Capital & Innovation workshop





Workshops

Monday, 12 October 2026 15:00 – 18:10

W1: Capital & Innovation at SCOPE Europe* (IN-PERSON ONLY)

As clinical research across Europe evolves, combining AI-powered decision tools, real-world data, decentralized frameworks, patient-focused engagement, and digital operational model, the demand for coordinated investment and cross-sector partnership continues to intensify. This workshop gathers venture investors, growth and corporate funds, biotech founders, CRO and site leaders, and clinical-operations executives to examine strategic investment areas, operational barriers, and new partnership pathways supporting next-generation clinical-trial operations and technologies throughout Europe. Through concentrated discussions, market analysis, and curated networking, attendees will identify priority opportunities for collaboration, evaluate commercial and scaling considerations, and explore partnership approaches that align investors, innovators, CROs, and biopharma stakeholders. *Separate registration required
15:00 Welcome and Introduction
Micah Lieberman, Executive Director, SCOPE, Cambridge Healthtech Institute
15:05 Part I – Understanding the Funding Landscape
Rana Lonnen, Life Sciences and Healthcare Investor
Srujan Jamindar, Executive Director, Venture Engagement, Biotech Solutions, Clinical Research Group, PPD Part of Thermo Fisher Scientific

Where is capital flowing across European clinical trial technology, services, and biotech today, and how has the environment shifted? A market-level view of the 2026 landscape across venture, corporate venture, public funding, and pharma partnerships. Discussion points:

  • Where the money is going: Which technologies, service models, therapeutic areas, and stages are attracting capital in 2026, and which are struggling to raise.
  • Europe versus the US: How syndicate sizes, valuations, investor appetite, and exit routes differ, and why companies still cross the Atlantic to raise and list.
  • The changing capital stack: How venture, corporate venture, non-dilutive public funding, strategic investment, and pharma partnerships fit together across a company's life.​
Panel Moderator
Rana Lonnen, Life Sciences and Healthcare Investor
Panelist
Srujan Jamindar, Executive Director, Venture Engagement, Biotech Solutions, Clinical Research Group, PPD Part of Thermo Fisher Scientific
16:00 Networking Break
16:15 Part II – How to Raise Capital for Clinical Trial Innovation and Biotech
Moe Alsumidaie, Chief Editor, Editorials, Clinical Trial Vanguard
Maria Koutsopoulou, Senior Vice President, Head of Global Development Operations, Merck KGaA

What does it actually take to get a round closed? Raising for a clinical trial technology or services business and raising for a clinical-stage biotech means different investors, different proof points, and different timelines, and founders routinely pitch the wrong one. This session covers both paths, with a recently closed Series C walked through from both sides of the table as the worked example. Discussion points:​

  • Inside one round: A recently closed Series C from both sides of the table, what the investor needed to see and what the company actually did to get there.
  • Technology or therapeutics: How proof points, investor type, syndicate construction, and timelines differ between the two paths, and which one you are actually on.
  • What kills a raise: The avoidable mistakes founders make on timing, valuation expectations, business plan realism, and running out of runway mid-process.​
Panel Moderator
Moe Alsumidaie, Chief Editor, Editorials, Clinical Trial Vanguard
Panelist
Maria Koutsopoulou, Senior Vice President, Head of Global Development Operations, Merck KGaA
17:10 Part III – Why Europe? The Opportunity for Clinical Trial Innovation
Srujan Jamindar, Executive Director, Venture Engagement, Biotech Solutions, Clinical Research Group, PPD Part of Thermo Fisher Scientific
Maria Koutsopoulou, Senior Vice President, Head of Global Development Operations, Merck KGaA

Europe has the science, the trial infrastructure, and the public funding vehicles. It still loses companies to the US. What has to change for the next generation of clinical research innovation to be developed, funded, and scaled here? Discussion points:

  • What Europe already has: World-class science, healthcare data at a scale the US cannot match, deep trial infrastructure, and public-private funding vehicles with no US equivalent.
  • What is holding Europe back: Fragmentation across national regulatory, procurement, and reimbursement systems, slower adoption, and a growth capital gap that pushes companies elsewhere.
  • What each side can do: Concrete moves available to regulators, pharma, investors, CROs, sites, and public-private partnerships to keep European innovation in Europe.​
Panel Moderator
Srujan Jamindar, Executive Director, Venture Engagement, Biotech Solutions, Clinical Research Group, PPD Part of Thermo Fisher Scientific
Panelist
Maria Koutsopoulou, Senior Vice President, Head of Global Development Operations, Merck KGaA
18:05 Closing and Next Steps for 2027
Micah Lieberman, Executive Director, SCOPE, Cambridge Healthtech Institute

INSTRUCTOR BIOGRAPHIES:

Photo of Jacky Vonderscher, PhD, Co-Founder & CEO, ENYO Pharma
Jacky Vonderscher, PhD, Co-Founder & CEO, ENYO Pharma
Jacky Vonderscher is Co-Founder and CEO of ENYO Pharma and an experienced pharmaceutical and biotechnology executive with more than 40 years of R&D and drug development experience. Prior to ENYO Pharma, he held senior leadership positions at Roche, including Senior Vice President and Head of Translational Research Sciences, following nearly three decades in senior roles at Novartis/Sandoz in Switzerland and the United States. He played a leading role in the development of Sandimmun Neoral® and is a co-inventor on patents related to Myfortic® and everolimus. He holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Geneva and an engineering degree in Biological Chemistry from INSA Lyon.
Photo of Jean-Christophe Renondin, MD, Managing Partner, Vesalius Biocapital IV
Jean-Christophe Renondin, MD, Managing Partner, Vesalius Biocapital IV
Dr. Jean-Christophe Renondin is an accomplished and seasoned healthcare investor with over 20 years of relevant experience. Prior to joining Vesalius Biocapital IV, he was the Senior Healthcare Manager at the Oman Investment Authority (OIA), the Sovereign Fund of Oman, in charge of healthcare investments. Prior to this, he was Managing Director at Bryan Garnier & Co a pan-European investment bank in charge of the healthcare practice leading ECM and private placement transactions for European healthcare clients. He was also General Partner at CDC Innovation, investing in various European healthcare assets. From 1999 to 2005, he was Vice President at Sofinov, a subsidiary of the Caisse de Depot et Placement of Quebec (CDPQ), leading the healthcare investment fund, and Managing Director at MDS Capital, one of the leading healthcare investment firms in Canada. Jean-Christophe was also the General Manager of different international subsidiaries for Servier Laboratories, in Ireland and South Africa, and was at JP Morgan in the Healthcare Equity Research and Corporate Finance departments in New York. He earned his Medical’s Doctorate degree (MD) from Paris V Descartes University and his MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration.
Photo of Lawrence Tallon, CEO, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
Lawrence Tallon, CEO, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
Lawrence Tallon is the Chief Executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). He was previously Deputy Chief Executive at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, where he led the Trust’s approach to strategy, technology, innovation, and improvement. He has extensive experience across the healthcare sector in strategy and leadership roles, including within the Department of Health and Social Care alongside ministers and NHS leaders. Lawrence is committed to patient safety and healthcare innovation, as well as life sciences and risk-proportionate regulation.
Photo of Maria Koutsopoulou, Senior Vice President, Head of Global Development Operations, Merck KGaA
Maria Koutsopoulou, Senior Vice President, Head of Global Development Operations, Merck KGaA
Maria Koutsopoulou is heading Global Development Operations (GDO) within the healthcare business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. In this role, Maria leads and manages all operations related to the conduct of Merck KGaA/EMD Serono clinical study portfolio – from Phase I to Phase IV studies, including investigator-sponsored studies (ISSs), in all therapeutic areas. Maria’s remit also includes bringing highly innovative, patient-centric operational designs and approaches to the development programs while overseeing operational and clinical data flow as well as utilizing technology and digital innovations to accelerate and simplify studies across the portfolio. Maria has more than 25 years of global clinical development experience in both the CRO and pharma industry, from early development to post-launch. She has a keen focus on accelerating drug development, elevating the R&D efficiency to the next level and she brings an entrepreneurial and innovative spirit to serve patients in need. In previous roles, she successfully led various clinical operations functions at the local, regional, and global levels.
Photo of Matthieu Ruffin, Vice President, Head Study Leadership, Novartis
Matthieu Ruffin, Vice President, Head Study Leadership, Novartis
Matthieu Ruffin is a seasoned professional with 20 years of experience in clinical operations within large and mid-size pharmaceutical companies. He has strong leadership skills, having led global study leadership and development operations. Matthieu has successfully driven clinical operations strategies and delivered on business goals across key therapeutic areas and various types of clinical trials, from early- to late-phase trials. Currently, Matthieu serves as the Vice President, Head Study Leadership at Novartis, where he leads the global Study Leadership organization to ensure timely and quality execution and delivery of global clinical trials across all Novartis Development programs. He is accountable for the Novartis Clinical Trial Team model, related tools, and operational excellence. Matthieu ensures cross-functional excellence in clinical trial execution and leads the biospecimen scientist organization responsible for the operational execution of clinical biospecimen samples. Previously, Matthieu held the position of Global Head Development Operations, at Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA), a Novartis company, where he led the Development Operations organization focusing on RadioLigand Therapy (RLT). He was accountable for delivering clinical trials from early to late phases in the AAA portfolio and drove timely and efficient trial execution in collaboration with global medical affairs, legal, research, and regulatory affairs functions. Matthieu holds a Postgraduate Degree in Combinatorial Chemistry and Drug Design, and a Master of Science Degree in Analytical and Organic Chemistry from the University of Orléans in France.
Photo of Micah Lieberman, Executive Director, SCOPE, Cambridge Healthtech Institute
Micah Lieberman, Executive Director, SCOPE, Cambridge Healthtech Institute
Micah has 20 years of experience in the biopharma industry. He is an Executive Director at Cambridge Healthtech Institute (CHI) where he is a producer, content developer, and facilitator of the Summit for Clinical Ops Executives (SCOPE), the leading event in the US and Europe for biopharmaceutical industry executives focused on driving innovation in clinical trials and digital health. On a daily basis, he builds a broad community of clinical research stakeholders and industry thought leaders, performs market research, and ascertains ever-changing industry trends in clinical trial optimization, clinical innovation, patient recruitment, digital health, drug development, clinical trial technology, and population health. He is also the Co-founder and Vice President of Community and Business Development of ClinEco. ClinEco unites sponsors, CROs, service providers, and sites on the world's first B2B global clinical trial marketplace so each can expand clinical partnerships. SCOPE and ClinEco are owned by Cambridge Healthtech Institute (CHI). Please join our SCOPE and ClinEco communities! https://clineco.io/; www.SCOPEsummit.com; www.SCOPEsummiteurope.com
Photo of Moe Alsumidaie, Chief Editor, Editorials, Clinical Trial Vanguard
Moe Alsumidaie, Chief Editor, Editorials, Clinical Trial Vanguard
Moe Alsumidaie, currently the Chief Editor at The Clinical Trial Vanguard, is dedicated to providing the clinical research community with the latest and most detailed information on clinical trials. His extensive experience includes leading roles in enhancing clinical trial processes through innovative technology and strategic management. As the Head of Research at CliniBiz, he has significantly improved the efficiency and affordability of clinical trials using automation and AI, and at Annex Clinical, Moe spearheads the development of advanced data integration and visualization solutions. His career also includes impactful tenures at Applied Clinical Trials Magazine as an Editorial Advisory Board Member, as a guest lecturer at Rutgers University, and at leading organizations such as Stanford, Mt. Sinai, Abbott, Roche and Genentech, where he has been instrumental in optimizing clinical operations and implementing novel procedures in clinical trials quality control.
Photo of Rana Lonnen, Life Sciences and Healthcare Investor
Rana Lonnen, Life Sciences and Healthcare Investor
Rana Lonnen is a healthcare technology investor, entrepreneur, and molecular biologist. At Novartis, she leads strategic investments in technology companies, on a mission to transform the healthcare ecosystem and make positive impact on people’s lives. Previously, Rana was Head of Preclinical Development at a UK biotech, Auspherix; investment consultant to IP Group in London; Founder and CSO of a UK-based Biotech, Axendos therapeutics. Prior to this, she was a Wellcome Trust-backed principal investigator in drug discovery in the field of Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation, author and inventor on high impact peer-reviewed publications and patents; before this, Rana worked at Bristol-Myers Squibb, in sales and marketing. Rana holds a PhD in molecular biology and an MBA from Imperial College London. She personally cares about equitable healthcare, social justice, sustainability, and the future of antimicrobial resistance. In her downtime, Rana likes to make culinary experiments, be in nature, and read. Rana is a board observer at Aktana, Cota Healthcare, H1 Insights, Koneksa, Mekonos, NuvoAir, and Dopavision. She is based out of Basel, Switzerland.
Photo of Srujan Jamindar, Executive Director, Venture Engagement, Biotech Solutions, Clinical Research Group, PPD Part of Thermo Fisher Scientific
Srujan Jamindar, Executive Director, Venture Engagement, Biotech Solutions, Clinical Research Group, PPD Part of Thermo Fisher Scientific
Srujan (Sru) Jamindar serves as Executive Director of Venture Engagement within the clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific. In that role, he manages relationships with venture capital firms that PPD-Thermo Fisher has partnered with. He is responsible for actualizing commercial and strategic success from VC partnerships and provides strategic direction to current and future VC relationships. Sru joined the business in 2021, prior to which he managed the portfolio of strategic alliances and investments at BCBSNC. Prior to that, he held roles in commercial finance and alliance management at Syneos Health. Earlier in his career at IQVIA Sru held roles of increasing impact, starting as an analyst in the Quintiles-NovaQuest venture arm and the corporate development group, and culminating with a director role on the strategic pricing and partnering team. Prior to entering the CRO world, Sru worked in genome sequencing and bioinformatics for biotech startups Athenix and Paradigm Genetics. Sru holds a Finance MBA and a BS in Biochemistry from North Carolina State University. During his undergraduate studies, he conducted research at the NIH on the induction of apoptosis in cancer cells.
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Who Should Attend

INVESTMENT FIRMS:
Venture Capitalists
Angel Investors
Private Equity Firms
Investment Banks
Senior Investors (Managing Partners/Directors & General Partners)
Investors (Partners, Investors & Principals)
Private Marketing Investing
Portfolio Advisors (Venture & Operating Partners)

CORPORATIONS:
National Government Agencies
Hospitals (Venture & Innovation)
Large Pharma (Clinical, Venture & Innovation)
Small and Mid-Size Biopharma C-Suite Executives
Business Development Heads (SVPs, VPs & Directors)
Innovation & Strategy Managers (SVPs, VPs & Directors)
Corporate Venture Leaders (Managing Directors, Partners & Directors)

START-UPS and GROWTH COMPANIES:
Emerging Company Leaders from Biotech, Digital/AI Health Innovation
Founders & CEOs
C-Suite Executives (CFOs, CSOs, CIOs, CTOs, etc.)
Innovation & Strategy Managers (SVPs, VPs & Directors)

Attendee Demographics

Following the tremendous success of our U.S.-based Clinical Trial Venture, Innovation & Partnering Conference, part of the long-running SCOPE Summit, we are excited to bring this highly regarded program to Europe.

This expansion reflects strong demand from investors, pharma leaders, and innovators for a dedicated forum focused on clinical trial investment, innovation, and strategic partnerships. Building on the proven U.S. model, the European edition will deliver the same high-impact, executive-level experience: connecting key stakeholders, surfacing breakthrough opportunities, and driving the future of clinical research across global markets.

Micah Lieberman
Executive Director, SCOPE
mlieberman@healthtech.com