Laura Soucek has been fighting for almost thirty years to confirm an innovative hypothesis to fight cancer: inhibiting the MYC mini-protein inside the cell nucleus. Her journey against the dogmas of certain science – “even as a student I thought we had to fight MYC, and everyone told me it was impossible” – and a certain corseted industry began in Italy, went through California and took her to Barcelona – the best city in the world, the best city to live in and develop science, she says with conviction. Peptomyc was born in 2015 at Vall Hebron, co-founded by Laura Soucek and Marie-Eve Beaulieu (Chief Scientific Officer). Creating a company was the best way to turn their research into reality. This is how this scientist in love with science also became a CEO who leads a team of about 30 people and has raised 31 million euros from private funding and 11 million euros from public institutions.

Omomyc is now entering clinical phase 2 with very good prospects; in a best-case scenario, it could reach the market and start saving lives in 2028. The company has a round of up to 25 million euros underway to conduct another clinical trial against lung cancer, expand its pipeline and optimise production of the drug.

Laura Soucek captivated the audience with her passion, energy and optimism at the Pier07 afterwork. “There is always a reason to keep fighting, not to throw in the towel. And in order not to forget, we must celebrate every small victory, every small step, which encourages us to move forward. And we must know how to surround ourselves with people who join us, who contribute to us, who help us to get up if we fall and who rejoice with us when we celebrate”.