Lars Brandén has travelled an uncommon route from a youthful fascination with viruses to leading biology at Kolibri, a Paris-based company developing acoustic bioreactors and novel transfection chemistries.

Early curiosity, academic achievements, and industrial experience shaped his journey, which has informed his approach to bioprocess design, the use of artificial intelligence tools, and leadership in cross-functional teams.

This article presents a cohesive narrative of Brandén’s path, built entirely from his words and experiences. This concept is discussed in greater detail in an episode of the Smart Biotech Scientist Podcast, hosted by David Brühlmann, founder of Brühlmann Consulting.

From Radiology Library to Gene-Therapy Patents

Early Inspiration

• As a child in Sweden, Brandén paged through his radiologist father’s medical library and became fascinated by viruses that slip genetic material into target cells.
• At eleven, he told his father he would pursue gene therapy, an ambition that guided his educational choices.

Karolinska Institute and the First Scandinavian Gene-Therapy Group

• During his PhD at Karolinska Institute, he joined the first research team focused on gene therapy in northern Europe.
• He generated several innovations that were patented.
• He co-founded a startup with his supervisor and other laboratories, learning how the industry can accelerate scientific ideas.

Building Platform Science in New York

• At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, he helped construct a genome-wide human siRNA library that was produced in-house.
• Columbia University recruited him to design and operate a high-throughput screening centre funded by the NIH Roadmap initiative.
• From an empty floor, he installed robotics, data pipelines, and performance metrics, allowing dozens of investigators to run thousands of cellular assays weekly.
• The experience convinced him that he thrived where rigorous science meets deadlines and metrics.

CEO of Biology at Kolibri

• His mandate is to integrate cell biology, software engineering, and hardware development so that the company’s acoustic bioreactors and transfection technologies can move rapidly toward industrial use.
• Brandén now leads Kolibri in Paris.

Why Pure Agile Methods Clash with Cell-Culture Timelines

Biological Systems Resist Rapid Sprints

Brandén observes that many startup founders try to impose software-style sprint cycles on wet-lab work. Biological systems operate on slower, less predictable schedules, and small parameter changes can yield unexpected outcomes that require long stabilisation periods.

Coordinated but Distinct Cycles

• Biology teams should focus on optimising experiments and sharing data at a pace dictated by cell physiology.
• Software teams can still adopt rapid iteration, provided that regular integration points align outputs from both groups.
• Pushing biology itself into two-week sprints rarely succeeds over the long term.

Interdisciplinary Expertise and the Rise of AI Tools

Broad Knowledge Beats Narrow Depth

Brandén states that artificial intelligence systems are only as sound as the domain expertise they support. Scientists, therefore, need to build broad knowledge that crosses subject boundaries and cultivate creative questioning skills. 

Such breadth allows them to:

• Formulate better prompts for large language models
• Detect when an algorithm suggests biologically implausible conclusions
• Integrate computational insights with experimental design

Dialogue Partner Rather Than Oracle

He envisions AI as an ever-improving dialogue partner, a resource for quick factual checks and iterative model building. Researchers must keep personal reference points to validate AI-generated claims.

AI is a powerful tool, but its effectiveness relies very much on how well it's integrated with domain expertise. The researchers' unique domain expertise. Researchers should focus on expanding their knowledge across disciplines and honing their creative skills to prepare to engage in a more meaningful dialogue with AI tools as they evolve. So I think that we need, as scientists, to establish a very broad knowledge base, crossing our own expertise area.

AI-Driven Acceleration of Drug Discovery and Manufacturing

Five-Year Outlook

Brandén predicts that within approximately five years, AI will:

• Reduce development timelines and costs across discovery, optimisation, and pre-clinical modelling
• Identify molecular interactions and delivery strategies that would take far longer with manual methods
• Decrease reliance on animal models through more accurate in silico simulations

Implications for Cell and Gene Therapy

• Manufacturing times could be cut by half if labour-intensive steps are automated under AI guidance.
• Lower costs would allow earlier use of advanced therapies, such as giving CAR-T cells before patients endure multiple rounds of harsh chemotherapy.
• Faster, cheaper production would widen patient access, particularly in oncology.

Scaling Challenges and Potential Solutions

The Core Barrier

The biggest hurdle in translating laboratory breakthroughs into clinic-ready therapies is scaling while preserving efficacy, safety, and cost control. Processes that work in milliliter volumes often falter when expanded to a litre or patient-scale production.

Education and Early Design Decisions

Brandén believes that awareness of future scale requirements must permeate university curricula and early R&D. 

Students and early-career scientists should learn to:

• Design assays that function in both 100-microliter and 1-liter formats
• Recognise which steps can be automated later
• Choose materials and methods that meet regulatory and cost constraints for large-batch manufacturing

Scale-Out as Well as Scale-Up

Not every therapy needs industrial-size reactors. For autologous or rare-disease applications, replicating small, standardised units across many patients may be more practical rather than enlarging a single process.

Rare Diseases and Flexible Production

With more than 7,000 rare diseases and limited approved treatments, flexible scaling strategies are essential. Brandén notes that updating clinical trial regulations and production platforms could bring advanced therapies to many small patient populations.

Precision Delivery Through Receptor-Ligand Combinations

Concept and Proof of Principle

In his research, Brandén combined bioactive receptor ligands in pairs, testing whether the resulting particles would bind preferentially to specific cell types. A modest, randomly chosen library produced striking specificity across seven or eight cell lines.

Two Application Paths

• Synthetic Gene Delivery: Custom ligand pairs can target transfection vehicles to chosen tissues, improving in vivo gene-transfer precision.
• Drug Reformulation: Approved drugs with systemic side effects could be reformulated with ligand combinations that steer them to diseased cells, cutting toxicity and cost without new clinical chemistry.

Complement to mRNA Therapies.

Ligand-directed carriers align naturally with the rapid growth of mRNA therapeutics, where controlled delivery is central to safety and potency.

Leadership Lessons for Cross-Functional Teams

Core Principles

1. Trust creates psychological safety, encouraging team members to share ideas and concerns.
2. Adaptability recognises that fast pivots are common when new data emerge.
3. Shared Goals ensure daily tasks connect to patient-oriented objectives, sustaining motivation during setbacks.

Foundational Accountability

Clarity about how each person’s work contributes to the mission fosters responsibility and keeps projects moving when unexpected hurdles arise.

Guidance for Early-Career Scientists and Entrepreneurs

Standard Advice

• Seek internships that expose you to regulatory frameworks and market dynamics.
• Cultivate skills beyond your immediate discipline.

Keeping your naivety alive throughout the whole process is important. Even if people tell you that this cannot be done and I have seen this before and that will never work. Well, it might be true, but you might on the other hand do it slightly differently than it's been done before. And therefore you make it work when everyone else has told you this will never work. So I have always tried to keep this youthful naivety alive.

Brandén’s Additional Rules

• Keep Youthful Naivety: Believe that a problem can be solved even when others have failed because a slight change in approach can turn impossibility into success.
• Never Give Up: Persistence is essential; quitting guarantees failure.
• Do Your Homework: Thorough literature and patent searches prevent wasted effort reinventing prior art.
• Step Outside Comfort Zones: Growth happens when scientists engage with unfamiliar technologies and perspectives.

Key Takeaways

Collaboration Drives Breakthroughs

Integrating biology with software and hardware accelerates innovation. Regular alignment points allow each discipline to use its optimal workflow without forcing biology into ill-suited agile cycles.

Broader Knowledge Enables Effective AI Use

Scientists who understand multiple fields can ask better questions about AI systems and validate their outputs, turning algorithms into genuine thought partners.

Precision Targeting Promises Safer Therapies

Combining receptor ligands or organ-specific viral serotypes can localise gene or drug delivery, reducing side effects and lowering doses.

Scaling Strategy Must Be Baked In Early

Designing experiments with future automation, regulatory compliance, and unit economics in mind prevents later bottlenecks and cost explosions.

Leadership Hinges on Trust, Flexibility, and Purpose

Cross-functional teams succeed when they feel safe sharing ideas, adapting quickly to new data, and clearly seeing how their work benefits patients.

Persistence and Preparation Outperform Cynicism

Brandén argues that maintaining optimism, doing exhaustive background research, and refusing to abandon promising concepts are the real engines that turn bench discoveries into life-saving products.

At Kolibri and in his advisory roles, Lars Brandén continues to apply these principles, aiming to cut production times, lower costs, and broaden access to the next generation of cell and gene therapies.

Final Remarks

Lars Brandén’s journey shows that meaningful progress in cell and gene therapy depends on blending deep scientific knowledge with open-minded collaboration, early attention to scale, and steady leadership. 

His work highlights how AI can shorten development timelines paired with solid domain expertise, how thoughtful process design can cut costs without compromising safety, and how a persistent, inquisitive mindset can turn complex ideas into therapies that reach more patients.

His example offers a clear message to researchers and innovators: build diverse skills, stay curious yet practical, and surround yourself with teams that share a common goal of translating discovery into real-world impact.

About Lars J. Brandén

Lars J. Brandén is a seasoned biotech leader with over a decade of industry experience and also over a decade of a successful academic career. He began at the Karolinska Institute, developing gene therapy technologies for immune deficiencies. 

After a postdoc at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, he built, operated and led high-throughput cell biology centers at Columbia and Yale, developing over 180 cell-based assays. Brandén has also held senior roles in bioinformatics, pharmaceutical and medtech companies and is currently  the CEO of Kolibri, Paris. 

His expertise spans immunology, cell & gene therapy, bioinformatics, drug discovery, and lab automation.

Connect with Lars J. Brandén on LinkedIn.

David Brühlmann is a strategic advisor who helps C-level biotech leaders reduce development and manufacturing costs to make life-saving therapies accessible to more patients worldwide.

He is also a biotech technology innovation coach, technology transfer leader, and host of the Smart Biotech Scientist podcast—the go-to podcast for biotech scientists who want to master biopharma CMC development and biomanufacturing.  

Hear It From The Horse’s Mouth

Want to listen to the full interview? Go to Smart Biotech Scientist Podcast. 

Want to hear more? Do visit the podcast page and check out other episodes. 
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