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Episode Description
Our guest today is Thierry Laugel, Managing Partner of Kurma & Chairman of Argobio. With a PharmD, PhD in pharmacology, and an INSEAD MBA, Thierry has spent more than two decades bridging cutting-edge science and commercial success—first in pharma R&D, then as co-founder of Kurma Partners, and now leading Argobio’s unique venture-builder model.
Since raising €50 million in 2021, Argobio has co-founded and accelerated several companies from top European academic labs. Three of them—Enodia, Laigo Bio, and Elkedonia—have already closed seed rounds totaling more than €43 million, advancing novel platforms in targeted protein degradation, precision membrane protein degraders, and non-hallucinogenic neuroplasticity enhancers for depression.
Thierry shares how Argobio reduces execution risk, embeds operational expertise, and turns promising science into investable companies that can compete worldwide.
- 04:02 Blending pharmacology expertise with business
- 07:50 Vision behind starting Kurma Partners
- 12:53 Launching Argobio to address gaps in European biotech
- 17:40 What makes the Argobio operational venture builder model unique
- 25:02 Criteria for selecting academic scientific breakthroughs
- 27:34 Changing dynamics of commercializing European research
- 35:30 Europe vs US biotech investment climates
- 37:47 Role of venture studios in Europe’s biotech future
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