Our leadership team, spearheaded by a pioneer in T-cell biology, brings decades of groundbreaking research and expertise to drive our innovative approach.

LEADERSHIP TEAM

PhD., Chief Executive Officer

  • Dr. Arnaud Foussat, Chief Executive Officer, brings 20 years of experience in immunotherapy development and biotech management to Carmil Therapeutics. Graduate of Institut Pasteur of Paris, Arnaud obtained his Ph.D. degree in Immunology from the University of Paris VII in 2000. He then joined an academic laboratory from the French National Institute of Scientific and Medical Research (INSERM), where he focused his scientific efforts on the elucidation of the migratory pathways of Regulatory T (Treg) cells in normal and pathological conditions.

    Before joining Carmil Therapeutics in 2023, Arnaud Foussat was Operating Partner in the French venture fund AdBio Partners, where he co-founded 4 portfolio companies and managed of them for over 6 years as CEO.

    Previously, Arnaud was Chief Scientific Officer at TxCell (acquired by Sangamo Therapeutics in 2018), where he developed the first generation of cell therapy products using Treg cells and launched the first program on CAR-engineered Treg cells. Arnaud spent 12 years at TxCell, managing both cell therapy research and process development, with a strong involvement in regulatory affairs and corporate development.

PhD., Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer

  • Bernard Malissen is the Founder and Honorary Director of the Centre for Immunophenomics (CIPHE) and team leader at Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille Luminy (CIML). He is a member of the French Academy of Sciences, an Honorary Member of the American Association of Immunologists, a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a Fellow of the European Research Council (2013 – 2023).

    In the 80s, Prof. Malissen pioneered the use of gene transfer approaches to dissect the function of molecules involved in T cell function (MHC and TCR). In the late 80s, the possibility of editing the mouse genome ‘à la carte’ led him to develop innovative mouse models, allowing him to tackle the function of T cells and dendritic cells in their physiological context. To make sense of the formidable complexity of the signal transduction networks involved in T cell activation, he is presently combining high throughput ‘omic’ approaches that simultaneously measure large numbers of parameters and genetic screens designed to further the understanding of T cell function under normal and pathological conditions.

    Prof. Malissen’s laboratory has trained 49 Postdocs, 41 PhD students, and 24 Master Students. He published 427 scientific papers and has an h-factor of 99. He ranked among the most highly cited researchers in Immunology in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023: see (https://clarivate.com/hcr/). He has been and is part of, or president, of multiple committees and Scientific Advisory Boards in France, Europe, and Japan.

Co-founder and President

  • Thomas Janvier brings to Carmil his solid experience in management and business development in the healthcare sector. As a graduate of ESG Paris, specializing in corporate finance, Thomas built up his initial expertise in international financial control at Lactalis.

    In 2020, Thomas became CEO of Janvier Labs, a family-owned company and European leader in Rodent Research Models. In 2024, under his leadership, the Janvier Bioscience Group was created – of which he became CEO – doubling the size of the group through strong growth and multiple acquisitions in Europe and abroad.

Co-founder and Vice President

  • Daniel Jaouen holds an agricultural engineering degree from ESA (Ecole Supérieure d'Agricultures d'Angers) and a post-graduate diploma from ESSEC (IGIA, Institut de Gestion International Agroalimentaire).

    Daniel joined Lactalis in 1989 as assistant manager, before spending most of his career in charge of international development. He became Managing Director and Chairman of the Management Board of directors in 2009. Under his management, Lactalis became the worldwide leader in dairy products, with sales that topped the $22 Bn mark in 2020.

    In 2021, shortly after his departure, Daniel set up MaBro, a consulting firm dedicated to business strategy and corporate management.