Toulouse, France
October 2, 2019
Micropep Technologies, an AgTech startup addressing future agriculture needs by discovering novel natural molecules helping plants to unleash their full potential, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Mikael Courbot, a leading executive in Ag-biotechnology research, as Chief Technical Officer.
Thomas Laurent, CEO of Micropep Technologies said: “We are pleased to welcome Mikael into our team: his strong scientific and technical expertise as well as his natural leadership skills will definitely help us accelerate the development of our disruptive technology. We are building a unique and powerful discovery engine that will enable us to rapidly identify bioactive peptides for application in agriculture. By enhancing the natural capabilities of plants, our molecules will help farmers protect their crops against biotic and abiotic stresses in the context of climate change, ultimately improving yields. Mikael is the last key recruitment we had in sight for this first phase of our company’s organization, and I am very proud of the amazing team and board members we brought together in less than a year following our €4m seed round led by Sofinnova Partners.”
Mikael Courbot said: “I am very excited about joining Micropep. I have known Thomas from the very beginning of the Micropep story in 2015, even before the company got incorporated. At that time, I was already thrilled by the potential of the disruptive scientific discovery made by Micropep co-founder Jean-Philippe Combier at CNRS. Today, I am really impressed by the amazing data that are coming through and by the team they put together. I am really excited by this unique opportunity to build a company that could be a game changer for the agronomic industry”.
Mikael joined Micropep Technologies from the Manchester based start-up, RedAg Crop Protection (now Globachem Discovery Ltd), where he spent two and half years building the Biology department. Prior to this Mikael worked for the multi-national agribusiness Syngenta, where he spent almost nine years working across R&D sites in Switzerland and England, leading scientific teams in researching and developing new molecules for both biotic and abiotic stress.
Mikael Courbot holds a PhD from the Université Henri Poincaré in Nancy, France, on Plant Biology & Genetics, focusing on ectomycorrhizal fungi and metal transport and homeostasis. He went on to undertake post-doctoral studies across Europe and in the United States, at The Free University of Brussels, the University of Oxford and Ohio State University. His areas of expertise include program and project management, people coaching, strategic planning, as well as in depth knowledge on plant abiotic stresses, agrochemicals and development of screening platforms.
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About Micropep Technologies Micropep Technologies was incorporated in 2016 to build a unique discovery engine to rapidly identify plant bioactive peptides based on a natural, transient and localized regulation mechanism discovered by our scientific team. The solutions developed by Micropep unleash the natural potential of plants to help farmers better manage abiotic and biotic stresses, control weed growth and ultimately increase crop yields while preserving the environment.
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