Key Founders & Partners

Our team of co-founders is comprised of experienced dermatology and scientific experts with a mission to redefine immuno-dermatology.

Key Dermatology and Scientific Experts

Thibaud Portal

Chief Operating Officer

Thibaud Portal

Chief Operating Officer

Thibaud is a co-founder and serves as COO and acting CEO of Alys Pharmaceuticals, having previously co-founded and/or served as CEO of four of the comprising companies, Aldena Therapeutics, Graegis Pharmaceuticals, Granular Therapeutics and Klirna Biotech. Thibaud is a Venture Partner at Medicxi and has had an extended career in the dermatology space.

After obtaining his PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from Wayne State University in Michigan and his postdoctoral assignment at the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, Thibaud went on to hold various roles in his 24 years at Galderma, including Global Head of Research and Global Head of Development Strategy and led multiple global approvals of dermatological drugs. He thereafter led the Prescription Medicines Global Business Unit of Galderma where he transformed the prescription pipeline, portfolio.

John Harris

Chief Scientific Advisor

John Harris

Chief Scientific Advisor

Dr. Harris is a Founder, Investor, and Chief Scientific Advisor at Alys Pharmaceuticals. He has extensive experience in the field of dermatology, serving as Professor and Chair of the Department of Dermatology at Mass General Brigham, the largest dermatology department in the United States. He is a specialist in vitiligo, managing patients in a weekly Vitiligo Clinic and advising industry on the development of novel therapeutics for vitiligo, including the first FDA-approved treatment for the disease.

His NIH-funded research team uses basic, translational, and clinical research approaches to better understand autoimmune pathogenesis, in particular the mechanisms that drive autoimmunity in vitiligo. Their publications reflect this overall strategy, including basic mechanistic studies in the Journal of Immunology and Journal of Investigative Dermatology, human tissues research in Science Translational Medicine and the Journal of Experimental Medicine, clinical studies in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, as well as clinical trials in The Lancet and New England Journal of Medicine, among others.

Dr. Harris has been recognized for his basic research by the NIH Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), received the AAD Marion B. Sulzberger Award for conducting basic science research that has changed the practice of medicine, and was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI) in recognition of his contribution to clinical advancement through translational research. A serial entrepreneur, he founded Villaris Therapeutics (acquired in 2022), Vimela Therapeutics, Aldena Therapeutics, NIRA Biosciences, and KliRNA Biotech.

Lars French

Acting Chief Medical Officer

Lars French

Acting Chief Medical Officer

Prof. French is Chief Medical Officer at Alys Pharmaceuticals. He is a clinician-scientist and the current professor and chairman of the Department of Dermatology at the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) in Munich, Germany. Prof. French graduated from the University of Geneva and trained in internal medicine, basic research, and dermatology at the University of Geneva. In 2006 he was nominated as Louis-Jeantet Professor of Medicine at the University of Geneva, in 1999 he spent a year at the Department of Dermatology of the University of Pennsylvania, and between 2006 and 2018 he was professor and chairman of the Department of Dermatology of the Zurich University Hospital, Switzerland.

He is an expert in inflammatory skin diseases and author of over 320 original publications with an h-index of 54, over 13000 citations, and is ranked by Stanford University among the top 2% of scientists globally – all disciplines confounded. In 2012 he was awarded the Otto Naegeli Prize for the promotion of medical research, one of Switzerland’s most prestigious scientific awards.

Brian Kim

Brian S. Kim, MD, MTR, FAAD is Vice Chair of Research, Department of Dermatology, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Director of the Mark Lebwohl Center for Neuroinflammation and Sensation. Dr. Kim is one of the top researchers worldwide in the study of patients with itch and other skin conditions. Dr. Kim was previously Co-Director, Center for the Study of Itch and Sensory Disorders, Associate Professor of Medicine, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, and Associate Professor of Pathology and Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine, Division of Dermatology in St. Louis, MO.

The recipient of numerous honors and awards, Dr. Kim most recently received the American Skin Association Research Achievement Award in Discovery in 2020 and the American Dermatological Association Young Leadership Award in 2019. He has published in many internationally recognized journals including New England Journal of Medicine, Cell, immunity, JAMA Dermatology, European Respiratory Journal, Frontiers in Immunology, European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, Science, and Journal of Immunology.

Craig Mello

Dr. Craig Cameron Mello is the Blais University Chair in Molecular Medicine, Co-Director of the RNA Therapeutics Institute, and a Distinguished Professor at UMass Chan Medical School. He holds a joint appointment as an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Center. Dr. Mello is known for his research in collaboration with Dr. Andrew Z. Fire to discover RNA interference (RNAi), or the use of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) to induce gene silencing. Dr. Mello and Dr. Fire were co-awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work with RNAi in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans.

Mark Prausnitz

Mark Prausnitz is a Regents‘ Professor, the J. Erskine Love Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and director of the Center for Drug Design, Development and Delivery at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Prausnitz has co-founded eight start-up companies, including Aldena Therapeutics and Vimela Therapeutics, and has published over 325 peer-reviewed journal articles.

Mark R. Prausnitz earned a BS degree from Stanford University and PhD degree from MIT, both in chemical engineering. Dr. Prausnitz and colleagues carry out research on biophysical methods of drug delivery using microneedles, lasers, ionic liquids and other microdevices for transdermal, ocular and intracellular delivery of drugs and vaccines.

Eric Deutsch

Eric Deutsch, MD, PhD is a Professor in Oncology and Radiotherapy at Université Paris-Saclay, a position he has held since 2010, Director of Inserm Molecular Radiotherapy and Novel therapeutic innovation UMR1030, a position he has held since 2012, and Chair of the Radiation Oncology Department at Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, a position he has held since 2012. Prof. Deutsch trained as a Radiation Oncologist at Paris-Diderot University. He gained a PhD degree in the fundamental basis of oncogenesis in 2003 at South Paris University XI and completed his training with a post-doctoral fellowship in the Radiation Oncology Department, at the University of Pennsylvania, United States.

Prof. Deutsch became a tenure-track and full-time cancer specialist at Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus in 2006. With a strong background in research, he leads several clinical trials translating innovative approaches into the clinic, namely in the field of radiation therapy and immunotherapies. He is currently Head of the RHU LYSAIRI Project and manages more than 150 people in clinic and research, under his leadership. Prof. Deutsch is a board member of the Gustave Roussy transfer office and is well versed in transfer, valorization and contracting aspects of research. He is also involved in the Early Drug Development Department (DITEP) at Gustave Roussy. Prof. Deutsch has contributed to over 250 peer-reviewed publications. He is a member of the Editorial Board for the ESTRO journal in Radiotherapy and Oncology. His field of expertise includes early clinical trials and phase I, macrophages and immunotherapy, radiomics and artificial intelligence, novel anticancer drugs, radiation biology, HPVs related tumors, combination with new drugs and radiotherapy.

Medicxi Board Members

Francesco De Rubertis

Executive Chairman

Francesco De Rubertis

Executive Chairman

Francesco is a co-founder and Partner at Medicxi. Prior to Medicxi, Francesco was a Partner at Index Ventures for 19 years, having joined the firm in 1997 to launch its life sciences practice. Under his leadership, the asset-centric approach to life sciences investing was conceived and implemented. Francesco currently serves on the boards of a number of portfolio companies, including Centessa Pharmaceuticals, Rivus Pharmaceuticals, Levicept, Alys Pharmaceuticals, TOAD Oncology and Kaerus Biosciences.

Francesco’s prior investments include CellZome (acquired by GlaxoSmithKline, PLC), GenMab (Copenhagen: GEN.CO), GenSight Biologics (Euronext: SIGHT), Micromet (acquired by Amgen), Minerva Neurosciences (NASDAQ: NERV), Molecular Partners (Swiss: MOLN.SW), PanGenetics (acquired by Abbott), Parallele Biosciences (acquired by Affymetrix), Profibrix (acquired by The Medicines Company), and Versartis (NASDAQ: VSAR).

Francesco received a BA in Genetics and Microbiology from the University of Pavia in Italy and a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Geneva in Switzerland after which he became a postdoctoral scientist at the Whitehead Institute at M.I.T. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and serves on the main board of the University of Geneva.

In November 2017, Francesco was named in the first “Bloomberg 50” as one of the Top 50 entrepreneurs and innovators who helped to define Global Business in 2017.

Michèle Ollier

Board Member

Michèle Ollier

Board Member

Michèle is a co-founder and Venture Partner at Medicxi. Prior to Medicxi, Michèle was a Partner at Index Ventures for 10 years, having joined in 2006. Michèle currently serves on the board of a number of portfolio companies, including Kaerus Biosciences, Aldena Therapeutics and Nira Biosciences. Investments led by Michèle include Villaris Therapeutics (acquired by Incyte Corporation), OncoEthix (acquired by Merck), Minerva Neurosciences (NASDAQ:NERV), Pearl River Bio and Palladio Biosciences (both acquired by Centessa Pharmaceuticals) and Aegerion (NASDAQ:AEGR).

Prior to joining Index Ventures, Michèle was Investment Director at Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners in Paris for 3 years, where she served on the board of U3 Pharma. Before that, she spent more than 15 years in several development and marketing positions at Sanofi International, BMS, RPR/ Gencell/ Aventis International and Serono International.

Michèle currently serves on the board of directors of Ipsen Pharmaceuticals (Euronext:IPN) and sits on the investment committee of the accelerator and technology transfer companies of Paris-Saclay and France-Nord.

Michèle completed her medical studies in France at Paris Ouest University.