“With setbacks, the most important thing is to show strength”

Ms Pfeifer, you had had 20 years of management experience when you founded AC Immune in 2003. You had been head of Global Research at Nestlé, among other things. How did this help you in building the company?

Andrea Pfeifer: It was decisive. Without this experience, we would not be where we are now.

Can you briefly describe where AC Immune stands? What are the pipeline’s strengths?

In total, we have 12 products in the pipeline – nine therapeutic and three diagnostic. The most important field of application is Alzheimer’s disease. We have compounds in the pipeline that work against beta-amyloid, a protein that plays an important role in the development of Alzheimer’s and deposits in the brain as plaques. We also have drug candidates that target tau protein, thought to be responsible for the spread in the brain.

Clinical trials with the most advanced candidate, crenezumab, were terminated in the spring of 2019. What makes you confident that AC Immune will be able to make a breakthrough?

An important reason is the breadth of our portfolio; for example, we have the largest pipeline of active substances that have an effect on tau. Two of them are already in the second phase of clinical trials. If only one is able to do it, we will not have to worry any more. Further projects are targeting other neurological diseases in addition to Alzheimer’s. I’m pretty optimistic, but we also need some luck now.

Setbacks generally pose a normal risk to biotech companies and start-ups in general. How should you react to heavy setbacks?

The most important thing is to show strength and resilience. We set up an action plan as soon as possible. As a leader, you have to be convincing and I communicated a lot with the team. In addition, we were prepared, although I did not believe that the crenezumab trials would be stopped. Had you asked me in January, I would have said clearly that it would not happen.

But a further study with crenezumab is still currently underway in Colombia, where it is being tested to evaluate the extent to which the active substance has a preventive effect. Why is this?

Today I am even more convinced that we need to start fighting Alzheimer’s before plaque can build up. This requires diagnostics, which we develop to look into the brain and to understand what is behind memory loss. Precision medicine is the keyword here. Maybe it has been a bit too easy so far. We have now developed a roadmap for action that is widely seen by researchers, regulatory agencies and the industry as a role model for an Alzheimer’s strategy.

Although AC Immune is listed on the Nasdaq, the company is still based in Lausanne. Is Switzerland a good place for biotech start-ups?

Switzerland is certainly one of the leading nations in research. But there is not enough start-up funding – it will take more. However, this also has its advantages: start-ups founded and surviving in Switzerland really survive.

Founders in Switzerland often come directly from the university, unlike you. What is your advice to them?

They should get an established coach as early as possible. Experience is essential when negotiating licenses with the university. And once the first financing round is completed, they should get a CEO with experience.

In 2016, you decided to go public on the Nasdaq. Would you do this again today?

Yes, it was the right step. There is much more funding available in the US and many more healthcare investors with expert knowledge. The only thing I would do differently today would be to go to the US even earlier. It took years to build a network there.

Would not it be easier if the management were in the US? Is the intention to go there?

No. We have no plans for a move.