One of Catherine Larue’s biggest accomplishments happened at the beginning of her research career at a large pharmaceutical, where she was part of a team that discovered a new blood biomarker that could diagnose a heart attack very quickly and specifically. When it came time to obtain final proof via clinical studies, however, “there was no budget, as my company had not expected us to succeed so quickly.”
Despite such hurdles, the new biomarker successfully launched seven years later, revolutionising heart attack management worldwide even to this day.
And that was just the start of her successful career. More recently, Larue founded the biotech consultancy, CoDx, which assists foundations, institutes, and SMEs to move from ideas to products. “Such gateways between industry and academia are missing, and I believe in building them,” she says.
Holding both a PhD in immunology and an Executive MBA, Larue has experience working in pharmaceuticals and served as CEO of the Integrated BioBank of Luxembourg for over six years. “Although it took me some time to navigate the Luxembourgish ecosystem,” she explains, “it was worth it because of the leverage created by the different groups present in the country.”
“Such gateways between industry and academia are missing, and I believe in building them”
Larue cites some of the challenges the healthcare sector is facing today, such as the need to keep pace with rapid advancements in technology and AI, data privacy concerns, and the scarcity of therapeutic options for certain diseases and aggressive cancers, amongst others. “The industry also needs to reduce the length and cost of drug development, particularly in preclinical studies involving animals, and focus on better translational tools, such as human organoids,” she adds.
Navigating such challenges won’t just require innovative solutions. “When it comes to innovation, specific tasks still require the expertise and creativity of humans. Successfully addressing these challenges means combining the power of technology with human insight to deliver better outcomes for patients.”
This exclusive portrait was published in the 10th edition of Forbes Luxembourg.
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