<p>Founded in 2010, the Institut Pasteur spinout PathoQuest sold to top CRO Charles River for $70M this year, a product of years of collaboration and stepwise investments.Jean‑François tells us how the exit unfolded, as well as the importance of biosafety and CMC as pharma and biotech outsource heavily and cell and gene therapies mature. We also cover how animal testing is disappearing from CMC and how France must nurture its biotech ecosystem.</p><p>---For transparency, this episode has been sponsored by PathoQuest.---</p><p>⭐️ ABOUT THE SPEAKER</p><p>Jean-François has more than 20 years of pharma leadership under his belt. Before his ten years at PathoQuest, he was a Senior Vice-President in charge of Ipsen’s GI-oncology and endocrinology franchise.He has an engineering degree and a master’s degree in Foreign Trade.</p><p>🔗 LINKS MENTIONED</p><ul><li>CRL acquires PathoQuest (2026) — <a href="https://pathoquest.com/press-release-pathoquest-to-join-charles-river-laboratories-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://pathoquest.com/press-release-pathoquest-to-join-charles-river-laboratories-2/</a></li><li>Werner Lanthaler 🇦🇹 | Biopharma AI, CDMO, Antibody Optimization | E48 — <a href="https://flot.bio/episode/werner-lanthaler-biopharma-ai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://flot.bio/episode/werner-lanthaler-biopharma-ai/</a></li><li>Charles River Laboratories and PathoQuest Expand Strategic Biologics Partnership (2018) — <a href="https://ir.criver.com/news-releases/news-release-details/charles-river-laboratories-and-pathoquest-expand-strategic" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://ir.criver.com/news-releases/news-release-details/charles-river-laboratories-and-pathoquest-expand-strategic</a></li><li>Charles River and PathoQuest validate viral safety assay (2023) — <a href="https://ir.criver.com/news-releases/news-release-details/charles-river-and-pathoquest-announce-publication-head-head" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://ir.criver.com/news-releases/news-release-details/charles-river-and-pathoquest-announce-publication-head-head</a></li><li>Philipp Baaske, NanoTemper 🇩🇪 | Bootstrapping in Biotech | E29 — <a href="https://flot.bio/episode/philipp-baaske-nanotemper-boostrapping-biotech/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://flot.bio/episode/philipp-baaske-nanotemper-boostrapping-biotech/</a></li><li>Solexa acquisition by Illumina (2007) — <a href="https://investor.illumina.com/news/press-release-details/2006/Illumina-Signs-Definitive-Agreement-to-Acquire-Solexa/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://investor.illumina.com/news/press-release-details/2006/Illumina-Signs-Definitive-Agreement-to-Acquire-Solexa/default.aspx</a></li><li>PathoQuest US lab opens in Wayne, PA (2022) — <a href="https://pathoquest.com/pathoquest-announce-the-opening-of-its-new-u-s-facility/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://pathoquest.com/pathoquest-announce-the-opening-of-its-new-u-s-facility/</a></li><li>Thomas Ybert, DNA Script 🇫🇷 | DNA Printing &amp; Synthesis | E27 — <a href="https://flot.bio/episode/thomas-ybert-dna-script-dna-printing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://flot.bio/episode/thomas-ybert-dna-script-dna-printing/</a></li><li>Pascal Touchon 🇫🇷 | Cell Therapy, Jeito, Kymriah | E49 — <a href="https://flot.bio/episode/pascal-touchon-jeito/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://flot.bio/episode/pascal-touchon-jeito/</a></li><li>First FDA-approved CAR-T — <a href="https://www.novartis.com/news/media-releases/novartis-receives-first-ever-fda-approval-car-t-cell-therapy-kymriahtm-ctl019-children-and-young-adults-b-cell-all-refractory-or-has-relapsed-least-twice" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://www.novartis.com/news/media-releases/novartis-receives-first-ever-fda-approval-car-t-cell-therapy-kymriahtm-ctl019-children-and-young-adults-b-cell-all-refractory-or-has-relapsed-least-twice</a></li><li>Marc de Garidel, Abivax 🇫🇷 | Ulcerative Colitis, Inflammation | E46— <a href="https://flot.bio/episode/marc-de-garidel-abivax-ulcerative-colitis-inflammation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://flot.bio/episode/marc-de-garidel-abivax-ulcerative-colitis-inflammation/</a></li></ul><p>📜 TRANSCRIPT</p><p>Read the full transcript here: <a href="https://flot.bio/?post_type=episode&p=957" target="_blank" rel="external noreferrer noopener"><u>https://flot.bio/episode/jean-francois-brepson-pathoquest-cmc/</u></a></p><p>💸 DONATE</p><p>We welcome donations from individuals and businesses to support our podcast and allow us to create even more content: <a href="https://www.paypal.me/PhilipHemme" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://www.paypal.me/PhilipHemme</a></p><p>⭐️ SPONSORSHIP</p><p>Ready to amplify your brand to influential leaders in biotech and biopharma? Contact [email protected] and unlock sponsorship opportunities in our podcasts!</p><p>🫶 FOLLOW US</p><ul><li>Newsletter: <a href="http://eepurl.com/h_fnmH" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">http://eepurl.com/h_fnmH</a></li><li>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/flot-bio/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://www.linkedin.com/company/flot-bio/</a></li><li>X (Twitter): <a href="https://x.com/FlotBio" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://x.com/FlotBio</a></li></ul><p>🙏 LIKE/FOLLOW/REVIEW</p><p>Did you enjoy the episode? Please hit the like and subscribe button. Also, please let me know your thoughts in the comments below.</p><p>🎙️ABOUT FLOT.BIO</p><p>Flot.bio is a show to watch the best Europeans in biotech to help you grow. Hosted by Philip Hemme. 25k monthly views. Free.</p><p>⏰ TIMESTAMPS</p><ul><li>[00:00:00] Intro</li><li>[00:02:06] Big Pharma Is Heavily Outsourcing</li><li>[00:07:05] The $70M Charles River Acquisition</li><li>[00:11:18] CROs, PE and WuXI</li><li>[00:18:35] Biosafety with the &quot;Intel Inside&quot; Model </li><li>[00:23:50] Replacing CMC Animal Testing: How the FDA Is Boosting Business </li><li>[00:32:00] Lessons from US Expansion</li><li>[00:38:02] Biologics, Cell Therapy, and $15B of In Vivo CAR-T Bets </li><li>[00:42:59] Jean-François Brepson: From Siberia to Startup CEO</li><li>[00:56:14] Quick-Fire: Animal Testing, AI, China, Elon Musk</li></ul>