In this series “Meet the people behind Biotech Booster” we introduce you to the passionate people who are involved in our mission.
First up are our Thematic Cluster managers. What is a Thematic Cluster, you ask? Biotech Booster operates on a national level through five distinct Thematic Clusters (TC’s) that each represent specific biotech focus areas. They are TC 1: Industrial Biotechnology & Production, TC 2: AgroFood biotechnology, and TC 3, 4 and 5: Human health, diagnostics, therapeutics. Within these clusters – or communities – we bring together knowledge institutes, companies and other organizations from all over the country to closely collaborate and learn from each other in a unique way. With one collective purpose in mind: to accelerate the commercialization of biotech findings.
What’s your name?
Stéfan Ellenbroek
What is your role within Biotech Booster?
I am the Thematic Cluster Manager at Biotech Booster for TC 5: Vaccines, Small Molecules and Platform Technologies.
Can you shortly describe your role?
TC 5 is a very broad and therefore big Thematic Cluster. As many researchers all over the country are working on small molecules, vaccines or (red-biotech oriented-) platform technologies, it is no surprise that there is also a broad national coverage of both the business development capacity and related projects. Since I’ve been involved in Biotech Booster from early on, it became very clear to me that there are big differences in how local communities are organized. Some are better prepared, have clearer processes, and are bigger in size than others. I see it as my responsibility to facilitate close collaborations between local communities, so that they work together on a day-to-day basis and can learn from each other. This way, the more advanced regions will serve as an example for others, which ideally leads to more successful biotechnology valorization on a national level. One example of how I do this is through our weekly meetings where representatives from various regions and knowledge institutes come together (both online and in-person) to collaborate and share knowledge.
Who’s in your team?
As I mentioned TC 5 is a big Thematic Cluster, and therefore it consists of quite a big team of passionate people spread over multiple Dutch knowledge institutes:
TC manager : Stéfan Ellenbroek, Leiden University
Support: Joyce Boudewijns, Leiden University
Business- and Impact Developers: Niels Janssen (TU Twente), Eva Moreno Iglesias (VU), Walter Zuiderduijn (Hogeschool Leiden) Frits Mattijssen (Radboud University), Sebastian Nijman (NKI), Lorenzo Bombardelli (Leiden University), Hidde Zittersteijn (TNO), Paul Jochems (Avans), Pascal Laurent (Hogeschool Utrecht)
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What motivated you to join Biotech Booster’s mission?
I’ve been active in the valorization of academic biotech knowledge for over 20 years. My passion lies in coaching researchers who want to start their own company based on their own inventions. Since in biotech all of these fledgling companies are struggling to obtain the money, the know-how and the network to get their innovations to the patients and the Biotech Booster offers exactly all of this, it was a logical step for me to join!
What is, in your opinion, an obstacle in bringing biotechnology ideas and innovations to the market?
See also the answer to the previous question: the Life Sciences & Health market is very complex and the biotech sector is ultra-deep-tech. The combination of both aspects means that there are very few inventors that can succeed on their own in getting their invention to the patient. A lot of costs, a lot of expertise and a lot of people are needed. Therefore I believe in Biotech Booster’s approach in helping early stage project ideas to succeed: the programme offers funding to cover the cost, and it offers the right network to connect inventors to the right expertise and people through the TC-offices, panels of entrepreneurs, trainings from experts et cetera.
As you mentioned, you’ve been involved in Biotech Booster since early on. What are you most proud of? And what do you hope to achieve in the coming years?
I’m proud that we were able to scout and select so many good projects in such a short time and set up shop in a record time. I hope that our efforts will lead to a lot of innovation in the biotech sector, new medicines, vaccines and platform technologies to reach the patients and the market and thereby create a lot of economic value.
If you had a few million to invest in biotech, what type of company would you start yourself or in which company would you invest and why?
I have been involved with many startups already. The ones I like best are working on a real need, for instance drugs or diagnostics for diseases that are untreatable or undiagnosable now or not in an economically viable way. Also the route to market (income or a large scale investment) must be clear to me. Finally, it is crucial for me that the team has the same drive as I do. Even though I value diversity a lot, sharing the same dream and work attitude is crucial in my opinion to work as an effective team.
If you could have dinner with any scientist, living or dead, who would it be and what would you ask them?
Leonardo Da Vinci. I would ask him: what was the basis / spark for your inventions and why have you not created them all after trusting them to paper (even though many were later proven to work)?
Curious about the rest of the people behind Biotech Booster? Keep an eye out on our LinkedIn page to stay up-to-date! Next up in this series: TC 1 Manager Cornelis Mijnders!