Day 21 /// Italy, Monaco, and France
October 18, 2020
The Place We Want to Go Back to: Monaco
Day 21 began at our hotel with a virtual interview with Paolo Tubertini, CEO of Olon, another of our trip’s sponsors, who discussed what to expect from Olon going forward, including a number of firsts for the company. He explained how the company is dealing with issues like validation batches in the context of the pandemic using cameras and virtual tools, without the physical presence of staff from a sponsor company.
After wrapping up the interview, we hit the road again, driving along sea cliffs and into the principality of Monaco. Once again, we experienced a kind of vertigo once we got to Monte Carlo, seeing the popular tourist destination looking a bit more like a ghost town. The weather was perfect for walking around a seafront city, and we soaked in the fresh air and blue skies.
At the famous marina, we met with Gilles Pagès, Director of Research INSERM at Roca Therapeutics to talk about the future of ocular therapies, as the company aims to close the gap of unmet needs for macular degeneration — with existing therapies offering a 50% chance of efficacy and a 50% chance the patient will end up going blind — to develop truly efficacious therapies. After saying goodbye to GIlles, we headed along the French Riviera, past Nice and into Marseille, settling in at a hotel in a fantastic location, but with lousy food.
THE TEAM MET WITH:
(Virtual) Paolo Tubertini, Olon; Dr. Gilles Pagès, Roca Therapeutics
