Deep Science Ventures

Back in 2020, when the opportunity to create a new venture to revolutionise cancer treatment responses started to present itself, it was clear that the most important thing to make it a success would be the right partner. As soon as I met Annelise Soulier, I knew she was it. At that point Neobe Therapeutics was only the sliver of an idea, a "what if". Within a couple of weeks of meeting Annelise we had designed the principles behind the technology we wanted to build, a clear strategy, and a company name. Within a couple of months we were incorporating, and within a couple of years we had raised funds to take our two lead programmes into preclinical development. I don't know where we would be if Annelise hadn't taken that leap of faith in the middle of a pandemic, but I am certain we wouldn't be where we are now. She's been the rock supporting our technology development, always keeping our feet on the ground as we move forward, and providing a reassuring "we'll get there" every time we hit an unexpected snag on the road. As we celebrate international women's day it has been fantastic to see Annelise recently highlighted by Cancer Research Horizons among an incredible group of female leaders. And I am proud that with her leadership we have build a team full of incredible women who work hard towards our goal of improving therapeutic responses in patients with solid tumours: Abigail Little Sheila Johnson Sandie McCulloch Laura Fletcher, PhD Julie Wolf, Ph.D. Julie Little, RTTP, CSAP Dr Imelda Juniarsih This #InternationalWomensDay I celebrate their leadership and example, which has been key to bring Neobe to where it is today. It is a pleasure and a privilege to work with you every day.

Pictured, the epic Monika Tomecka, PhD, founder of uFraction8, Cartier Fellow for Science and Technology in 2024 - consider applying!

How do we radically accelerate genuinely disruptive #innovation across Europe? 🚀💡 On Monday, the Embassy hosted an event to explore this question under the motto “Accelerating the European Deep Tech Innovation Ecosystem 10x”, bringing together key stakeholders from government, research and innovation space across Europe to discuss how to increase the rate of #innovation across societal challenges and technological domains. The event was organised in collaboration with SPRIND - Bundesagentur für Sprunginnovationen and Deep Science Ventures, who have recently partnered to launch Europe's first entrepreneurial PhD programme focused on creating high growth #startups. The day kicked off with opening remarks from HM Ambassador Andrew Mitchell, setting the tone for a high-energy and thought-provoking event. This was followed by an inspiring interview with Manuel Heitor, Portugal’s former Secretary of State for Science, Technology and Higher Education, and a series of lightning talks exploring four areas for experimentation: #AI as an innovation co-pilot; new approaches to entrepreneurial #talent development; experiments in innovation #funding; and exciting new organisational frameworks. In the afternoon, participants worked together in interactive focus groups to dive deeper into these approaches and reflect on how they can take action and drive new #experiments to accelerate innovation in Europe. The event was concluded with closing remarks from Robert Shaw, Executive Director for Strategy and Performance at Innovate UK, where he highlighted the UK’s enthusiasm for strengthening innovation links with our European friends. The UK is committed to driving innovation to kickstart growth and to using our innovative spirit to spark solutions for the greatest challenges of our time, be they climate change or global health crises. This was a great opportunity to connect, exchange ideas and explore new forms of collaboration across sectors and borders! Looking forward to continuing these important conversations and turning brilliant ideas into actions! #Innovation #Collaboration #EuropeanInnovation #ScienceAndTechnology Dr. Thane Campbell Barbara Diehl Jano Costard Mark Daly Ronit Kanwar Shauna Stack Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) Vinnova ANI | Agência Nacional de Inovação FFG Austrian Research Promotion Agency Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo Foresight Institute CDTI Innovación - Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico y la Innovación Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)

Do you sometimes look down at your macrophages and feel a pang of jealousy that all it takes is a cocktail (of cytokines) to completely change role and function? Do you as a protein engineer sometimes wish that you too could simply push a button and transform your entire career? Do you as a protein expert with myeloid reprogramming expertise [and ideally 🤞🏼 translational deep experience working in inflammatory or fibrotic diseases 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼] yearn for the energetic, purposeful culture you sometimes see in your culture vessels? Well, we’re hiring a Founder-in-Residence to take on the 35% of all global deaths that are caused by diseases with underlying fibrosis. In partnership with General Inception, we’re building a new company which aims to transform the therapeutic landscape for fibrosis patients by harnessing the innate immune system and inducing resolution. Drink the cocktail. Apply using the link in the comments! #proteinengineering #fibrosis #drugdevelopment #venturecreation #fibroticdisease #founder #entrepreneurship #biologics #myeloid #immunology #cellreprogramming

Guten tag Berlin people (also guten tag to people cool enough to know Berlin people!), our venture-focused PhDs are sharing the output of their first term of "Stochastic Studio" in an exhibition at MotionLab on April 9th. We’ll have food and snacks and their projects will be on display. Quick recap on the 'Venture Science Doctorate': it is a PhD in invention. VSD scholars are fully funded for 3 years to become experts not in a single scientific question, but a question of how science might be use to have the greatest possible impact on a societal outcome of their own choosing. They are in control of their topic and must come up with their *own invention*. There are 3 main principles at work in the 'Stochastic Studio' module: 1) learn by doing (they gotta make a thing - that's what will be on display), 2) everyone's a teacher and everyone's a learner (they're in control of what they learn, no lectures - they must work out what skills they will need in order to move the rest of their thesis forward fastest) and... 3) recursive feedback (work is presented in drafts to colleagues and guest experts for iterative feedback through the module). Drop-in any time from 2-6 on the day and please share with anyone you know in the city who might be interested! Link in the comments #Berlin #Events #Science

On the back of a partnership with General Inception to tackle fibrosis announced at the end of last year, our Director of Therapeutics Kerstin Papenfuss, PhD MBA talked to Drug Discovery World. Fibrosis is a process by which our body lays down collagen and other extracellular matrix materials as part of a healing process — but too much can impair normal tissue function. Examples include idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (lungs) and liver fibrosis. There are no FDA approved treatments and prevalence is rising - read on for the latest developments and what need to be true to tackle this complex pathological process. Link in comments!

So, we won 'most creative investor' at the One Nucleus awards last night. They didn't let us make a speech but fear not: this post contains what we’d have said in our acceptance. "Dear gathered biotech elite. Friends, rivals, politely included others. We’re grateful for this award, which recognises us not for our impact on the lives of patients, our commercial success or our scientific expertise, but rather for our creativity. This may sound like winning an award for ‘most beautiful on the inside’ at the beauty pageant. But creativity is important. More important than most scientific institutions give credit for. According to a survey by the Wellcome Trust, 75% of researchers believe their creativity is stifled in the labs they operate in. And creativity is of particular importance for us as we are a venture *creator*. The IP in our companies is created at DSV, rather than licensed from universities. When the team at Panthura spun out with a possible cure for cystic fibrosis, that was because the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation bet long in advance that we could create that therapy from scratch. When the team at Plurify created a way of mass manufacturing impurity-free cell therapies, or Ancilia Biosciences created a platform for correcting dysbiotic microbiomes - they invented those ideas from first principles, rather than discovering them. This award is more than anything a testament to the huge potential of the creativity of scientists should they be unleashed to *invent* - asked to apply an engineering mindset to science, and to the extraordinary partners who work with us in that belief. We hope the award is as much a recognition of the raw, under appreciated creative potential of the thousands of scientists trained each year to make massive impact on patients’ lives.” Followed by mic drop and gnarly breakdance routine, because we exclusively hire absolute badasses. Massive congrats to the incredible DSV Pharma team - past and present for this hugely deserved recognition! Kerstin Papenfuss, PhD MBA Laura Fletcher, PhD, Anís Gammage, Jonathan Cohen-Gold, PhD, Jana Obajdin, PhD, Megan Cully, Alice C. Martin, Saran Davies, PhD, Keith Thompson CBE and our many wonderful partners for betting on us Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Cancer Research Horizons, Parkinson's UK, AbbVie, The Children's Tumour Foundation, Innovate UK

Exciting to see so many companies on the a16z American Dynamism 50 list already using Flow Engineering. ▶ 20% are Flow customers ▶ Another five are actively piloting Flow is powering the next generation of market leaders.

Not every scientist stays in academia, and not every entrepreneur starts in business school. Some start… in webinars. Okay, maybe not, but this one might be different! Join us as we explore how the Venture Science Doctorate (VSD) delivers an alternative path for innovators in climate, health and computation—one that takes the rigour of a doctorate and turns it into venture creation. We'll talk about: 🧑🎓 Insider perspectives: join our Venture Scientists from cohorts 1 & 2 for a candid fireside chat. Discover the challenges, triumphs, and invaluable lessons they've picked up along the way. 📚 Unique course structure: experience a bespoke curriculum led by top experts from venture capital, industry, and academia. Engage in in-depth, hands-on research at renowned universities and labs worldwide. 💡 Scoping methodology crash course: learn why we start with outcomes, not ideas—transforming how ventures are conceived. 🐙 What makes a great candidate? We’ll share exactly what we look for in applicants. You might be surprised! ➕ Meet the Team: Aaron Appleton, Dr. Thane Campbell, Dr Claire Thorne, Shauna Stack, Santa Astratova, Dominic Falcão. Stay tuned for potential guest appearances. We’re reinventing the PhD. Come see if it’s the right fit for you: 📅 When: March 19th, 4-5.30pm GMT (online via zoom) 👉Sign-up link: https://dsv.vc/vsdwebinar

It's an incredibly exciting time for us commercially at Thermulon. We have our first paid customer pilots underway, and are looking for more! Come and help us accelerate our commercial function to start getting aerogels into cars and walls sooner!