Deinove

Jacques Biton, Chief Executive Officer

Prior to joining Deinove, Jacques Biton had co-founded the contract pharmaceutical research organization Oroxcell in 2004. He had previously acquired in-depth biotech experience within a number of multinational companies. His last position of this type was as Project Team Leader and then Group Manager in the anti-infectives field at Aventis, where he patented and developed several enzyme and cell-based assays. He had previously helped set up a nutrition research centre (dedicated to the enzymology-chemistry interface), which he subsequently ran for 10 years. During this period, he patented 2 new low-calorie sugar substitutes for human use. He then developed the production process up to the preindustrial (100-kg) scale. In addition to solid scientific and technical experience, Jacques Biton possesses significant expertise in establishing and management international scientific collaborations with both industrial and academic partners. He is the author of 7 international patents covering new biochemical assays and applications in bioconversion. Jacques Biton holds a first degree in Biochemistry and a PhD in Enzyme Engineering from the Compiegne University of Technology.

Alain Chevallier, Chief Financial Officer

Alain Chevallier is an alumnus of HEC School of Management. He has spent his entire career in the pharmaceutical industry, with 30 years at Roussel-Uclaf, Hoechst Marion Roussel, Aventis and sanofi-aventis, where he alternated between CFO and COO posts in the group's subsidiaries in France, Latin America, Japan and Germany. He joined the Aventis Pharma SA Management Board with responsibility for finance (1999-2004) and then served as CFO of Sanofi-Aventis France (2004-2007). Since 2007, he has been providing consultancy services to life science start-ups and also advises a number of private equity funds on their investment strategies in the healthcare sector. Alain Chevallier is notably a Board member at Splicos (France), Bioring (Suisse) and Opalia (Tunisia).

Angelita de Francisco, Director of Operations and Marketing Strategy

Prior to joining Deinove, Angelita de Francisco has been Secretary General of France Biotech, the French Biotechnoloy Industry Association, from 2000 to 2008. She contributed to the adoption of the Young Innovative Company status and to the transformation of the association of French biotech companies into a strong and dynamic network and constructive lobbying organization. Angelita de Francisco has an extensive experience in internationally-oriented and multicultural organizations, in corporate communications, institutional and media relations, market and economic intelligence and in project management.  Angelita de Francisco graduated in Biology of Populations and Organisms from the University of Science and Technology in Montpellier and went on to complete a Master Degree in Scientific Communication at the University of Paris 7, both serving her carreer oriented to serving high-tech companies.

Michael Krel, Executive Vice-President, Business Development

Before joining Deinove, Michael Krel was manager in charge of Business Development at Metabolic Explorer, a biotech company focused on the development of processes and products in the green chemistry area. More particularly, he has largely contributed to the development of projects abroad and more specifically in Asia. During this period, he has also participated to the setup of the commercial and partnership strategy. Before that, Michael Krel was involved in the development of a consulting company focused on strategic and organizational issues linked to highly technological backgrounds, where he notably worked with major French industrial groups of energy and materials such as Saint Gobain, Total or Suez. Michael Krel is graduated from Ecole Polytechnique and got a Ph D in organic chemistry.

Jean-Paul Leonetti, Chief Scientific Officer

Prior to joining Deinove, Jean-Paul Leonetti has lead a research group at the CBPS (Study Center for Pathogens and Biotechnologies in Health, Montpellier Faculty of Pharmacy). He started his career with the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) at the Molecular Genetics Institute of Montpellier. After working on more fundamental aspects of bacteriology while at the University of California in San Diego (UCSD), he joined the CPBS and developed his research in this domain. Jean-Paul Leonetti has authored over 40 articles in peer-reviewed publications and is cited as an inventor on 8 patents. He has been awarded several prizes, including the CNRS Bronze Medal and the 2004 ADER Innovation Prize for his commitment to the exploitation of public-sector research. He has collaborated with Deinove with its inception.