenges. This program provided a comprehensive, forward-looking assessment of these issues, reinforcing the critical responsibility senior leaders carry in shaping trustworthy and compliant AI-enabled health ecosystems. Key areas of focus included: • Advanced data governance and privacy frameworks for high-impact health data • Ethical risk identification and mitigation across AI lifecycles • Bias, fairness, and non-discrimination requirements in clinical and population-level models • Transparency, explainability, and accountability standards • Evolving regulatory landscapes and global governance trends influencing health AI deployment The course brought together leading academics, regulators, and industry experts to explore practical strategies for ensuring that innovation in digital health remains safe, equitable, and aligned with societal expectations. #ETH#EthicalUseof AI#AIInHealthcare

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𝗔 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘅 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝘆 Switzerland helped host some of the first International Women’s Day events in 1911. Yet women gained the right to vote at the federal level only in 1971. Today Switzerland hosts one of the world’s strongest life science ecosystems across pharma, biotech, diagnostics and medtech. The talent pipeline is strong. Women represent roughly 40–45% of the workforce across many life science companies and research institutions. But representation still changes as we move up the governance ladder. Across major Swiss life science companies: ▫️ Executive committees often have 20–35% women ▫️ Boards tend to be around one-third women This is interesting when we consider how our industry actually works. Life sciences and medtech rely on close collaboration between scientists, clinicians, laboratory professionals and healthcare decision-makers. Many of whom are women. As board members we regularly ask whether governance reflects the markets and ecosystems our companies serve. Progress has been meaningful over the past decade. But the next step will likely come through deliberate board renewal, thoughtful succession planning, and widening the pool of experienced operators entering board roles. So perhaps International Women’s Day is simply a good moment to ask: 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺? For an industry built on innovation, that feels like a governance question worth reflecting on. #InternationalWomensDay #BoardGovernance #LifeSciences #MedTech #Diagnostics #SwissInnovation Shoutout to Vitaly Gariev for the great photo.

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Reposting this interesting #interview with Global Head of Cell & Gene Therapy at Roche, Ralf Altenburger. Since Open Biopharma Research and Training Institute is a workforce training facility for #AdvancedBiomanufacturing with a focus on #CellTherapy and #Exosomes or #ExtracellularVesicles we appreciate the insights and view on current #CGT global landscape, regulatory and #manufacturing challenges partly due to lack of standardization. #allogeneic #innovation #regulatory #lifesciences #startups #boardroom #pharma #mergersandacquisitions

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If we want to reach more patients and scale our impact, diagnostics cannot be left behind.   In a recent interview with PharmaBoardroom, I shared why data-driven medicine needs more than promises - it requires infrastructure, trusted partnerships, and the right investment in innovation.   That’s what we’ve built at SOPHiA GENETICS, and this is how we keep leading the way.    Link in comments.

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