No Drama, Just Llama: Trading Small Molecules for Big Antibodies”


In-person only.

Highlights from the presentation: ‘What happens when you blend the medicinal chemistry with the complexity of biology? You get a journey that starts with small molecules and ends with big breakthroughs… (and sometimes, with llamas). In this talk, I’ll share how a foundation in chemistry shaped my approach to biotherapeutics, leading to novel insights in GPCR antibody discovery. Expect science, some surprises, and yes — a few camelid cameos’

Christel Menet, PhD is currently Chief Scientific Officer at Confo Therapeutics.
Christel joined Confo as CSO in 2016 from Galapagos NV, where she was one of the first chemists and later advanced to Director of Medicinal Chemistry. She is the inventor of filgotinib (Jyseleca), commercialized for treatment of moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis. Prior to Galapagos, Christel worked at Faust Pharmaceuticals (now Domain Therapeutics), a biotech specializing in GPCR drug discovery. She is an inventor on over 25 patent applications and co-authored numerous publications.
Christel completed her PhD in Organic Chemistry at the University of Manchester in the lab of Prof Jonathan Clayden.