Magda Marquet
François Ferré
ALMA Life Sciences is an early-stage investment firm focusing on the creation and growth of innovative healthcare companies. It was founded by award winning biotechnology serial entrepreneurs and investors Dr. Magda Marquet and Dr. François Ferré. They have founded several companies such as Althea Technologies (Ajinomoto), AltheaDx (Castle Biosciences), and Acurion. In addition, they have been involved in over 30 companies as investors, advisors, and board members.
Magda and François are very active in the non-profit arena and play a pivotal role in developing San Diego’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, serving on many non for profit boards. They have received numerous prestigious awards throughout their careers including the 2005 Regional Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. Under their leadership, Althea Technologies has received several Best Companies to Work For awards. In 2016, Magda and François were inducted into the CONNECT Entrepreneur Hall of Fame.
Born and raised in Andorra, Magda holds a doctorate in biochemical engineering from INSA/University of Toulouse, France. Prior to founding Althea Technologies, she held several management positions at companies such as Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Vical where she developed and patented novel clinical production methods for gene therapy and DNA vaccines.
François grew up in France where he received his Ph.D. in molecular oncology at the Pasteur Institute. He completed his post-doctoral training at UCSD. François is a recognized leader in genomics, a field in which he has co-edited a book on the polymerase chain reaction with Nobel Prize winner Dr. Kary Mullis, and has collaborated with Dr. Jonas Salk on the development of a therapeutic HIV vaccine.
In 2023, realizing that “there is no human health without ocean health”, Alma Blue was created under the leadership of Alex Ferre.
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