In this wide-ranging interview, NewBiologix's founder and CEO, Igor Fisch reflects on a career that spans academia, successful biotech entrepreneurship, and a current mission to revolutionize gene and cell therapy manufacturing. With a strong foundation in molecular biology, Fisch began his scientific career under the mentorship of Nobel laureate Sir Gregory Winter, before shifting away from academia to build Selexis, a pioneering company in recombinant protein production. After Selexis was acquired in 2017, NewBiologix was born in 2022 to tackle the high costs and manufacturing limitations surrounding advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), particularly Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) vectors used in gene therapy.
NewBiologix’s name reflects its bold ambition: to reshape biologics for a new era of curative therapies. Unlike traditional pharmaceutical models focused on chronic treatments, gene therapies aim to cure with a single dose, a paradigm that presents both promise and systemic challenges. Manufacturing is a key obstacle. Current methods like transient transfection are inefficient, expensive, and yield inconsistent results. These shortcomings have drawn increasing regulatory scrutiny and impede large-scale clinical application.
To overcome this, NewBiologix has developed an integrated platform combining stable HEK293 cell lines, advanced genomic analytics, and precise AAV production technology. The overarching goal is to lower AAV production costs—currently estimated at $8–12 million per batch—by an order of magnitude while ensuring quality and consistency. Using next-generation sequencing, they also enhance quality control to reduce the percentage of non-functional or defective viral particles, a major concern in clinical administration.
Commercially, NewBiologix is moving quickly. Having launched its proprietary cell line, the company began licensing it to CDMOs and secured its first commercial licensing deal in 2025 in partnership with ReciBioPharm. With subsidiaries now active in the U.S. and expansion plans underway, the company is poised to influence the global gene therapy landscape.
Team building has also played a pivotal role in the company's success. Drawing on his prior success at Selexis, the founder cultivated a culture of innovation and attracted top-tier talent, many of whom followed him to NewBiologix. Based at Biopôle in Lausanne, the company benefits from Switzerland’s strong academic ecosystem, cost-effective scientific talent, and a collaborative life sciences environment.
Fisch is also highly involved with FONGIT, the Geneva Foundation for Technological Innovation, where he supports new entrepreneurs and fosters a national culture of innovation. His personal journey—marked by scientific rigor, strategic risk-taking, and a commitment to transformative technologies—has guided both the creation and ethos of NewBiologix.
In closing, this interview provides a powerful message to the healthcare industry: the future lies in single-dose cures, not chronic care. NewBiologix is not just building a better manufacturing platform; it’s championing a shift in how the pharmaceutical world measures success—by the ability to cure patients, not treat symptoms over time.
