Transitioning from stealth to commercial impact requires both capital and platform validation. Alexandros Pantalis, CEO of Phagos reflects on raising €25M Series A and the regulatory milestones that enabled first commercial sales of personalised phage-based veterinary medicines in France.
Partnerships can transform the trajectory of a health-tech startup. Johanna Majamaa, CEO of GekkoVet discusses how working with Royal Canin enabled the company to validate its platform across 100 clinics, demonstrate real-world impact, and lay the groundwork for expansion into new markets and universities.
High-quality data is increasingly central to drug discovery, yet much of it remains fragmented, difficult to interpret, and hard to translate into clear R&D decisions. Ruchi Sharma, CEO of Stemnovate, shares how the company has navigated data complexity across human and animal health to build reproducible, species-relevant models that support more informed drug discovery decisions.
Securing the right exit is critical to ensuring innovation achieves full market potential. Louise Grubb, Managing Director of TriviumVet, shares how the company balanced growth milestones, resisted low valuations, and leveraged regulatory success to secure the right partner at the right time to achieve sustainable scale post-acquisition.
Nutrition is emerging as a powerful tool for preventing disease and strengthening immunity in livestock. Changemakers leading this shift explore the opportunities and hurdles that will shape evidence generation, farmer adoption, and the scaling of preventative nutrition across global production systems.
Monoclonal antibodies are redefining therapeutic possibilities in animal health, offering precise, targeted alternatives to traditional treatments. With next-generation innovation expanding into new disease areas and species, changemakers at the forefront examine the opportunities and hurdles that will shape development, approval, and adoption.
Theo Kanellos is a veterinarian with postgraduate studies in business and life sciences to a PhD level. During his career he worked as a clinician, an academic, a governmental official and for the last fifteen years as part of the management within the Pharmaceutical Industry where he has held several strategic roles. He has managed research laboratories, business development transactions, scientific and multi-functional alliances teams and programmes in several organisations that have led to the spinoff of biotechnology companies, the award of significant scientific grants, the founding of major strategic partnerships and the registration and licensing of successful commercial products and services. In his current role as the Director of Commercial Alliances in Zoetis he establishes entrepreneurial partnerships with companies, VCs, universities, and governmental institutions, internationally. He holds a visiting professorship at the School of Health and Medicine at the University of Surrey and is a board member of the Pirbright Institute in UK, the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed) in Africa and head of the action groups of the One Health Platform. He is the author of more than 30 peered reviewed papers and has given numerous presentations in several national and international conferences. His articles have also featured in many trade and public media.
Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most urgent challenges in animal and human health, demanding new approaches beyond traditional antibiotics. Changemakers developing preventative strategies and non-antibiotic alternatives explore the opportunities and hurdles that will define how these tools expand the veterinary toolkit, reduce dependence, and safeguard vital medicines.
