On Thursday, March 31st, we're thrilled to host our next Talks at the Square event at BII.

This time we are pleased to welcome Dr. Rafaèle Tordjman, the Founder and CEO of Jeito Capital, an independent investment company dedicated to biopharma and biotech with a model of continuous financing, investing in the next generation of leaders in medical innovation.

Rafaèle will share her journey from being a VC and Managing Partner with more than €1 billion of assets under management at Sofinnova Partners to now heading her own fund Jeito with €534 million under management. She will also share how she was appointed by French President Emmanuel Macron to build up the biotech ecosystem in France while attracting the most talented profiles of the life sciences industry.

For more than 20 years, Rafaèle has gained hands-on experience from being an investor in life science and during her Talks at the Square, she will share her experiences from investing in and serving on the boards of companies, such as Ascendis, DBV Technologies and Lysogene.

She will further take questions from the attendees and spark dialogue around how she sees the current investment climate and trends in biotech, as well as how the biotech ecosystem in France and the Nordics can be inspired by each other.

Program of the day

15.30 Doors open

16.00 Introduction to BII and the subject of the day: CEO of BII, Jens Nielsen

16.10 Keynote speaker: Rafaèle Tordjman

16.30 Fireside chat with Rafaèle Tordjman and Jens Nielsen and discussion with the audience

17.00 Informal networking and closing reception

Please note that the event has free admittance with 70 tickets available. Please sign up quickly to secure your seat.

About Rafaéle Tordjman

Dr. Rafaèle Tordjman, MD PhD, has been an investor in life sciences for 20 years.

She started her career at Sofinnova Partners, a Paris-based venture capital firm, in 2001, as an analyst. She became co-leader and Managing partner with €1.5 billion in assets under management, which she held until 2017.

During her time at Sofinnova, Dr. Tordjman has invested in and served on the boards of a number of life science companies, including Ascendis [ASND], DBV Technologies [DBV], Lysogene [LYS], MedDay, Enyo Pharma, Nucana Biomed [NCNA], Flexion Therapeutics [FLXN], Obseva [OBSV] and Preglem, before the company was sold to Gedeon Richter.

Her investments have generated five approved products and c.20 drugs in late stage clinical development.

Prior to joining Sofinnova Partners, Dr. Tordjman worked as a physician and researcher in haemato-oncology. After five years working at the Paris University Hospitals as a medical doctor specializing in internal medicine and clinical hematology, she presented her doctoral thesis on Haematopoiesis and Angiogenesis, which she obtained in 2000. Dr. Tordjman then completed her post-doctoral work in immunology at INSERM, Cochin Hospital, and published in Nature Immunology among others. In 2002, she also completed a management training course at INSEAD.

In 2018, Dr. Tordjman founded Jeito Capital, an independent investment company dedicated to biopharma/biotech to establish a model of continuous financing and to invest in the next generation of leaders in medical innovation. Jeito I raised €534 million ($630 million) in September 2021, becoming the largest independent European fund in Life Sciences. She seats at the Board of InnoSkel (Chair), and Alentis Therapeutics (Chair) as representative of Jeito.

To engage more women in the life sciences industry, in 2010 Dr. Tordjman founded the association W.I.T.H. (Women Innovating Together in Healthcare) that now has a global membership of 500 women representing the full chain of medical innovation.

In September 2020, Dr. Tordjman was awarded Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, France’s highest distinction, for her achievements.

In July 2021, Dr. Tordjman was appointed by Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister Delegate for Industry and Franck Riester, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, under the high patronage of President Emmanuel Macron to promote the French biotech ecosystem among leading international players.

About the Talks at the Square event series at BioInnovation Institute

'Talks at the Square' is an event series by BioInnovation Institute (BII) with a key focus on spreading ideas and knowledge in life science entrepreneurship to inspire researchers to bring science out of the lab and into the economy. The events feature high-level international speakers with topics that emphasize innovations and inspirational topics within bioindustrials, health tech, and therapeutics. The Talks at the Square events are hosted by BioInnovation Institute at the Square event space at the BII facilities in Copenhagen Bio Science Park (COBIS) in Copenhagen. Read more on: https://bii.dk/events-and-news/