Join Hans Schikan, Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of Pharvaris and Termeer Foundation mentor, as he hosts an engaging conversation about patient-centered innovation. Hans welcomes Koenraad Wiedhaup, CEO of Leyden Labs, a company dedicated to eradicating viral threats, and Claudine van der Sande, CEO of Xinvento, whose personal journey with her son’s rare disease inspired groundbreaking treatments. Together, they share invaluable insights on keeping patients at the heart of biotech innovation.
Read the transcript:
Hans: Hello, everybody. Thanks for joining this this little podcast here about patient centricity. My name is Hans Shikon. I used to work at Genzyme, actually under Henri Temer, and Henri also joined my board as an advisor when I was CEO of a company quite a few years ago.
I’m also a mentor at the Termeer Foundation, and I love to see this group of young people who are encountering their first experience as CEO, and hopefully I can help them anywhere where it’s possible.
Today, we’ll be joined by two Termeer Fellows. As a matter of fact, both are from the Netherlands and are Transatlantic Connections Awardees, Koenraad Weidhaup and Claudine van der Sande. I first would like to introduce them to you. So, Claudine, maybe you can take a first step at who you are and what your background is?
Claudine: Yes, thank you, Hans.So I’m Claudine van der Sande. I’m based in the Netherlands. As you mentioned, I come from Amsterdam, and I am a biomedical scientist by training. I’m part of the 2022 class of Termeer Fellows.
I’m the former founder and CEO of Xinvento. I founded this company, especially for my son, who has a rare disease. Now I’m lucky to be a part of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals. They decided to continue the program and now I’m head of the program as VP.
Hans: Inspiring story. You’ll hear more about it later. Claudine, thank you. Koenraad, a short introduction by yourself.
Koenraad: Thank you. I’m one of the co-founders and CEO of Leyden Labs. I started my career at a biotech company in San Francisco before starting at McKinsey, where I worked in the pharmaceutical and the biotech practice. My work with both large pharma and innovative biotech companies led me to help many companies start or grow by assisting with business plans. Through that work, I got to know the people who are now my co-founders at Leyden Lab. For example, Dinko Valerio, who came to me with a scientist and said, “Hey, can you help this scientist to start the company?” And then we came together right in the beginning of the pandemic, the first week of the lockdown, in the garden of Dinko, together with Ronald Brus and Jaap Goudsmit, where we said, “Can we use the technology that Crucell was developing over 2 decades, and later J&J Vaccines, to protect people from different viruses, Sars-COV2, but also influenza?” So then we started. And I’m happy to talk more about that.
Hans: Okay, thanks for that intro. Now, patient centricity. I think you are the most tangible example, Claudine, because you started the company when your son was affected by a rare disease. But what does it mean to you? Patient centricity, I mean. What do you think should be defined under it?
Claudine: Yes, so patient-centered innovation means that the patient is in the center of everything. Right? It should be the purpose of the company. The company should develop a treatment that is really applicable to a certain patient population. And yes, by involving these patients, you know their background and their challenges. You can benefit from this approach by developing a good drug and helping these patients.
Hans: Yeah, and I know the story of your company is really an inspiring story. So I really recommend people dig deeper into it because this is what it’s all about: patient centricity. How do you see that, Koenraad? I mean, in your company? You’re trying to find solutions for larger groups of people. Of course, not a rare disease. How do you see patient centricity in your company from the very beginning?
Koenraad: Yeah, we clearly established a company out of a patient’s need. Many biotech companies, which I also fully understand, start with the technology, or they start with scientific innovation. We actually started the first week of the COVID pandemic, where it became very clear that we were suddenly in lockdown. Nobody knew what was coming, and a lot of people, of course, got severely ill in a very, very short time. So we started our company with the view of, “How can we protect people against these viruses?” Many people forget that seasonal respiratory viruses, like the flu, kill millions of people each year and send millions more to the hospital. So we formed the company around that and then looked for the technology that we luckily got licensed, and then further developed, but always with the end goal of how can we protect people against all these viruses?
Hans: And maybe to you, Koenraad, a follow on question. What is patient centricity? Because it’s quite a nice word. Of course, patient centricity is two words. But why is it so important? According to you?
Koenraad: Because, you know, it’s it’s very interesting. I’m a scientist by background, and I’m driven by great science, and it’s extremely interesting, and we’re all curious about it. But it’s nothing if you don’t think about how it will, in the end, help patients, or even keep healthy people healthy. It doesn’t need to be only patients. How can we make sure that we prevent people from becoming patients? We continuously think about what we need to do to get to that end goal, and then use cutting-edge science to get there. When you only focus on the science, you get to very interesting inventions. But it never actually gets to products that protect people from being sick. Or trying to get people healthy again.
Hans: Yeah. Now, fair point, yeah. And then, Claudine. So now, with the company you invented, you’re now part of Ryhtm, a larger company. I can imagine that in your new role, you have lots of challenging questions every day. I mean, it’s about manufacturing. It’s about development. It’s about all these elements that come to you, yet patient centricity for you is key, and for all the people you are working with right now. How do you keep that on top of your mind while you have so many other questions coming to you as well?
Claudine: Yeah. So it’s a drive for me. And for me, I think it’s not difficult to really keep that in mind and to prioritize that. And I also feel within the Rhythm team, that people are really involved because of the drive. But to involve all the different departments; yeah, that’s always a challenge, I think, in every company. But, if it’s embedded in the culture, it shouldn’t be a problem.
Hans: Yeah, how is that for you, Koenraad? I mean, while we’re talking, you are probably, again, as you’ve done successfully already, raising money for your company. But how do you keep the patient focus high on the agenda with all the other challenges you have of building a company, and building your team?
Koenraad: We make sure that every time we go through a board meeting or a town hall meeting, we always start with what we are trying to achieve. You know, eliminate the threat of viruses in our case, which means seasonal viruses that kill millions of people every year, but also being ready for the next pandemic and continuously getting back to that goal. And in every decision we make, think about that goal in mind, which then is also very much aligned with what you’re saying for investors. Right? If you focus on protecting people, in our case, against viruses or feeling an unmet need, then that will also lead to the markets. They will lead to commercial potential, and, therefore also lead to financial return for investors, for example. So it’s very much in line. And it actually is, it keeps the company very focused on achieving that end goal.
Hans: Yeah, I fully agree with both of your comments. I mean, when I was CEO, I always felt that patient centricity provided a source of inspiration, real inspiration, talking to parents, to real patients, but at the same time, also a source of knowledge about the disease and the burden of treatment and the burden of a compound and the development. So you’re spot on in that respect. So maybe to finish our conversation. What advice would you give to founders and entrepreneurs who are really wanting to build a patient-centric organization as well?
Claudine, what advice would you have for your peers?
Claudine: Well, my advice would be to embed the patient’s experience into the DNA of the company. So involve the patients from the beginning. Regularly have meetings with them so you continue to gain knowledge and know why you’re doing it. Because companies can really grow quite fast in the biotech industry, so it’s important that you don’t lose the goal of why you’re doing it.
Hans: Great advice, great advice. And coming from someone who has experienced or is experiencing this firsthand. Of course, Koenraad, what’s your advice to founders of companies who want to become patient-centric in their organizations?
Koenraad: Yeah, I think, starting from it right away. If you have the luxury of being there from the beginning, I mean, Claudine is the perfect example. But the same with us, just starting from acute needs. And Hans, I remember calling you and asking, “Should I do this?” And you were very positive about it. So I said, okay. And then I very much agree with Claudine, making sure that you actually get the patients in the conversation. We would see the most likely users of our nasal sprays are fighting influenza. Those are people that are at risk of getting very sick from an influenza infection. And by interviewing them in a very structured way, you actually see, who would benefit, what kind of product would benefit them the most. Then you can also design your clinical trials in such a way that you actually get to that as well. So that was also very, very helpful to do along the journey.
Hans: Well, thanks a lot for some great advice by two seasoned entrepreneurs who have had patient centricity for quite some time high on their agenda. I’m sure that everyone listening to this interview will now be inspired as well to put patients number one on the list. Of course, financing and manufacturing and development… it’s all important, but as long as you keep the patient as the number one beacon in the development of your company and trying to make impact, then, as Henri would say, then most things will come back on its feet. So thank you very much, Claudine. Thank you very much Koenraad. Good luck with your companies and your patient centricity.