BioWeek was started by Nadine Bongaerts and Xavier Duportet, two long-time partners driven by a shared conviction: that biology is one of the great driving forces of our future - and that in Europe, its potential is still far too underestimated. It is time to give it the place it deserves.
Over the past 15 years, both have been deeply involved in shaping the European synthetic biology ecosystem — from research to entrepreneurship, education, and public dialogue.
• Nadine Bongaerts is a synthetic biologist and entrepreneur dedicated to advancing biotechnology for societal and planetary good. She leads Amplicon Advisors, a Paris-based consultancy advising biotech companies, startups, and investors on strategy, commercialization, and communication of novel technologies. Previously, as Chief Innovation Officer at Gourmey, she guided the transition from R&D to production and led the first cultivated meat submission to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Nadine co-founded Science Matters to train researchers in science communication and has helped shape international deep-tech ecosystems through Hello Tomorrow, iGEM, and France Deeptech. A faculty member at Singularity University, she speaks globally on the opportunities and challenges of engineering biology.
• Xavier is also a synthetic biologist turned biotech founder, angel investor, and ecosystem builder. Committed to turning biology into real-world impact, he is the founding CEO of Eligo Bioscience, a pioneering genetic medicine company.
As a long believer that Europe can become a global hub for founder-led biotech startups, he has also been actively fostering deeptech entrepreneurship by founding impactful conferences, accelerator programs, and founders networks such as Hello Tomorrow, Deeptech Founders, and Gene & Tonic Club,
Together, they imagined BioWeek as a way to bring all these worlds together in Paris for one week — researchers, entrepreneurs, artists, investors, and dreamers — into a shared moment of connection and celebration.