Venture capital for
companies developing
innovative therapeutics

Dominik is a founding partner of Pureos and a co-founder and Executive Chairman of CDR-Life. Previously, he was a founder and CEO of ESBATech, which was acquired in 2009 by Alcon (Novartis) for USD 589 million. As a biotech entrepreneur, he raised USD 90 million for ESBATech to develop novel antibody fragments from discovery to maturity, delivering multiple clinically successful products (e.g., Brolucizumab). Since 2002 he was a Board Member of the Swiss Biotech Association, the biotech industry organization of Switzerland which he led as President from 2013 to 2022. Dominik obtained his PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Zurich.

Klaus is a founding partner of Pureos and has been a venture capital investor since 2001, across different regions, companies stages and types. Prior to Pureos, he was senior investment advisor private equity at Bellevue Asset Management. Bio-pharmaceutical companies that Klaus has invested in include AM-Pharma, Alpex Pharma, Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Glycart Biotechnology, Hummingbird Bioscience, ImCheck Therapeutics and Vaximm. Before venture capital, Klaus was a researcher at ETH Zurich and a business consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton. Klaus holds an MA in chemistry from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and a PhD in molecular biology from the University of Heidelberg (ZMBH).

Martin is a founding partner of Pureos and has been a venture capital investor since 1999, investing in life science companies across all stages and types. Prior to Pureos, he was senior investment advisor private equity at Bellevue Asset Management. Martin’s most successful investments and board assignments include Radius Health, Molecular Partners, Optimer, Axovan and Glycart. Martin is currently a BoD member at Ypsomed Holding, Alentis Therapeutics, River Renal and Ariceum Therapeutics. Martin obtained his PhD in protein chemistry from the ETH Zurich and his MAS in Management, Technology, and Economics from ETH Zurich.

Veronica joined the Pureos Bioventures team as a Partner in 2022. She has been a founder CEO of GlycoEra, a Zurich-based company with a glycoengineering platform for novel antibodies in autoimmune diseases, oncology and neurology. She was also a co-founder and the CEO of LimmaTech Biologics, a spin-off of GlycoVaxyn to service GSK. Before that, Veronica was in the executive team of GlycoVaxyn developing innovative vaccines for infectious diseases. She was instrumental in the acquisition of the company by GSK in 2015. Veronica is a bioengineer with a PhD in life science from the EPFL Lausanne.

Ximing joined the Pureos Bioventures team in 2018. Prior to Pureos, he was Post-Doc at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany. Ximing is currently BoD observer at Araris Biotech, Engimmune Therapeutics and Tridek-One. Ximing obtained his PhD at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and holds an MSc. in Biology at ETH Zurich.

Anne joined the Pureos Bioventures team in 2021. She has collected first venture capital experience as Analyst fellow at M Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Merck KGaA, in Amsterdam. Prior to that, Anne was Post-Doc at the University of Basel. Anne obtained her PhD in structural biology from the University of Basel and studied biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Kiel and the University of Jena, in Germany, and at the University of York in the UK.

Butrint joined the Pureos Bioventures team in 2023. Prior to Pureos, he led an antiviral drug development project at the University of Basel. Butrint obtained his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Basel, where he collaborated with Polyneuron Pharmaceuticals AG on the development of novel therapies targeting rare neurological disorders. Butrint studied Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Basel, Switzerland.

Christian joined the Pureos Bioventures team in 2022 and has worked in the finance industry for over 20 years. Prior to joining Pureos, Christian was Deputy CRO at responsAbility Investment AG and before this COO & CRO and member of the management board at QCAM Currency Asset Management AG. Christian also held senior positions at Leonteq AG and Man Investments AG. Christian obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration at the ZHAW and is a certified international investment analyst (CIIA). He is a lecturer at the Swiss Training Centre for Investment Professionals AZEK.

Prior to joining Pureos Bioventures, Deborah worked as the head of the medical practice assistants for an ENT specialist. Prior to that, she held various operations positions at OYM AG, a competence center for performance management and research of top-class athletes. Before that, she worked as a school principal for two schools.

After completing her commercial education with a higher vocational diploma, Deborah gained several years of experience in supporting and managing operations within small, large and start-up companies, where she also successfully led her own teams. Therefore, she was able to gain solid knowledge in the fields of travelling, sales, teaching, sports, innovation management and operations assistance.

Dragan was CSO and co-founder of Covagen AG, a Swiss biotech company focusing on bispecific antibodies and antibody alternatives. Cilag GmbH International, an affiliate of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson acquired Covagen in 2014. Since 2015 Dragan is an independent advisor in pharmaceutical biotechnology, start-up coach at ETH Zurich and Innosuisse (Swiss Innovation Agency), board member and entrepreneur. Dragan received his master’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences and Doctor of Sciences from ETH Zurich.

Dominik is currently Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at Granite Bio, former CMO at Quell Therapeutics and has significant drug development and translational medicine experience. Before joining Biotech, he was Therapeutic Area Head – Translational Medicine/ Biomarkers/ Precision Medicine for Autoimmunity, Transplantation and Inflammation at Novartis. Before that, Dominik held senior roles at Galapagos and Roche Pharma focused on translational medicine strategies in immunology and autoimmune diseases. Dominik received his M.D. from LMU Munich and spent 18 years in clinical practice and academic research, specializing in paediatric immunology, rheumatology, and pulmonology. He also is an Adjunct Professor of Paediatric Immunology at the University of Tübingen.

Lars is CEO of Engimmune Therapeutics and brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in the development of several pharmaceutical products and innovative technologies. Previously, Lars was Chief Technology Officer at Nordic Nanovector, VP and Strategic Product Lead at Bayer and held several leadership roles at F. Hoffmann-La Roche responsible for clinical supply planning, biologics technology and technical business development biologics. Lars gained his PhD from the Max-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry, Munich, and Institute for Biochemistry at the University of Zürich; he also holds an executive MBA from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Sai is a Professor at ETH Zurich in the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering since 2012. He also serves as the Vice-Director of the Botnar Research Centre for Child Health, focusing on the development of cutting-edge technologies for pediatric patients globally.

His academic research is dedicated to the emerging field of systems, synthetic and computational immunology. Based on his research, he co-founded the biotech companies deepCDR Biologics and Engimmune Therapeutics. deepCDR was acquired by Alloy Therapeutics in December 2021 due to its bioinformatics and machine learning expertise.

Sai studied biomedical engineering at the Northwestern University, USA, and obtained his PhD from EPFL Lausanne.

Thomas is a founder and advisor of Alentis Therapeutics and is an internationally renowned gastroenterologist with 25 years of R&D experience in fundamental, translational and clinical research. Thomas developed novel preventive and therapeutic strategies for fibrosis and cancer as well as underlying viral diseases. He has published more than 400 articles in leading scientific journals and led more than 50 research programs in fibrosis, cancer and virology. He is a Professor of Medicine, Gastroenterologist and head of the Inserm Institute IVH at the University of Strasbourg, France. He previously held positions at the Universities of Freiburg and Munich, the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and the US National Institutes of Health. He has received his MD from the University of Heidelberg.      

Omar is currently CMO at VectivBio, and was before that CMO and Head of Research and Development at Voyager Therapeutics. Previous to that, he was the Global Head of Rare Diseases and Neuroscience Translational Medicine at Roche, practiced medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and was Chief Resident at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Khwaja received his MD and PhD in Human Molecular Genetics from the University of Cambridge, UK. He is a member of the Royal College of Physicians, serves as CMO for the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation and is the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the CDKL5 Forum.

Roger is co-founder, CEO and President of Neurimmune and a key opinion leader in neurodegenerative diseases. He is a pioneer in the development of therapeutic approaches for neurodegenerative diseases, and inventor and developer of aducanumab in partnership with Biogen, the first disease-modifying treatment and first approved therapy in more than two decades for Alzheimer disease. Roger is a professor emeritus at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Zurich, a Potamkin prize winner and member of the German Academy of Sciences. He obtained his medical doctor from the University of Heidelberg.

Sonia is a highly experienced R&D executive with clinical development expertise and a demonstrated translational mindset. She has served as the Chief Medical Officer and a member of the executive management team at Kymab, where she was responsible for transforming the company from preclinical into clinical-stage. Currently, she is CMO at Georgiamune and supports several biotechs as advisor and board member. She is a Professor in Immunology with over 20 years of research experience in basic and translational autoimmune disease and oncology, and over 10 years in clinical development for immuno-oncology and immunology. Sonia received her PhD in Immunology from the Imperial College School of Medicine, London, UK (Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology) and her MD from University of Palermo, Italy.

Bernd was the former President & CEO of GPC Biotech. He built the company from a pre-clinical stage to a NASDAQ listed, Phase 3 clinical stage oncology company. Prior to that, Bernd was VP Oncology drug discovery at Bristol-Myers Squibb and held senior faculty positions at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital and Princeton University. For the last decade, he has successfully worked with several biotech companies and start-ups acting as CEO, director or chairman of the board. Bernd holds an MD from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University and a PhD from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry Munich, Germany and has published over 100 scientific papers. 

Mathieu is Chairman of Idorsia and board director at a number of public and private biotech companies. He also serves an advisor to the European Commission D.G. Research and Innovation and as Senior Strategic Advisor to Messier Maris Partners, a small international investment bank. He was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Cellectis and, prior to that, SVP and Head of Global Pharmaceutical Operations at Pierre Fabre. He also was at Wyeth (now Pfizer) in both senior corporate and regional roles in the US and Europe. Mathieu holds a degree in internal medicine from the Faculty of Medicine, Paris VII.

Ben is a partner and head of the funds group at Carey Olsen in Guernsey and has significant experience advising a variety of private and public funds. Ben qualified as an English solicitor in 1992 and practiced in the City before joining Carey Olsen in 1999. Ben became an advocate in 2003 and has been a partner in the Guernsey office since 2003. Ben is also a member of the firm's London office. He currently holds a number of directorships with other fund management companies and funds. Ben has been a Director of BB Pureos Bioventures GP (Guernsey) Limited since its inception.

Karen has over two decades of experience in the financial services industry across the areas of private equity, alternative investment administration, corporate governance, risk management, tax information exchange related issues and accounting. She currently holds a number of directorships with other fund management companies and funds, and provides consultancy and training services in her field of expertise. In 2016, Karen founded the Women’s Business Network which gives networking opportunities to senior women in business in Guernsey. Karen has been a Director of BB Pureos Bioventures GP (Guernsey) Limited since its inception.

Pascal is a Vice President at Northern Trust in Guernsey, where he manages client relationships over multiple jurisdictions. Prior to that, he was a senior manager of several operational teams within Northern Trust’s private equity department. He is a qualified accountant with over two decades of experience in offshore fund administration. He has been a member of audit, portfolio management and risk committees and currently holds a number of directorships with other fund management companies and funds. Pascal has been a Director of BB Pureos Bioventures GP (Guernsey) Limited since its inception.

Bruno is a Director at Pureos Partners and a co-founder and Partner at Crystal Asset Management, which invests in Swiss and European equities. Bruno began his investment career in equity sales at Credit Suisse in 1994. Prior to founding Crystal in 2011, Bruno was an analyst, Head of Sales and a member of the management board of Bank am Bellevue. Bruno obtained his PhD in Business Management from the University of Zurich and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Matthias is a Director at Pureos Partners, Partner and co-head of Life Sciences Team at the law firm Vischer AG and notary public in Basel-City and Basel-Country. Matthias is an experienced lawyer specialized in the life sciences sector, including company acquisitions and sales (M&A), financing by private equity/venture capital investors, licensing and collaboration agreements, IPOs and restructurings. He is also president of BioValley Basel and board member of the BioValley Business Angels Club (BioBAC). Matthias has studied in Halifax, Basel, Bruges and Freiburg i.B. and has a PhD in Law from the University of Basel and a Master of Advanced European Studies from the College of Europe, Bruges.