Biotech Booster works closely together with a pool of 150+ experienced entrepreneurs who play a vital role in the program. In this series, we highlight the various ways in which they contribute: from helping to select promising early-stage projects, to guiding project teams as a virtual board member and beyond. Each article features one entrepreneur, sharing about how and why they are part of the Biotech Booster community.
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Connecting science to the market
Turning scientific innovation into real-world impact takes more than strong research alone. Within the Biotech Booster program, early-stage projects are therefore connected to experienced entrepreneurs and experts from the very beginning: people who understand what it takes to move from scientific breakthrough to market adoption.
Michelle Meijer is one of those entrepreneurs. As a member of Biotech Booster’s pool of entrepreneurs, she is actively involved as a Project Steering Committee (PSC) member for the proof-of-concept project ChemoPredict by VitroScan. With a background spanning molecular biology, diagnostics and business development, she brings a strategic, market-oriented perspective to the project.
As Michelle puts it: “You can have a great technology, but if you don’t think early on about how it will actually be used, it will never make it to patients.”
That perspective resonates strongly with Willemijn Vader, CEO of VitroScan and project lead of ChemoPredict, who experiences firsthand how this early involvement shapes the project: “The PSC really forces us to look beyond the science. It challenges us to think about where we want to go as a company, not just what we want to prove in the lab.”
From research to commercial strategy
Michelle began her career in molecular biology research, but early on discovered that her strengths lay beyond the lab. An early manager encouraged her to engage directly with customers and stakeholders: a step that ultimately shaped her career.
That move opened the door to roles in sales, business development and market access, particularly within the diagnostics field. Over the years, Michelle worked in both large international companies and smaller, more entrepreneurial environments. This combination taught her how scientific innovation, regulation and market needs intersect. And how easily promising technologies can stall if those elements are not aligned.
“In diagnostics, especially, you’re dealing with patient outcomes,” she explains. “So you need to understand not only the science, but also how clinicians, labs and healthcare systems will adopt it.”
Willemijn sees that experience clearly reflected in Michelle’s contribution: “Michelle brings a very strong combination of scientific understanding and commercial insight. She asks the kind of questions we wouldn’t naturally ask ourselves yet. And that’s exactly what we need at this stage.”
Why Biotech Booster involves entrepreneurs early on
Michelle’s involvement in ChemoPredict reflects Biotech Booster’s broader philosophy: innovation accelerates when academic teams are supported by people who have already navigated the complex path to market.
Within the PSC, Michelle helps the team look beyond the immediate project milestones. Together with the other steering committee members, she challenges assumptions, sharpens strategic choices and helps prioritize decisions that will matter later – for funding, partnerships and eventual market entry.
One example is the decision to initially position ChemoPredict as a research-use-only service. Rather than waiting for full clinical validation, this approach allows the team to start building market traction, gather real-world feedback and generate early revenue. According to Michelle, these kinds of decisions are crucial at an early stage: “If you don’t think about the market early, you risk developing something that’s scientifically sound, but commercially disconnected.”
For Willemijn, this was a defining moment in the project: “The PSC helped us to make that decision with confidence. It’s a different way of thinking, not waiting until everything is perfect, but already starting to engage with the market and learn.”
Building bridges between academia and industry
For Michelle, the PSC is more than an advisory board. It is a space where early stage innovators and industry experts meet as equals, learning from each other. She sees firsthand how researchers benefit from exposure to commercial thinking. And how entrepreneurs, in turn, gain renewed appreciation for the depth and creativity of academic science.
This exchange is exactly what Biotech Booster aims to facilitate: building bridges between academia and industry, and ensuring that funding is complemented by access to experience, networks and strategic insight. Michelle regularly contributes her own network and international experience, helping teams explore potential markets and partnerships beyond the Netherlands.
“At this stage, teams don’t just need money,” she says. “They need people who can help them think three steps ahead and who are willing to share their network. A concrete example is that Willemijn and I recently attended the ESGO congress together, where we wanted to validate ChemoPredict’s proposition and refine the commercial strategy. I was able to connect her with my global network of leading clinicians which catapulted ChemoPredict on a level that would otherwise have been hard to reach.”
Willemijn agrees:
“Biotech Booster doesn’t just fund us – it surrounds us with the right people. That combination is what really accelerates things.”
Giving back to the ecosystem
Michelle describes her involvement with Biotech Booster as part of a broader motivation to give back to the biotech ecosystem. After years of working at the intersection of science and business, she now sees value in sharing what she has learned – especially with early-stage teams navigating their first entrepreneurial steps.
She is particularly driven by projects in areas such as women’s health, where innovation has historically been underfunded. Supporting initiatives like ChemoPredict allows her to contribute to meaningful impact while helping new ventures avoid common pitfalls.
Looking ahead, Michelle hopes that more academic innovations will benefit from early exposure to the right expertise. With the right guidance and connections, she believes many more ideas can successfully make the leap from lab to market.
As she reflects: “Biotech is complex and risky, but when you connect the right people at the right moment, you give innovation a real chance to succeed.”
Want to get involved in Biotech Booster as an entrepreneur? Contact us!
