Contact
Joël Besse
www.linkedin.com/in/joelbesse Angel Investor in Life Sciences Startups: (Pre-)Seed, Series A. VC
(LinkedIn) funds advisor.
London, England, United Kingdom
Top Skills
Medtech Summary
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Over the past 33 years, Joël Besse has dedicated his career to
Healthcare
the advancement of life sciences through various roles including
investor, co-founder, manager, and advisor of startup companies
Languages
and venture-capital funds. His passion and expertise have been
French
instrumental in the growth and success of a number of emerging
English
companies and VC funds in this sector.
Spanish
Joël began his professional journey as an auditor with Arthur
Andersen and Credit Lyonnais in Paris. He then transitioned into
venture capital, becoming the Managing Director of SED Ventures,
which was later acquired by Paul Capital. Here, Joël oversaw a
portfolio of investments in biotech and medtech startups based in
France and the United States.
His venture capital journey continued at Atlas Venture, where he
served as a Managing Partner leading the European Life Sciences
team of the $2b firm. In this role, Joël led seed to Series B financings
and held board positions in multiple life sciences startups.
Among his portfolio were notable companies such as Actelion Ltd,
Newron Pharmaceuticals SPA, Nitec Pharma AG, Novamed Pharma
Inc, U3 Pharma AG, Novuspharma SpA and Novexel SA. These
companies, through acquisitions and their own efforts, led to the
lauch of multiple innovative and life-saving medicines, on global
markets.
Joël currently leads Momentum Biotech, a group of private investors
focusing on impact-driven, life-sciences startup companies. From
2018 until 2023, he served as CEO and later Chairman of the
Board of NFL Biosciences SA (PA: ALNFL), a company developing
botanical medicines against addictions.
Page 1 of 6
Joël holds an MSc in Aerospace Engineering from ISAE-SUPAERO
and an MSc in Theoretical Mechanics.
Experience
Save the Children Global Ventures
Advisor
December 2023 - Present (6 months)
Longlive
Angel Investor
December 2022 - Present (1 year 6 months)
London, England, United Kingdom
Momentum Biotech
Founder
October 2015 - Present (8 years 8 months)
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Angel investors in life sciences, foodtech and deeptech startups. Seed, Series
A, recap.
Global Health Investment Corporation
Senior Advisor
November 2021 - Present (2 years 7 months)
New York, New York, United States
Affas Besse Advisors Ltd
Director
June 2007 - Present (17 years)
London, United Kingdom
Healthcare consulting company.
MAG4HEALTH
Angel Investor
December 2022 - Present (1 year 6 months)
Grenoble, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
Ramify
Angel Investor
July 2022 - Present (1 year 11 months)
Paris, Île-de-France, France
Page 2 of 6
Core Biogenesis
Angel Investor
February 2022 - Present (2 years 4 months)
Strasbourg, Grand Est, France
BrainTale
Angel Investor
December 2021 - Present (2 years 6 months)
Strasbourg, Grand Est, France
Therafast
Angel Investor
September 2021 - Present (2 years 9 months)
Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
Adjuvant therapy for combination chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
QurCan Therapeutics Inc.
Angel Investor
April 2021 - Present (3 years 2 months)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Astrocyte Pharmaceuticals
Angel Investor
December 2020 - Present (3 years 6 months)
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Owkin
Advisor
July 2016 - Present (7 years 11 months)
Owkin is an AI biotechnology company that uses artificial intelligence to find
the right treatment for every patient. We bridge shared innovation challenges
between biopharma and academic researchers and close the translational
gap between complex biology and new drugs. We use AI to identify new
treatments, de-risk and accelerate clinical trials and build diagnostic tools that
improve patient outcomes. Using federated learning, a pioneering collaborative
AI framework, Owkin enables medical and biopharma partners to unlock
valuable insights from siloed datasets while protecting patient privacy and
securing proprietary data.
CeQur
Page 3 of 6
Co Founder
January 2008 - Present (16 years 5 months)
Horw, Switzerland
CeQur is revolutionizing mealtime insulin delivery for people with type 1 and
type 2 diabetes. Headquartered in Horw, Switzerland, with US Operational
Headquarters in Greenville, South Carolina, CeQur is committed to making
it easy for people with diabetes to adhere to an insulin regimen that keeps
their blood glucose well controlled. Our product, CeQur Simplicity™, is a
convenient, discreet, and injection-free insulin delivery solution backed by
years of research, patient trials, and clinical data.
NFL BIOSCIENCES SA
Chairman Of The Board Of Directors
May 2021 - February 2023 (1 year 10 months)
Montpellier, Occitanie, France
NFL Biosciences is a biopharmaceutical company based in the Montpellier
area which develops botanical drug candidates for the treatment of addictions.
NFL Biosciences' ambition is to bring new, natural, safer and more effective
therapeutic solutions to the entire world population, including low- and
middle-income countries. Its most advanced product, called NFL-101, is
a standardized, nicotinefree tobacco leaf extract protected by two patent
families. NFL Biosciences intends to offer smokers who want to quit a natural,
safe, easy-to-administer and personalized alternative. NFL Biosciences is
also developing NFL-301, a natural drug candidate for the reduction of alcohol
consumption and has a drug development project for the treatment of cannabis
use disorders. The shares of NFL Biosciences are listed on Euronext Growth
Paris (FR0014003XT0 – ALNFL). Find out more at www.nflbiosciences.com
ANGELS SANTE - HEALTH ANGELS FRANCE
Member
September 2020 - September 2021 (1 year 1 month)
Paris, Île-de-France, France
NFL Biosciences SAS
President (CEO)
July 2018 - May 2021 (2 years 11 months)
Montpellier, France
NH TherAguix
Angel investor, advisor
November 2016 - March 2019 (2 years 5 months)
Page 4 of 6
Lyon Area, France
Radiosensitizing and imaging nanoparticle administered IV. Phase 1b in brain
metastases successfully completed. Phase 2 in cervical cancer and Phase 2
for brain metastasis ongoing.
Atlas Venture
Managing Partner
June 1995 - June 2007 (12 years 1 month)
London, United Kingdom
Head of European Life Sciences Team
Actelion
Director
April 1998 - April 2004 (6 years 1 month)
SED Ventures
VP Finance, Managing Director
April 1991 - March 1995 (4 years)
Paris Area, France
VC firm investing internationally in biotech and medtech startups. Acquired by
Paul Capital.
Credit Lyonnais
Auditor
July 1990 - March 1991 (9 months)
Paris, Île-de-France, France
Trading floor auditor
Arthur Andersen & Co.
Auditor
July 1989 - July 1990 (1 year 1 month)
Paris, Île-de-France, France
Banks Finance division
Education
ISAE-SUPAERO
Master of Engineering (M.Eng.), Missile and Space Systems
Technology · (1986 - 1988)
Page 5 of 6
Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse III)
M.Sc., Theoretical Mechanics · (1984 - 1986)
Page 6 of 6
