Venture Leaders Biotech 2025: Captain's blog by Kelvin Stott, Founder of Amporin

15.07.2025 16:00, Rita Longobardi

In late June, the Venture Leaders Biotech 2025 team set out for Boston with a focused mission: to connect with leading investors and experts in one of the world's top hubs for Medtech and Biotech. Today, we welcome Kelvin Stott, Team Captain and CEO of Amporin Pharmaceuticals, as he shares his firsthand experience and key takeaways from the week-long roadshow.

Michael Zering, founder of Apricot Therapeutics, Carin Lightner, founder of Enantios, and I had arrived earlier for BIO International, so we were ready to welcome the rest of the Venture Leaders Biotech 2025 team flying in from Zurich. Due to flight delays, we only managed a quick drink at the Cambria Hotel in Somerville before calling it a night — but the team was finally together in Boston.

Monday
We kicked off with breakfast and a walk to Swissnex Boston, where the Swissnex and Venturelab teams outlined the week ahead. A legal workshop by Nicolas Mosimann, Partner at Kellerhals Carrard, followed, joined by Luzius Zumstein, partner at Vischer, Yann Costa from the Office for Economic Affairs and Innovation (SPEI), and Christian Schneider from the University of Basel.

After lunch, we presented our pitches in rotating sessions with five expert investors, Doug Zingale, Mario and Juan Garcia, Joseph Lehar, and Christa Bleyleben, receiving personalized feedback. Later, we visited Bayer’s LifeHub Boston, where Alberto Nobili toured us through their futuristic innovation space on the 22nd floor of the Bayer Research and Innovation Center in Cambridge, and it soon became clear that Boston isn't just a biotech hub, but a global innovation playground. Tuesday
We spent the morning refining pitches with Andy Phillips, President and CEO of Aleksia and Nexo Therapeutics, former CEO of C4 Therapeutics and Managing Director at Cormorant Asset Management, and Ramnik Xavier, Core Institute Member at the Broad Institute, Professor at Harvard Medical School and MGH, and Director of multiple research programs in immunology and microbiome science, then headed to 5AM Ventures for another round of pitches and feedback.

Back at Swissnex, we discussed partnering strategies with Locust Walk and learned about US patent law from Angelyn Larkin (Lando & Anastasi).

In the evening, the Biotech Pitch Fest brought together 100+ investors and stakeholders. Faouzi Khechana, founder of HemostOD, and Carin Lightner (Enantios) were voted top presenters. The event was a highlight, with strong energy, connections, and feedback all around.

                      

Wednesday
We pitched to the team at RA Capital over breakfast with more insightful Q&A, then continued to Arnold & Porter for a legal session and additional pitches to investors from Knightsbridge Advisers, GrayBella, Agent Capital, Aurelia Foundry, and CBT Advisors. Michael Zering, Co-Founder and CEO of Apricot Therapeutics, was voted best pitch.

The day ended with tapas and cocktails hosted by Todd Boudreau, partner at Arnold & Porter, wrapping up another full and engaging day.
 
Thursday
We began with Seth Lewis from Molecular Partners, who shared lessons from building a DARPin biotech. At the Wyss Institute at Harvard, we pitched to team Ally Chang, Sam Inverso, Bill Bedell, and Paul Resnick — whose direct feedback emphasized the importance of clearly defined customer problems.

Later, we visited Biognosys in Newton, where Nigel Beaton and Jan Muntel shared their Boston expansion journey. The day concluded with a BBQ dinner in the Seaport district, hosted again by Todd Boudreau, joined by Michael Kurdziel, Managing Partner at Participant.



Friday – Final pitches and farewell
A planned visit to AbbVie Ventures was canceled (minor incident with a deer!), but we wrapped up with final pitches at Nextech Ventures... the team performed impressively— a strong closing to the week.



As some stayed in Boston and others headed back to Zurich, we all left with deeper networks, sharper pitches, and a renewed sense of direction. Huge thanks to Venturelab, partners, and everyone who made this week possible. As I told the others upon landing — I hope to see many of you again soon, maybe even at your IPO celebrations... perhaps back in Boston.

                   

My key takeaways from the Venture Leaders Biotech roadshow 2025 in Boston:

1. The biotech investment market is quite stuck right now, so survival and perserverence are key until the market picks up again.
2. Fundraising is constant networking and communication.
3. Piching is practice, practice, practice.
4. Ask for investment and you'll get advice, but ask for advice and you will get investment.
5. Everyone will have a different opinion, and it will be impossible to keep everyone happy, so listen to all advice but build your own unique story.
6. Keep the big vision in mind, but focus on how you will solve a specific problem for a specific subset of customers in the first instance.
7. Strong links to Boston are critical if you want to make it big in biotech.
8. You never know when the next opportunity will come, but it will always come from building real connections.