Turning cutting-edge innovations
into breakthrough Biotechs companies
Argobio SAS is a newly-created START-UP STUDIO dedicated to novel Therapeutics aiming to nurture and launch at least five breakthrough Biotech companies over the next five years.
Argobio will source innovative early-stage projects from renowned European academic research institutions. The focus is on selected therapeutic areas, including rare diseases, neurological disorders, oncology, and immunology. The studio will also look to develop promising platform technologies for therapeutic products.
Argobio will identify, select, and incubate these projects up to company creation and beyond, providing broad expertise in the discovery and development of novel drugs with a team of highly experienced Biotech entrepreneurs. The internal team is led by Yves Ribeill, Neill Mackenzie and Rémi Soula. Thierry Laugel, Managing Partner at Kurma Partners is the President of Argobio.
Accelerate in-licensed projects
up to company creation
and venture funding
Exceptionnal academic projects
from European universities
Therapeutics
rare diseases, neurosciences,
oncology, immunology
€50 M to build
5 high potential companies
over 5 years
Dedicated and experienced team
with entreprenarial
track-record
Company based in Paris
Launched in January 2021
Virtual organization
Argobio was initiated by Kurma Partners, a leading Paris-based healthcare venture capital firm, and Bpifrance, the French national investment bank. Kurma and Bpifrance were joined by complementary strategic investors, Angelini Pharma, a private international pharmaceutical company, Evotec, a drug discovery alliance and development partnership company, and the Institut Pasteur, internationally renowned center for biomedical research.
Yves Ribeill - Partner & EIR
PhD, founded Scynexis, Inc (NASDAQ: SCYX) and served as its Chairman and CEO from 1999 to 2015. Prior to Scynexis, Inc., Dr. Ribeill served various positions during the 25 years of his international career with Rhone-Poulenc, Aventis. He was involved in discovery and development effort that resulted in the FDA approval of multiple drugs. He has also been a Director of various Biotech companies in Europe and the US.
Rémi Soula - Partner & EIR
PhD, MBA, co-founded Adocia SA (Euronext Paris: ADOC), where he was head of Business Development and Legal Affairs. Prior to Adocia, he was Senior Manager at Avadel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AVDL, formerly Flamel Technologies SA). He has also been on the board of several companies, including Cellnovo. (Euronext: CLNV), a former French public medtech company. He is co-inventor on more than thirty patent families.
Neill Moray Mackenzie - Partner & EIR
PhD, is an internationally networked pharmaceutical executive and a serial entrepreneur with extensive operational, commercial, licensing and R&D background in academia, pharma and Biotech companies. Over the last 25 years, after a career in pharma at Wellcome plc, Dr. Mackenzie has served on the boards of Immetacyte Ltd (now Instil Inc.) as co-founder, Chairman and CBO, Trimunocor Ltd. as co-founder and CEO, Biotecnol Ltd. as CBO, Cellular therapeutics Ltd., as CBO, CMP Therapeutics Ltd. as CEO, Roji Ltd. as founder and CEO, Medigene AG (listed on the German Börse) as Senior Vice President, Business Development and Commercial Strategy, Avidex Ltd. (now Immunocore Ltd) as CBO, Oxford BioMedica plc (listed on the LSE), and BioMedica Inc. as co-founder and EVP of Business Development and Corporate Strategy, and with Cambridge Genetics Ltd. as co-founder and CEO.
Thierry Laugel - President
PharmD, PhD and MBA, is a Partner at Kurma Partners that he co-founded in 2009. He has almost 30 years of experience in Life Sciences, both in Venture and in Industry. Thierry started his career in 1992 as R&D Project Manager for Laboratoires Fournier in Tokyo. In 1996, he joined Flamel Technologies, just after its successful listing on Nasdaq, and managed the development-stage portfolio of the company. In 1998, he moved to investments, first at Caisse des Dépots (CDC), then at AGF Private Equity (Allianz Group) in 2005, where he supervised the healthcare investment team. As an investor, Thierry has led investments in more than 25 companies like Actelion, Arpida, Targacept, Adocia, or Erytech. He is currently a Board Member of Amolyt Pharma, Ermium, Horama, Minoryx, Blink Biomedical, Talix, Meiogenix and Pathoquest.
