Lovisa Afzelius, Flagship Pioneering 🇸🇪 | Company building, AI | E25

In our first episode recorded live in front of an audience, we’re with Lovisa Afzelius, the General Partner of the European branch of Flagship Pioneering 🇸🇪 We talk about Flagship, including its EU activities. We also talk about company-building and Lovisa’s personal journey to be one of the leading Swedish leaders in biotech. ⭐️ ABOUT THE SPEAKER Lovisa is an icon in the EU biotech and pharma world, having been a CEO, co-founder, president, board chairman, and executive director in many emerging companies. Joining Flagship in 2020, she became the founding CEO of Alltrna, and co-founded/CEO of Apriori Bio, Metaphore Biotechnologies, and Prologue Medicines. Lovisa has received many accolades. A few include being listed on Inc. Magazine’s Female Founders 250 List in 2024, 2023 she featured in the PharmaVoice 100 list of life science industry leaders. 🔗 LINKS MENTIONED - Moderna and Merck Announce mRNA-4157/V940, an Investigational Personalized mRNA Cancer Vaccine, in Combination with KEYTRUDA(R) (pembrolizumab), Met Primary Efficacy Endpoint in Phase 2b KEYNOTE-942 Trial: https://investors.modernatx.com/news/news-details/2022/Moderna-and-Merck-Announce-mRNA-4157V940-an-Investigational-Personalized-mRNA-Cancer-Vaccine-in-Combination-with-KEYTRUDAR-pembrolizumab-Met-Primary-Efficacy-Endpoint-in-Phase-2b-KEYNOTE-942-Trial/default.aspx?os=vb&ref=app - Agnete Fredriksen, Nykode | Being one of the top 50 women in 🇪🇺 Bio | E07: https://flot.bio/episode/agnete-fredriksen-top-women-bio/ - BioNTech to Present Clinical Data Updates Across mRNA and Immunomodulatory Oncology Portfolio at ESMO Congress 2024: https://investors.biontech.de/news-releases/news-release-details/biontech-present-clinical-data-updates-across-mrna-and - Nouscom Raises €67.5 Million ($72 Million) In Oversubscribed Series C Financing Round: https://nouscom.com/2023/11/14/nouscom-raises-e67-5-million-72-million-in-oversubscribed-series-c-financing-round-2-2/ - Otello Stampacchia, Omega Funds 🇮🇹 | Competition, Boston & Pasta | E18: https://flot.bio/episode/otello-stampacchia-omega-funds/ 📜 TRANSCRIPT Read the full transcript here: https://flot.bio/episode/lovisa-afzelius-flagship-pioneering/ 💸 DONATE We welcome donations from individuals and businesses to support our podcast and allow us to create even more content: https://www.paypal.me/PhilipHemme ⭐️ SPONSORSHIP Ready to amplify your brand to influential leaders in biotech and biopharma? Contact [email protected] and unlock sponsorship opportunities in our podcasts! 🫶 FOLLOW US - Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/h_fnmH - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/flot-bio/ - X (Twitter): https://x.com/FlotBio 🙏 LIKE/FOLLOW/REVIEW Did you enjoy the episode? Please hit the like and subscribe button. Also, please let me know your thoughts in the comments below. 🎙️ ABOUT FLOT.BIO Flot.bio is a show to watch the best Europeans in biotech to help you grow. Hosted by Philip Hemme. 20k monthly views. Free. ⏰ TIMESTAMPS [00:00:00] Intro [00:02:08] Flagship Pioneering and their EU biotech initiatives [00:06:18] Being creative in many biotech spheres [00:08:37] Why invest 50m in first seed Series A every time? [00:11:42] The Flagship Pioneering business model: invest early [00:15:57] VC-created vs founder-led biotechs [00:17:46] Raising one of the largest biotech funds [00:19:19] Flagship Pioneering’s biggest returns [00:22:36] AI & biotech [00:26:31] What does success mean to Flagship Pioneering [00:29:20] How to help biotech spinoffs grow and advice for women to be biotech leaders [00:34:03] How to move from computational to translation sciences & bring drugs to market faster [00:37:14] What can the EU learn from the US to create biotechs [00:40:36] How do you bridge the gap between biotech company creation in the US vs EU [00:43:07] Lessons for an early-stage biotech career [00:47:18] How to attract the best biotech talent [00:48:38] Moving to Boston [00:52:13] Quickfire [00:55:41] Thanks for listening