Dendrogenix currently employs around 20 people, including doctors in chemistry and biology as well as consultants who are experts in preclinical and clinical pharmaceutical regulatory development.
Dendrogenix has developed international research partnerships with leading players in the field of deafness and neurology, including world-renowned academic centers such as the GIGA-Neurosciences at the University of Liège, and the University of Tübingen in Germany.
board of directors
Jean COMBALBERT, PharmD, PhD
Chairman & Independent Board Member
Jean Combalbert is PharmD and PhD received from University of Pharmacy, Marseille France
Jean has an impressive track record with over 25 years’ experience building research and development-stage biotech companies and achieving high-value exits.
Jean Combalbert is founder and non-executive director at Epics Therapeutics SA, having previously served as its founding CEO from 2017.
He is also currently non-executive Chairman of Kynos Therapeutics Ltd, Scotland and Dendrogenix SA, Belgium.
Jean was Chairman of the Board at Syndesi Therapeutics SA, Belgium from 2018 until its sale (1B$) to AbbVie in 2022.
Previously, he was CEO of Ogeda SA from 2006 until its sale (800M€) to Astellas Pharma Inc. in 2017.
Earlier in his career, Dr Combalbert held senior positions with SANOFI Research and Galderma in France and the United States.
Stéphane SILVENTE, MBA
Board Member, CEO and co-founder
Over 25 years of experience in management positions in the biotech and foodtech industries.
Stéphane previously developed breakthrough technology in the food industry, generating several patents sold to Nestlé.
In 2002, Stéphane founded and led as Chairman and CEO Affichem SA, a French biotech company which develops drug candidates in oncology, neurology and dermo-cosmetics.
In 2018, Stéphane was appointed CEO of DENDROGENIX SA.
Stéphane is graduated from the EDC Paris Business School, obtained a DESS from the University of Valenciennes and MBA from the Toulouse Business School.
Jean-Michel FOIDART, MD
Board Member
J.M. Foidart is an MD, PhD trained in Ob-Gyn, at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore - USA, and in Belgium, Finland and France.
He spent 3 years at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in Bethesda, USA.
He became in 1988, chairman of the Dept. of Cell Biology and in 1996 of the Dept. of Ob-Gyn at the University of Liege, Belgium.
Dr. Honoris Causae at la Sorbonne-Pierre et Marie Curie, (Paris 2010) and Paul Sabatier University (Toulouse 2012).
In 1999, he co-created Mithra a company now on the stock market and was the director and President of the Scientific Advisory Board.
His publications were cited more than 49.000 times with a H index of 115. He is a member of the French and Belgian Academies of Medicine of which he was the Perpetual Secretary until 2022.
He was nominated Baron in 2017, by King Philippe for his achievements.
Ingeborg HOCHMAIR, PhD
Board Member
Dr. Ingeborg Hochmair is CEO and CTO of our investment partner Medical Electronics GmbH (MED-EL), of which she is also co-founder.
Dr. Hochmair gained her PhD in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Vienna, Austria.
Together with Prof. Erwin Hochmair, she developed the first microelectronic multichannel cochlear implant (CI).
After research positions at Stanford University, USA and the University of Innsbruck, Austria, she earned the Venia Legendi for medical technology at the Technical University in Vienna.
In 2013, Dr. Hochmair was honoured for her pioneering work on CIs by receiving the Lasker-Debakey Clinical Medical Research Award.
Dr. Hochmair also holds several prizes for her scientific work along with being author of over 100 papers and inventor or co-inventor on over 40 patents.
With her preeminent knowledge in the field of hearing loss, both in the scientific and business fields, Dr. Hochmair’s contribution is central to Dendrogenix’s success.
Philippe LEFEBVRE, MD, PhD
Board Member, CEO and co-founder
Graduated Doctor of Medicine from the University of Liège in 1987, Philippe Lefebvre had already acquired experience in the field of research during his studies under the direction of Professor Gustave Moonen.
He earned the title of Doctor of Biomedical Science in 1991 after writing a paper on the neurobiology of the inner ear.
In 1991, he obtained recognition in otolaryngology.
He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York where he continued his work on the neurobiology of the inner ear and acquired advanced ear surgery skills.
In 1997, he was appointed clinical professor at the University of Liège.
In 2002, he was appointed Professor of ENT at the University of Liège and Head of the ENT Department, a position he still holds today.
Philippe Lefebvre has gained a worldwide reputation in the field of the neurobiology of the inner ear, in the pathophysiology of deafness and in the treatment of hearing loss.
Emile LORIA, MD
Board Member, CEO and co-founder
He is M.D., graduated from Paris, France. He managed the development, approval and launch of Transderm Nitro with Ciba Geigy.
In 1986 he founded MS Medical Synergy specialized in drug delivery systems leading to the success of Nicorette Transderm with Pharmacia/Cygnus. As President and CEO at Biovector, he managed the development of a nasal flu vaccine.
In 2001 he was President and CEO of Epimmune, a Nasdaq listed company which was sold to Takeda in 2007.
He cofounded and was the chairman till 2018 of OSE immunotherapeutics, a company listed on Euronext.
Dendrogenix, which he was instrumental in co-founding in 2018, is his last involvement capitalizing more than 30 years of leadership experience in the biotech industry.
Patrick STRAGIER
Board Member - Representative of Noshaq SA
Patrick Stragier is a biochemist with 30+ years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry in the areas of vaccine, recombinant protein and cell & gene therapy, both in Europe and North America.
He worked for several biopharmaceutical companies (Solvay, DSM-Biologics and Genzyme) as well as for cell & gene therapy companies (Promethera, Glycostem, Lonza and Catalent), where he occupied various technical and senior managerial positions.
He is also a co-founder of Masthercell, a Belgian based cell therapy CDMO, and joined Noshaq as investment manager in 2021.
Caroline THIELEN, PhD
Board Member - Representative of Wallonie Entreprendre
Caroline THIELEN is Investment Manager – Life Sciences at W.E (Wallonie Entreprendre) and Board Member of several biotech and medtech companies.
Over the past 20 years, Caroline has gained solid experience in coordinating research projects at national and international levels.
Prior to being appointed to her current position, she was COO of B2H, a major player in the development and reinforcement of the healthcare sector in connection with the academic research at ULiège and CHU de Liège.
Caroline holds a master’s degree in biology and a PhD in Immunology from the ULiège completed by a postdoctoral training at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Atlanta, USA).
management team
Stéphane SILVENTE, MBA
Chief Executive Officer
Philippe LEFEBVRE, MD, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Pierre ATTALI, MD, PhD
Chief Medical Officer
Nicolas CARON, PhD
Chief Development Officer
Quentin MARLIER, PhD
Head of biology department
Frédéric THIVET, MBA
Chief Financial Officer & Chief Legal Officer
Arnaud RIVES, PhD
Head of chemistry department
main partners
DENDROGENIX S.A.
Founded in 2018, Dendrogenix develop first-in-class molecules, Dendrogenins, to address high unmet medical needs in hearing loss and neurology.
© 2024 Dendrogenix
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Avenue de l’Hôpital, 11
SPS Bâtiment 34, 3e étage
4000 Liège
Belgium