Medicxi, a European life sciences investment firm, announced Dr Moncef Slaoui, has joined its team as Partner.
Dr Slaoui was formerly GSK’s Chairman of Pharmaceutical R&D and the vaccines division.
Dr Slaoui brings extensive clinical, medical, scientific and leadership experience, gained during his 28 years at GSK, to the Medicxi team.
In his role as head of R&D at GSK (2006–2014), Dr Slaoui was the architect of a pioneering re-organisation of the Company’s R&D effort, operating through early stage focused discreet discovery performance units (DPUs), which competed internally for R&D investment, a unique model in Big Pharma at the time.
As a member of the Scientific Advisory Boards of both the IL6 and MV1 venture funds, Dr Slaoui has been closely involved with Medicxi (and previously Index Ventures) for many years.
As a Partner he will be responsible for sponsoring and supporting investments, undertaking due diligence and valuations for Medicxi’s venture fund MV1 and its growth fund MG1.
When appropriate, he will have an active role in supporting investee companies in their development, including taking board positions.
Dr Slaoui said: “Having developed a strong relationship with the Medicxi founders over many years, it is an exciting time to join the team, with funds available to invest not only in early stage assets but also to building innovative companies through clinical development and market entry.
“I am looking forward to making an active contribution to selecting and leading investments and to supporting ambitious entrepreneurs to develop medicines that ultimately make a difference to patients.”
Medicxi has built a highly experienced team and through the scientific advisory boards (SABs) of each of its funds, has access to some of the most respected names in the pharma industry. As well as Medicxi’s senior team, now including Dr Slaoui, external members and observers on the SABs to Medicxi’s funds include:
Novartis
- Dr Vasant (Vas) Narasimhan, Global Head of Drug Development, Chief Medical Officer and CEO Elect
- Dr Evan Beckman, Global Head of Translational Medicine at NIBR
- Nigel Sheail, Head of Business Development and Licensing
From Verily Life Sciences:
- Dr Andy Conrad, CEO
- Dr Robert Califf, Advisor and former US FDA Commissioner
From GSK:
- Dr Patrick Vallance President, R&D
- Dr Paul-Peter Tak
- Senior Vice President R&D Pipeline, Global Development Leader and Chief Immunology Officer
From Johnson & Johnson:
- Dr Paul Stoffels, Executive VP, Chief Scientific Officer
- Dr Bill Hait, Global Head, Janssen Research & Development
- Dr Patrick Verheyen Global Head, Janssen Business Development
Michèle Ollier, co-founder and Partner at Medicxi, said: “Moncef has made a tremendous contribution through his role on our SABs and we look forward to his continued energetic and insightful contribution as a Partner at Medicxi.”
Dr Slaoui takes on the role as Partner at Medicxi alongside his other board positions: he is Chairman of the board at Galvani Bioelectronics, and on the boards of Artisan Biosciences, Moderna Therapeutics and Sutrovax.