Weekly round-up: Optimum campaign highlights progress of women and girls in STEM
To celebrate the International Day of Women & Girls in Science 2025, Optimum asked women in healthcare to share their favourite scientific advancement or innovation.
From cloning Dolly the sheep, to CRISPR gene editing and the miracle of IVF, we received a wide variety of wonderful answers. Read the campaign below to find out what inspires our women in healthcare!
The campaign also aims to inspire a new generation of life sciences leaders – check out the celebratory Q&A with Jane Rhodes, CEO of AstronauTx, which details her journey in STEM. Listen below to what inspired Jane to join the industry, and what advice she would give those beginning their career!
Latent Labs secures $50M in funding to realize the potential of AI-powered, programmable biology
Latent Labs, the company building AI foundation models to make biology programmable, on Thursday emerged from stealth with $50M in total funding to accelerate their progress and partnerships.
The company was founded by Dr Simon Kohl, previously a co-lead of DeepMind’s protein design team – funding includes a $40M Series A co-led by Radical Ventures and Sofinnova Partners, with the participation of Flying Fish, Isomer, as well as existing investors 8VC, Kindred Capital and Pillar VC.
Philanthropic Partnership Launches New Initiative Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance, the Third-Leading Cause of Death Globally, By Fast-Tracking Discovery of New Treatments
The Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Gates Foundation and Wellcome on Wednesday announced the launch of the Gram-Negative Antibiotic Discovery Innovator (Gr-ADI), a $50 million investment that will focus on combatting antimicrobial resistance (AMR) caused by a specific range of bacteria that are among the leading contributors to AMR-associated deaths.
The Gr-ADI will function as a consortium where multiple funders, research institutions, and industry partners share data and work collectively to drive innovation in the discovery of urgently needed new drugs.
Industry events
The 21st Anglonordic Life Science Conference is fast approaching!
Are you an early-stage Life Science company looking for investment?
Do you want to meet with Europe’s leading life science investors?
If the answer is YES, then the Anglonordic Life Science Conference is a must attend event for your diary!
Whether you are based in the UK, the Nordics or elsewhere in Europe, Anglonordic provides an opportunity to meet with and pitch your story to 100 registered investors keen to meet and hear from exciting new companies!
Reach out for Optimum’s 20% F&F discount and register today: anglonordiclifescience.com/page/registration
Optimum’s 17th Annual Healthcare Investor Conference
Join us on Thursday, 9th October 2025 for our Annual Investor Healthcare Conference.
Now in its 17th year, the conference is firmly established as a major thought leadership event in Europe, bringing together the top executives and visionaries from the healthcare industry and investment community to discuss and debate the trends set to reshape the industry far into the future.
Register your interest here: Optimum Healthcare Conference
Hot Topic
Read Optimum’s hottest takes of the week below ⬇️
That’s all folks! We hope you are enjoying Optimum’s weekly round-ups; subscribe on LinkedIn today so you never miss an edition.
