With the Coffee Break series, we dive into the stories of EIC innovators and get a glimpse of the people behind EIC projects. Today’s guest is Cristiana Pires, Co-founder & CEO at Asgard Therapeutics, a leading biotech company exploring the application of direct cell reprogramming technologies for cancer immunotherapies. The company was the winner of the EIC ePitching with Investors on Cancer Treatment and Cancer Prevention during this year’s event on 23 March 2023.
After participating in the EIC ePitching with Investors event, Cristiana Pires from Asgard Therapeutics won the ePitching session dedicated to Cancer Treatment and Cancer Prevention. Find out more about her story in this EIC Coffee Break edition.
Can you tell us how the idea for your innovation started? Was it something that was bouncing in the back of your head for a long time?
Me and the other two Co-founders, Fábio Rosa and Filipe Pereira, started working together in 2015 at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. The three of us are interested in cell reprogramming technologies, and their ability to manipulate cell fate, but we were also passionate about developing a translating our findings into a new therapeutic strategy. Cell reprogramming had been mostly explored for regenerative medicine uses at the time. So, we envisioned generating immune cells by direct reprogramming, opening avenues to manipulate the immune system. In 2017, we moved to Lund University in Sweden to continue our research and in December 2018 we established Asgard Therapeutics as a spin-off of Lund University pioneering in-vivo direct reprogramming for cancer immunotherapies.
How did your family respond to your ideas/innovation?
I’m a pharmacist by training but have always been a scientist and did my PhD in cell reprogramming. When I finished my PhD, I realised I´m passionate about science but I didn´t see myself continuing in the academic setting long-term. I aimed at translating scientific findings and giving my contribution to society. So, when the opportunity to create and be leading Asgard Therapeutics came along, I thought it was a good challenge and aligned with my personal motivation. Even though my family was puzzled at first, I’ve been the company's CEO since the beginning, so now they are super supportive and completely understand my choices because they have seen the progress so far and enthusiastically look forward to the next steps.
Who or what shaped you?
My parents, of course, by guiding me by their example that there are no limits to what we can dream and achieve if we really commit ourselves to our goals. In being CEO of a Swedish biotech company, perhaps being Portuguese also played an important role. Being abroad with no previous network or safety net, I have tried to maximise all the opportunities that come my way and not simply wait for things to fall on my lap. Moreover, having the personal motivation of wanting to help those who suffer from cancer, trying to find new scientific approaches and giving my contribute to society.
Can you tell us a little bit about a tough moment you had at the company and how you managed to push through this?
When you start a company there are always challenging moments – it’s a rollercoaster. Some things go well, and others require the right amount of energy to solve once they knock on your door.
Being a scientist, I’m accustomed to expecting the unexpected. It comes with the scientific process. When you start a company, the path is similar. You always need to push through the more difficult times. For instance, raising money for a company is one of those tricky moments. You believe in your innovation, but there are always a lot of steps and iterations during the process (meetings, talking with investors, receiving feedback, pitching your solution, etc.).
When you start, you don’t know a lot of people and you have never done it before, so it can feel a bit daunting. However, it’s just a matter of pushing through until your time comes.
What advice can you give to people who are currently playing with the idea of starting a company or research project?
I would say, don’t do it alone. I was lucky to have had my 2 Co-founders with me along the way that were always heavily involved and knew how to work as a team. Because at the end of the day, it’s all about having the right team with you (that are motivated and share the same vision or have the same aspirations).
Also, make sure to step outside of your comfort zone. Go meet the right people, take advantage of the opportunities that arise and try to get mentorship and learn from it too. It will help you in the future.
What are you currently reading or what book inspires you the most, be it personal or professional?
I’m currently reading a book called How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, a classical book that offers practical advice and techniques for how to behave and communicate to be successful in life and make it more rewarding. It's an interesting read and quite relevant for me, as well, on how to manage people in a team, investors, partners and so on.
If you could talk business over lunch with either a large CEO or global leader, who would you choose and why?
I would love to have lunch with Katalin Karikó, given her seminal scientific work in the RNA field and her contribution to BioNTech´s vaccine programs.
About the EIC Business Acceleration Services
This opportunity is brought to you by the EIC Business Acceleration Services. To explore other opportunities to connect with investors in Europe keep an eye on our events page and head to the EIC Community website to read previous Coffee Break articles.
DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.