EIC Cardiogenomics Tech-to-Market event | March 16, 2026 - Leiden
On behalf of the EIC Pathfinder consortium B-specific, Amanda Foks (Div. of BioTherapeutics) obtained a Booster grant (50.000 euro) for the organization of a Cardiogenomics Tech-to-market event, which will take place on March 16 in Leiden and will be organized together with Bram Slütter, Ilze Bot from B-specific and with Gerard Pasterkamp from MIRACLE (UMC Utrecht).
Final Program
11:45 – 12:30 Walk-in and registration, lunch (Foyer) – Opening Host
12:30 – 12:35 Welcome
12:35 – 14:00 Entrepreneurship in the Cardiovascular arena
• Orsolya Symmons (EIC program manager Health and Biotechnology): The funding landscape for tech transfer in the EU
• Falk Ehman (European Medicines Agency): How EMA can accelerate your innovation
• Rianne Ellenbroek (BioGeneration Ventures): Investing in Life Sciences companies, the Venture Capital perspective
• Marc van Moorsel (TargED Biopharmaceuticals Inc.): TargED Biopharmaceuticals: from academic research to VC-backed biotech company
• Eva van Rooij (Phlox Therapeutics): Developing gene therapies for cardiomyopathy
14:00 – 14:45 Innovations in the Cardiogenomics field
• Stephanie Bezzina Wettinger (University of Malta): TargetMI: A Multi-Omics Approach for Novel Drug Targets, Biomarkers and Risk Algorithms for Myocardial Infarction
• Amanda Foks (LACDR, Leiden University) & Anja Feldmann (HZDR): B-specific: Adapter CAR T-cells targeting pathogenic B cells for CVD therapy
• Julien Barc (l’institut du thorax, INSERM): NaV1.5-CARED: Viral & Non-Viral therapeutics strategies to restore NaV1.5 function
• Gerard Pasterkamp (UMC Utrecht): MIRACLE: Translating human -omics data into drug efficacy prediction models
• Connie Bezzina (Amsterdam UMC): DCM-NEXT: Large-scale genomic studies for improved risk prediction and target identification in DCM
• Carola Carlini & Milena Bellin (University of Padova): IMPACT: hiPSC allelic series to reclassify variants of uncertain significance
• Kai Fenzl (EMBL Heidelberg): CARDIOREPAIR: High-throughput multimodal phenotyping maps the landscape of RBM20 variant effects in DCM
14:45 – 15:25 Coffee and tea break
15:25 – 16:00 Pitches future entrepreneurs
1. Nazma Ilahibaks, JAMA Therapeutics; Nanoparticle platform for cardiac gene delivery
2. Di Wu, Maastricht University, A microRNA-based strategy to prevent arteriovenous fistula/graft failure
3. Nick Geukens, KU Leuven/Hemastatx, A first-in-class ADAMTS13 antibody therapy targeting severe bleeding in patients with von Willebrand factor (VWF) disorders
4. Gerard Boink, Amsterdam UMC; PacingCure, biological pacemakers and gene therapy for ACM
5. Kaylin Palm, AtheroScreen Inc; Modelling drug effects across atherosclerotic lesions.
6. Zhifen Chen, Technical University Munich; A multilayered artery derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells for pre-clinical testing
7. Kelly Grijsbach, Viduet Health; Innovative digital monitoring tools
8. Astrid Verkaik, FutureMedics; The 3-Minute VO2max Revolution.
9. Rob Krams, CureLogic; AI assisted Personalized Medicine
10. Maria Malagkoniari, University of Athens; SmartHEALTH European Digital Innovation Hub
11. Tim Sakkers, UMC Utrecht; ReveltaDx, Improving heart disease detection in women
16:00 – 17:00 Interactive panel discussion chaired by Gerard Pasterkamp
Panel members: Marco de Boer (BioTech Booster), Falk Ehman (head of Innovation and Development Accelerator at EMA), Marc van Moorsel (TargED Biopharmaceuticals Inc.), Rianne Ellenbroek (BioGeneration Ventures), Orsolya Symmons (EIC program manager Health and Biotechnology)
17:00 – 17:05 Closure
17:05 – 19:00 Networking with drinks and foodstands