Dr. Manuel Blanc
Co-founder
Chief Executive Officer and President
Member of the Board of Directors
Dr. Manuel BLANC brings 15 years of experience in Preclinical and Clinical Project Management, Strategy & Business Development in the biotech – pharma – healthcare industry, with track-record of pharmaceutical product development from early discovery to phase 2 clinical trial, and is inventor of several granted patent families. He is a former manager at SANOFI and SANOFI Pasteur (Corporate Strategic Intelligence), Project Leader at ERYTECH pharma (Business Development & Licensing) and Chief Scientific Officer & Head of Corporate Development of other startups specialized in neuroscience. He is also founder of PODEMA consulting and cofounder of J2V Capital.
Dr. BLANC received his MSc in biochemistry and structural biology from Grenoble Alpes University (France), his PhD in protein biochemistry from Keele University (U.K.) and his MBA in biotechnology & pharmaceutical management from Grenoble Graduate School of Business (France).
Philippe Dujardin
Co-founder
Chief Financial & Development Officer
Member of the Board of Directors
Philippe DUJARDIN brings 30+ years of experience in high-growth companies. Previously Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Awabot, Chief Financial Officer of Erytech Pharma, he was also Director of Financing and Investor Relations at Infogrames / Atari Group and CFO and Head of Development of BOOSTHEAT as well as Chief Executive Officer of BOOSTHEAT France. Philippe Dujardin is a graduate (MBA) of the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Reims and of the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Lyon, France. In June 2021, Philippe has been appointed as an independent director of the Board of Directors of Amoeba. Philippe is also co-founder of J2V Capital.
Pr. Denis Vivien
Chief Scientific Officer
President of the Scientific Advisory Board
Inventor of Glunomab
Pr. Denis VIVIEN is Professor of Cellular Biology and Hospital Practitioner (Caen-Normandie University / Caen-Normandie Hospital). Pr. Vivien is heading two departments in Caen-Normandie Public Hospital (Diagnostics and Therapeutic Innovations, and Biological Resources Center), he is managing director of the Research Institute “Blood and Brain @ Caen-Normandie” (BB@C), and is director of the Inserm – Caen Normandie University unit “Physiopathology and Imaging of Neurological Disorders” (PhIND, UMR-S U1237) located in the in vivo imaging center Cyceron. Pr. Denis VIVIEN is also scientific director of the IBiSA “Experimental Stroke Research” platform (ESRP) and currently leads the AVC AVIESAN network project. Pr. Denis Vivien was president of the CNU of Neurosciences for many years, and member of the Inserm specialist commission in Neurosciences. He published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles and is the inventor of several granted patent families.
Anne-Cecile Appourchaux
Engineer, Preclinical R&D
Anne-Cecile APPOURCHAUX brings 20+ years of experience in R&D from therapeutics to diagnostics. She is highly experimented in molecular and cellular biology, chemistry, validation and quality insurance.
She holds an Engineer Degree and a Bachelor in Biology.
Anne-Cécile APPOURCHAUX joined Lys Therapeutics in 2023 as Engineer, R&D.
Dr. Jean-Baptiste Bertrand
Head of Clinical & Non-Clinical Operations
Dr. Jean-Baptiste BERTRAND brings 18+ years of experience in medical research from R&D to clinical trials, including 14 years of experience working for biotech companies. He has a broad knowledge of product development and hands-on experience in tracking complex scientific projects. Jean-Baptiste was previously Preclinical Project Manager at Geneuro Innovation where he supervised the in vivo evaluation of monoclonal antibodies in animal models for the treatment of neurological disorders (multiple sclerosis, psychotic disorders) and then Clinical Project Manager at Erytech Pharma where he managed several global clinical trials (several phases 2). He holds a PhD in Neurosciences (Claude Bernard University, Lyon, France) completed by a qualification training of Clinical Research Assistant.
Jean-Baptiste joined Lys Therapeutics in 2022 as Head of Clinical Operations.
Dr. Nathalie Deletage
Senior Program Manager, Preclinical & Non-Clinical R&D
Dr. Nathalie DELÉTAGE brings 25+ years of academic and industrial experience in R&D and preclinical drug development. Following her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Lausanne (Switzerland) and her post-doctoral position at the Faculty of Medicine of Geneva (Switzerland), she joined a biopharmaceutical company and contributed to the development of first-in-class disease-modifying drugs to treat patients with neurodegenerative or traumatic neurological disorders from discovery to clinical trials.
Dr. Nathalie DELÉTAGE joined Lys Therapeutics in 2022 as Senior Program Manager, Preclinical R&D.
Jessy Dorange
Technician, Preclinical R&D
Jessy Dorange holds a Master’s degree in Health Biology from the University of Rouen, France, with a strong focus on in vivo research. His academic work involved studying the effects of repetitive trans-spinal magnetic stimulation in non-traumatic spinal cord injury models. Jessy also earned certification in rodent surgery, further enhancing his technical expertise in preclinical research.
Jessy Dorange joined Lys Therapeutics in 2024 as an R&D technician.
Dr. François Fossiez
Head of CMC
Dr. François FOSSIEZ brings 30+ years of experience in the biotech and pharma sector, especially in CMC and pharmaceutical development. Following is PhD in Virology at Institut Armand-Frappier in Canada, François spent 25 years in pharmaceutical laboratories, managing R&D and development projects encompassing the co-discovery of Interleukin-17, therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, cell therapy projects as well as managing research and GMP production teams (including Merck Serono, Genopoïetic/Avax Technologies and Schering-Plough). Since 2014, François acted as free-lance consultant for biopharmaceutical startups to support their transition from research to clinical development and the production of clinical grade pharmaceuticals.
Dr. François FOSSIEZ joined Lys Therapeutics in 2021 as Head of CMC.
Dr. Jordan Guyon
Chief Operating Officer
Dr. Jordan GUYON brings 15 years of experience in Drug Development, Corporate Management and Financing in the biopharmaceutical industry. He notably acquired his transversal experience through his former positions of CEO, Chairman and Co-founder at GAOMA Therapeutics (preclinical-stage, neurology), of Deputy General Director and COO at NETRIS Pharma (clinical-stage, oncology), and of Business Modeling Officer at Merck Serono. He is also Board Member of a listed company and Associate within different Business Angels healthcare investment funds.
Dr. GUYON received his PharmD from the University of Lyon (France) and graduated from EM Lyon Business School (France), with a major in entrepreneurship.
Dr. GUYON joined Lys Therapeutics in 2023 as Chief Operating Officer.
Werner Klinger
Head of IT and data protection
Werner KLINGER brings 20+ years of project management experience in IT and data protection in various technical areas (computer motherboard, IOT, WEB, telecom…) including health-related data. Werner is an expert in information technology and in data privacy.
Dr. Flavie Lesept
Program Manager, Preclinical R&D
Dr. Flavie LESEPT brings 12+ years of experience in R&D and preclinical development. Flavie is specialized in neurosciences and research project management, with experience in managing and supervising multi-approaches projects on neurodegenerative diseases, neurological disorders and brain development. She got her PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology and Neuroscience at Caen Normandy University, France and have been rewarded with a European Fellowship (Individual Marie Curie Fellowship) as a postdoctoral researcher at UCL, UK.
Dr. Flavie LESEPT joined Lys Therapeutics in 2021 as Program Manager, Preclinical R&D.
Dr. Fanny Potzeha
Project Manager, Preclinical R&D
Dr. Fanny POTZEHA brings 10 years in R&D and preclinical development with a specialization in neurosciences and research project management, with experience in managing and supervising multiapproach projects on neurological disorders, translational therapy and brain development. PhD in Life and Health Sciences and Neurosciences at Caen Normandy University, France.
Dr. Fanny POTZEHA joined Lys Therapeutics in 2021 as Project Manager, Preclinical R&D.
Ambre Vivet-Gros
Accounting/HR assistant
With over 20 years of experience as an Executive Assistant/Office Manager, Ambre VIVET-GROS provides support in financial, administrative, and HR management. Specializing in fast-growing structures and startup environments, her skills include payroll administration, personnel management, workforce planning and quality of work life, pre-accounting and cash flow monitoring, sales administration, as well as the preparation of financing/grant applications and the implementation of management and payroll tools.
Ambre VIVET-GROS joined Lys Therapeutics in 2023 as Accounting/HR assistant.
Board of Directors
Michel Vounatsos
Chairman of the Board, independant member
Michel Vounatsos (MBA) was Chief Executive Officer of the US pharmaceutical company Biogen from 2017 to 2022, where he previously served as Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. Prior to this, with medical training at the University of Bordeaux and an MBA from HEC Paris in hand, he spent 20 years in various positions of responsibility with the American pharmaceutical group Merck, in Europe, China and the United States.
Anat Naschitz
Member of the Board
Anat Naschitz (LLB, MBA) is a seasoned lifescience investor and entrepreneur, with three decades of thoughtful and valuable creativity. She co-founded and was a partner at OrbiMed Israel, part of the ± $17bn global healthcare investment firm. Previously she invested at Apax (± EUR65bn) and advised the senior management teams of major pharmaceutical companies as an Associate Partner at McKinsey London.
Anat has created, invested in and served/serves on the boards of companies across therapeutics, computational R&D, digital health and medical devices, at all stages. Examples include San Francisco-based 89bio (Nasdaq:ETNB), currently in phase 3 in 3 attractive indications, which she built as a pharma spinout and took public 1.5yrs post creation, and Sweden-based Sobi (STE:SOBI) which evolved out of a pharma spinout Anat and her team led while at McKinsey.
Philippe Bissay
Member of the Board, HAC Future representative
Since 2017 Philippe Bissay is founder and C.E.O. of H.A.C. Pharma, a French independent pharmaceutical company.
Before H.A.C.Pharma, Philippe spent fifteen years in different international pharmaceutical companies managing international commercial activities around the globe.
Philippe is also an active investor in various healthcare start-ups.
Philippe holds a Master in Financial Audit and Control from the University Paris Dauphine and a Master in Management from IAE Management School
Dr. Shibeshih Mitiku Belachew
Member of the Board
Shibeshih Mitiku Belachew (MD PhD) is a neurologist, neuroscientist, and bilingual techbio and biotech leader, currently serving as the Chief Medical Officer of Indivi. He has been the Vice-President Head of Science in the Digital Health division of Biogen where he also previously worked across multiple roles of increasing responsibilities as a VP Head of Personalized Health Research, Analytics, and Head of Early Clinical Development for Multiple Sclerosis. Intertwined between two tenures and 9 years at Biogen, Shibeshih has been a Global Principal Medical Director and Disease Area Head for Digital Medicine at F. Hoffmann-La Roche. Before joining the biopharmaceutical industry in 2012, Shibeshih (aka Shibi) was a Professor of Neurology in Belgium at the University of Liège.