Damien Salauze has been named Findmed Operations Manager at the Brain and Spine Institute.
Damien Salauze will have two missions. The first one will consist in leading the Findmed consortium, one of the projects which stems from fifteen industrial recapture sectors decided by government. Findmed's role is to link 13 Carnot institutes' technological platforms (Pasteur, Curie, CEA, Institut du Cerveau - ICM...) with the French SMEs issued from the pharmaceutical industry sector. This consortium is coordinated by the Institut du Cerveau - ICM.
The second mission will be to implement start-ups of foreign origin within the Institut du Cerveau - ICM business incubator, and to negotiate shareholding in their capital in return for the support provided.
Former hospital intern, Damien Salauze has held various functions in pharmaceutical industry at Rhone-Poulenc which became Aventis (now Sanofi) : Leader of a toxicology department, then Senior Product Manager (launch of Taxotere®) and finally International Marketing Director. He then joined the Auriga Partners venture capital fund before becoming chief executive officer of two start-ups : Novagali Pharma and Sepal Pharma. In his last position, he was Director of the Curie Institute's patents and industrial partnerships department, and Director of the Carnot Curie-Cancer Institute.
Aged 54, he is a Pharmaceutical Doctor, Pharmacist-Biologist, holder of a University Doctorate in biotechnology obtained at the Pasteur Institute, and holds an MBA from INSEAD. He is also member of the National Academy of Pharmacy and Knight of the National Order of Merit.