Meet flowbone co-founder Valérie Malfroy Camine and find out how she prevents bone fractures

19.07.2021 15:00, Isabelle Mitchell

Valérie Malfroy Camine co-founded flowbone, a Venture Leader Medtech that restores bone strength with an injectable bioactive gel that initiates the deposition of the body’s own minerals and rapidly turns into strong, viable bone. flowbone’s solution is minimally invasive, does not interfere with bone vascularization and biomechanics, and provides immediate and lasting strengthening. Find out more about Valérie’s expectations for the Venture Leaders Medtech experience, and learn about the TV shows, podcasts, and pantry staples that support her entrepreneurial path.

To boost the innovative power of the Swiss medtech industry, medtech startups now have their own Venture Leaders roadshow to Boston, one of the world’s major life sciences hubs and the ideal springboard for ambitious startups on their way to global expansion. Our profile series features the 10 Venture Leaders Medtech 2021, and we will introduce you to the inaugural graduates of the program. To learn more about the startups, we asked each entrepreneur to complete a short profile and choose at least six questions from a questionnaire about their personal and professional life.

Name: Valérie Malfroy Camine
Location: Renens
Nationality: Swiss and French
Graduated from: EPFL in 2016 with e PhD in mechanical engineering
Your job title: COO of flowbone
Number of employees: 2
First touchpoint with Venturelab: My co-founder Ulrike Kettenberger participated in the Venture Challenge  in 2014

“At flowbone, we develop a bioactive gel that can be injected under local anesthesia to restore the strength of fragile bones in just a few weeks.”

How and where did you come up with the idea for your startup? 
Ulrike Kettenberger is the inventor behind the technology of flowbone. Like many great discoveries, she came up with the idea of flowbone by “accident” during her PhD thesis at EPFL. She was looking for a carrier for drug delivery and was doing some experiments when she noticed that the control, the carrier without the drug, was working as well as the drug!

What do you expect from the Venture Leaders program, and how will it help you achieve your vision? 
We expect that the Venture Leaders roadshow will help us get direct feedback from people already present in the local medtech ecosystem, and we hope to gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges pertaining to the US market. We are also looking forward to making new contacts and sharing experiences with other Swiss medtech startups going through the same challenges as flowbone. Finally, we hope to get much-needed visibility from local actors and investors at a critical period for flowbone’s Seed funding round.

What is your favorite TV show?
I love comedy shows in general, but Brooklyn Nine-Nine is my favorite show at the moment. It is a funny and positive show that values diversity and doesn’t stir away from tough subjects but tackles them with grace and sensitivity.

What is your favorite podcast?
I really enjoy listening to Don’t Ask Tig from Tig Notaro. She and her guests are offering funny but kind and sensible advice to people who write in. I particularly enjoy how she manages to never make us laugh at the person who is in trouble in the story but rather laugh at the humanity of it all.

What is always in your fridge?
Cheese! I am both Swiss and French and a true cheese lover, so I cannot live without a complete selection of cheeses in my fridge.

What are your three favorite apps?
Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Confluence. They are all collaboration tools that we use daily and that are very complementary. They are each essential to make sure everyone is aligned on the same vision at all times.

How and where do you clear your mind?
I go outside! Any outdoor activity is what I need to clear my mind: hiking, skiing, stand-up paddleboarding. We are lucky to have the mountains and lakes next door—I can take a train or drive for half an hour and be in the most peaceful place there is.

What is the most rewarding aspect of being a founder?
Growing your project entirely from nothing. You get to be involved in every aspect—you have an impact every step of the way and to see your project grow in front of your eyes. Getting a chance to set the company culture from scratch is also a big benefit of being a founder.

Last but not least, could you show us your workspace?
Here is my co-founder Ulrike Kettenberger and me in our laboratory: 

For more information and updates on flowbone and the Venture Leaders Medtech, follow the Venture Leaders Medtech 2021 team with #VleadersMedtech on social media or subscribe to our newsletter. 
 
Venture Leaders Medtech 2021 is organized by Venturelab and supported by EPF Lausanne, ETH Zurich, Hansjörg Wyss, Kellerhals Carrard, Paul Scherrer Institut, Swissnex Boston, University Zurich, Canton of Vaud, and Canton of Zurich.