Who could give you better advice than those who have been in your shoes? Executives from emerging companies in the region will share their experiences from the early days of their start-up journey and offer insights on how to survive and thrive.
The panel will be moderated by Liliana Unachukwu (Deep tech builder and Start-up Advisor) and the panelist are:
- Michael Krebs, CEO, HeartBeat.bio
- Marian Kupculak, CSO, Sensible Biotechnologies
- Pawel Zolnierczyk, CEO, iQure Pharma
- Vaclav Navratil, CEO, DIANA Biotechnologies
Michael Krebs, HeartBeat.bio
Michael is a co-founder and CEO of HeartBeat.bio, a startup developing the first high-throughput human organoid screening platform for cardiac drug discovery. He has more than 20 years of experience as a founder, startup manager and executive board member at several fast-growing life science organizations in Germany and Austria. Prior to that, Michael worked for 8 years in auditing, corporate finance and management consulting. He also has a degree in Business Administration from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt and an Executive MBA in Mergers & Acquisitions from University of Muenster.
Marian Kupculak, Sensible Biotechnologies
Marian is Co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Sensible Biotechnologies, a biotech startup pioneering the design and manufacturing of mRNA therapeutics using living cells. With a background in biochemistry, Marian earned his undergraduate degree in Bratislava, Slovakia, followed by research internships at the Vienna Biocenter and the University of Gothenburg. He later completed a DPhil in Biochemistry at the University of Oxford, where he studied DNA repair and genomic stability in human cells. In 2024 he was selected into Forbes 30 under 30 list in Slovakia.
Pawel Zolnierczyk, iQure Pharma
Paweł is a physicist and business manager by training, as well as a driven and successful entrepreneur. He has raised over $20M from business angels, venture capital, and charitable organizations. He founded the oncology-focused university spin-off Onco-NX Ltd., which was sold in 2014. Currently, he serves as CEO of iQure Pharma, a clinical-stage biotech company advancing a novel therapeutic approach for CNS disorders by restoring glutamate homeostasis.
Vaclav Navratil, DIANA Biotechnologies
Vaclav co-founded one of the most promising Czech biotech startups DIANA Biotechnologies. Their method – DNA-linked Inhibitor Antibody Assay – can precisely detect a variety of diseases. Since 2018 DIANA Biotechnologies has raised €3.5 million in private investment and became the largest producer of COVID-19 tests in Czechia, delivering over 6 million PCR tests to date. Václav plays a key role in leading the company’s research and development efforts. He holds a PhD in Biochemistry from Charles University and has over a decade of independent scientific experience in biochemical and molecular biology research, primarily at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences.