Board of Directors

With the bold aspiration of bringing curative drug therapies and visionary healthcare solutions to patients worldwide, Mr. Mauvernay is president of Après-demain, the parent company of Debiopharm, a Swiss, privately owned, biopharmaceutical company founded by his father over 40 years ago. Debiopharm, with 15 ongoing drug research programs, has developed two blockbuster therapies for cancer patients, oxaliplatin and triptorelin, along with a potential 3rd Head & Neck Cancer drug currently in phase III development with an international partner.  The holding company, Après-demain, invests in a variety of industries including companies impacting sustainable energy, food, & healthcare along with real estate, via 30+ direct investments in companies as well as LP investments in more than 100 funds globally. In addition, Mr. Mauvernay brings strategic insights to the Debiopharm Innovation Fund as the chairman of the investment committee, backed by his experience as an entrepreneur in the international cosmetics industry before joining his family’s drug development business and asset diversification activities. His educational background includes a Master of Science in Economics and Marketing along with an MBA from the 'Institut d'Administration des Entreprises’.

Dr. Ducrey is CEO of Debiopharm and Senior Vice-Chairman of the Life Science activities of Après-demain, a privately-owned, mid-size biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development of novel oncology and infectious disease therapies. The Swiss based company leverages expertise in drug development, drug formulation and drug delivery within a unique business model that connects discovery research products from start-ups and universities to larger pharmaceutical companies who make medicines available to patients worldwide. His role englobes the management of the various Life Science activities of Debiopharm including drug development, drug formulation & manufacturing and digital health investment. Having joined Debiopharm in 1995, his work in various roles has contributed to two blockbuster therapies for cancer patients, oxaliplatin and triptorelin, along with a potential 3rd blockbuster drug currently in phase III research in Head & Neck cancer with an international partner. Debiopharm’s pipeline includes 15 ongoing programs in various stages of development with the aim of curing cancer and infectious diseases through innovative cellular targets and novel modes of action. His educational background includes the School of Pharmacy of Lausanne University, Switzerland followed by a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Mrs. Dowe graduated from the Helsinki University of Technology (now Aalto University) where she obtained an MSc in Microbiology & Biochemistry in 2000. Tanja has always been interested in diagnostic and smart data solutions for precisions medicines. She has held several managing positions and has 18 years of experience in building business strategies, analyzing markets, in-/out-licensing and business acquisitions with more than 80 life sciences companies. She has strong knowledge in business models and market requirements necessary to commercialize innovations in the life science markets. Prior working at Debiopharm, Tanja was the Managing Partner of Innomedica Ltd, a leading European strategy consulting company in life sciences. She joined Debiopharm Innovation Fund S.A. in 2016.

Dr Gibbs received his BSc in Applied Biology from the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology, and earned his Ph.D. in Microbial Genetics at the University of Warwick. He has spent more than two decades in the commercialization of life science technologies, split equally between the pharmaceutical industry and scientific tool developers. He has been responsible for a wide range of activities including quality assurance, operations, late-stage product development and marketing, and increasingly business development. Dr. Gibbs has broad experience in both start-ups (Cytion, Covalys, Med Discovery) and more established companies (Delta Biotechnology, Molecular Devices, Debiopharm) in Europe and the USA. He joined Debiopharm International SA in 2012.