Our Team

Our Team

Philippe GERMANAUD

Chairman

Holder of a Doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of Tours, Philippe Germanaud has carried out his professional activity mainly within the Sanofi Group, in 8 production units and 3 different countries, in production, quality control, quality, project management and management of industrial sites. He then joined the group’s quality department to manage industrial quality, then global quality, as Chief Quality Officer. For many years he was the head pharmacist of Sanofi Winthrop Industrie, and has been a full member of the National Academy of Pharmacy since 2019.

Nicolas Groux

Chief Executive Officer

Nicolas created MabDesign in 2014 following 3 years of analysis of the industry and its needs with a close assessment of over a hundred companies in France.

Nicolas is in charge of human resources, strategic partnerships and the overall development of MabDesign in a constantly evolving ecosystem. He can count on a motivated team of employees to carry out MabDesign’s missions for the benefit of the biotherapeutics industry.

Nicolas holds a Master’s degree in Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology from UCBL. He quickly switched to an entrepreneurial path with a specialized Master’s degree in Technology and Innovation Management obtained at the Lyon School of Management in 2011, following a period in the pharmaceutical industry.

ELSA KRESS, PhD

Head of Business Development

Elsa is in charge of business development at MabDesign. As such, she is Mabdesign entry point to our current and potential members. She meets the French network actors to present them the MabDesign actions and to know the companies better. Elsa is also in charge of business development actions for our members. Moreover, Elsa organizes and coordinates the 2 international shared pavilions that MabDesign organizes.

Previously, Elsa worked for 5 years in a preclinical CRO specialized in Oncology, as Business Development Manager and Research Manager, where she acquired a solid knowledge of the network. At the beginning of her career, after a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Elsa led basic research projects in France and Switzerland.

GEOFFREY RICHARD, PhD

Head of Development & Market Studies

Geoffrey is the Head of Development and Market Studies at MabDesign. In addition to his consulting activity which consists in accompanying the actors of the Biomedicine/Bioproduction industry in their life cycles and the evolution of their markets, Geoffrey’s mission is to develop and coordinate MabDesign’s offers as well on an internal level, commercial structuring, as external, development of partnerships…

Geoffrey, who joined MabDesign in 2017, holds a PhD in Oncology and has developed a dual competence in Biotechnology Management.

KARINE SOTIRAKIS, PHD

Head of Innovation Funding

Karine joined Mabdesign in 2022 to create and develop a service offer to support the search for public funding for actors in the French network. As such, Karine is in charge of supporting network players in their responses to calls for public projects.

Karine has worked in university hospital research laboratories and an American pharmaceutical multinational as an intellectual property and technology watch officer for Europe. She spent 8 years in a structure dedicated to fundraising for R&D financing. Karine is a Doctor of Immunology from the Faculty of Medicine of the Kremlin Bicêtre with an international background.

GAVIN VUDDAMALAY, PhD

Head of Scientific Affairs & Business Intelligence

Gavin joined MabDesign in 2019 and currently holds the position of Head of Scientific Affairs & Business Intelligence.

In this role, Gavin oversees the strategic development and implementation of scientific initiatives including MabDesign’s Watchs editions, our multiple types of scientific communications and the establishment of collaborations. He also supports the various players in the industry with the implementation and development of appropriate strategies, in relation to Business Intelligence (competitive intelligence, pipeline analysis, lead generation) and Intellectual Property (patent landscape and analysis). Prior to joining MabDesign, Gavin held a number of positions in both the private and public sectors, including CRO laboratory director and university lecturer. In parallel, Gavin was a consultant to various public bodies funding research and innovation. Gavin holds a PhD in Immunology and Infectious Diseases from the University of Toulouse.

RICHARD PONTREMOLI, PharmD

Head of Marketing Studies

Richard is in Head of Marketing Studies at MabDesign. His role is to support companies in the industry as well as public institutions in understanding the biotherapeutics market and associated technologies. To do so, the team has access to a wide range of business intelligence tools as well as an international network of experts and KOLs.

Richard joined MabDesign in 2019 and has a double degree, PharmD and Specialized Master in Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management obtained at Emlyon business school.

MARGOT MULLER, PhD

Market Analyst Manager

Margot is Market Analyst Manager at MabDesign and supports the actors of the sectorin scientific or strategic studies to analyze their market, their positioning and to reveal new opportunities. Her missions also contribute to improve Mabdesign’s offer to respond to the evolving needs of the biomedical industry. She is part of the MabDesign’s Watchs editorial team.

After an entrepreneurial experience in biotechnology, she worked as a as Business Developer and a consultant in Life Science. She joined MabDesign in 2022. Margot has a double scientific and marketing background. She holds a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Nice Côte d’Azur and a Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industry Management (UCLY).

VIOLETTE DENIS

Market Analyst Manager

Violette is Market Analyst Manager at MabDesign and meets the needs of sector players in terms of positioning studies in order to analyze their market. Its missions also contribute to the marketing development of the association, through communication actions around the sector’s flagship markets and its involvement in MabDesign’s Watchs in particular, with the aim of responding to sector evolutions. Violette joined MabDesign in 2020 after obtaining her Engineering Degree in Biotechnology coupled with a Master’s degree in Business School.

ANABELLE PERRIER, PhD

Market Analyst Manager

Anabelle obtained her PhD in Cellular and Molecular Virology in 2019 at the Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille. After working as a consultant-writer in innovation funding, she worked for two years as a consultant for the pharmaceutical industry. She joined the MabDesign as Market Analyst Manager.

ANA SOFIA ANTUNES, PhD

Head of International Affairs, Scientific Events & Communication

Ana joined Mabdesign at its launch in 2015. She oversees the coordination of Mabdesign Scientific Events, Communication as well as International Affairs. As such, she directs the scientific events organized by MabDesign, and manages the communication of MabDesign and its members. Finally, on what concerns the European affairs, Ana coordinates the network expansion to European partners to maximize the possibilities of meetings, collaborations, and partnerships.

Prior to MabDesign, Ana worked in research institutes (Institut Pasteur in France, ITQB in Portugal) and in the pharmaceutical industry (Novartis in Italy), where she did fundamental research in infectiology and molecular biology. Ana holds a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Lisbon, Portugal.

LAURE DELHON, PhD

Scientific Events Manager

Laure joined Mabdesign in 2020 and currently holds the position of Scientific Event Manager. In this position she is responsible for the organization of the I4ID Congress, an international congress in the field of infectious diseases. She is also involved in the organization of other MabDesign events. Laure also manages the communication of the members on the website, on the monthly newsletter Mabdesign News as well as sharing members’ communications in the network. Finally, she is involved in the creation of the Mabdesign Watchs: ImmunoWatch and BioProcessWatch.

Laure joined MabDesign after a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute of Functional Genomics in Lyon. Laure obtained a PhD in Genetics at the Imagine Institute of the Necker Hospital in Paris. During her PhD, she was also involved in scientific communication as a member of the Young Researchers Association of the Imagine Institute.

Pierre-Mehdi HAMMOUDI, PhD

Scientific Event Manager

Pierre-Mehdi graduated from the University of Geneva (Switzerland) where he obtained his PhD in Biology in 2017, specialized in molecular biology and infectious diseases. He carried on his academic career as a postdoctoral fellow at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) of the University of Cambridge (UK), supported by a fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation. Through his path, he has been actively involved in the coordination of scientific events. He has joined the MabDesign team as Scientific Event Manager.

MERYEM GARTOTE

Communication Manager

Meryem joined Mabdesign in 2022. She implements Mabdesign communication both internal and external. She is namely responsible for the ZOOM ON section, and the communication on the social networks.

Before joining Mabdesign, Meryem obtained a bachelor’s degree in event communication and today she continues her master’s degree in work-study at Mabdesign.

DAPHNé BRISARD, PhD

Head of Training

Daphné joined MabDesign in December 2022 as Training Manager. In that context, she organizes intra and inter-enterprises training offered by MabDesign. She maintains scientific monitoring to identify tomorrow’s training needs. She coordinates the design of novel trainings and identifies the experts from the field.

Before MabDesign, Daphné worked in Research Institutes (CRUK, Northwestern University) where she studied oncology and cancer stem cells in TNBC and melanoma settings. She also worked as an educational engineer at groupe IMT. Daphné holds a PhD in Reproductive Biology from tours university and INRAE.

CLARA ESNAULT, PhD

Pedagogical Engineering Officer

Clara joined MabDesign in 2023 as a training engineering officer. As such, she organizes inter-company training sessions. She provides some training in immunology and immunotherapy. She is in charge of the scientific watch to anticipate the future training needs. Clara also participates in the creation of new training courses. Finally, she oversees the communication of the training.

Before MabDesign, Clara worked for Euraxi Pharma as a medical writer. Clara has a PhD in Immunology and Cancerology from the University of Tours. During her PhD, she worked on the preclinical evaluation of an Antibody-Drug Conjugate and on the development of bispecific antibodies.

EMILIE FONQUERNIE

Head of Administration and Finance

Emilie first acquired professional experience working for a training organization for 12 years. Within this organization, Emilie gradually progressed to become a Head of management. During this period, she developed and strengthened her skills in accounting and call for applications management, demonstrating her ability to effectively manage financial and administrative aspects. Emilie then broadened her experience by working for 2.5 years in the healthcare sector, in a clinic specializing in follow-up and rehabilitation care (SSR). She successively held the positions of Payroll Manager and Human Resources Manager. From May 2018, Emilie was employed by MabDesign as an administrative and accounting manager. After a 1.5-year interlude during which Emilie held the position of administrative, accounting and financial manager with a startup specializing in digital health, she returned to MabDesign as Head of administration and finance to help the structure in its development.

CHUN LUY

Administrative and accounting manager

Chun obtained a BTS Management Assistant SME-SMI at CIEFA IGS in Lyon on a work-study program within an association dealing with student and social residences where she will develop her accounting and administrative skills for 6 years. She will continue 9 years in the construction field to perfect her versatility and her autonomy in the management of a family SME. Today, Chun puts his experience to good use as an Administrative and Accounting Manager at MabDesign.