Bioentreprenuership alumnus Magnus Willem Meyer combines science and business

After co-founding a medical start-up during his bachelor’s in Aarhus, Magnus Willem Meyer chose the master's programme in bioentrepreneurship to deepen his understanding of both science and business. This experience led him to a graduate role at Lundbeck.

From start-up founder back to student life

KI Alumnus Magnus Willem Meyer Photo: Patrik Lindén

"During my Bachelor studies in my hometown Aarhus, Denmark, I founded a start-up company called LactaPure with two other students. This venture allowed me to experience the entrepreneurial side of medical science. While developing the idea in the lab, we simultaneously established and advanced the business aspects of the project. This combination turned out to really spark my interest for further education.

When searching for potential master’s programmes, I came across the Bioentrepreneurship Master’s Programme at KI. After reading the programme description and talking to a current student, I immediately knew this programme would aid my pursuit of combining science and business. I also knew that KI has an impressive reputation in medical research and that it is situated in beautiful Stockholm. Thus, I had no doubts about applying.

The preparatory work requires a strong knowledge of both the science and the dynamics of the market. Several of my courses at KI had prepared me for this, such as Business Development, Product development in the life sciences and Project Management.

During my 2 years, I experienced great lectures, inspiring guest lecturers and interesting projects. Due to the practical nature of the Bioentrepreurship programme, I had a lot of hands-on experiences such as company visits and practical placements preparing me to face a world after graduation. In addition to my courses, KI hosted a lot of voluntary events i.e. lunch talks and sports days.

The best memory from my time at KI was taking part in the Business Committee, where we arranged events with life-science companies to connect with the students of KI. Apart from our popular events and the network created, I highly enjoyed the cozy weekly meetings and friendships made across programmes."

Starting a career in the life science industry

"My current role is a graduate fellow in the New Product Planning team of Lundbeck. Lundbeck is a Danish pharmaceutical company that develops pharmaceutical treatments for CNS-related diseases such as migraine and depression. Our team is working to plan and strengthen the early pipeline in order to secure new potential products from both a scientific and commercial perspective. In addition, we also support the assessment of potential company acquisitions and other business development opportunities for Lundbeck.

Throughout the graduate programme, I will rotate to other departments. After January 2021, I will move to the Global Market Access team. Then after next summer 2021, to a Global Brand team, where I will participate in strategy development and collaborate closely with affiliates.

Just after my graduation from KI, my plan was to take a 2-month summer holiday and fully relax. Application processes for graduate programmes usually take 2-3 months and are initiated at the beginning of the year. In my case, I started the application process 6 months before handing in my thesis and fortunately secured myself the position before graduating.

I was very dedicated to starting my career in a graduate programme and did thorough research on what programmes were offered. Moreover, I attended two open-house events that companies usually host before launching the application process, in order to get a feel of the company and the team offering the position."

Looking ahead: aspirations and advice

"First of all, I strive to expand my knowledge of CNS disease areas and continue the development of new treatments in order to restore the brain health of millions of patients. Further, I like to find myself navigating the environment between science and business, which requires me to develop a greater understanding of the commercial operations in the life-science industry.

Moreover, I aspire to extend my perspective of the life-science industry by working in NGOs, regulatory bodies, industry bodies and other relevant organisations throughout my career.

Have a vague idea of your field of interest post-graduation, and start to research the opportunities already during your studies to get a grasp of the job market jungle. A bit of classic advice that I highly encourage is to arrange coffee meetups with multiple stakeholders engaged in interesting fields to learn about their experience.

That being said, you do not need to have a clear path or vision for yourself in order to be proactive and open-minded. Once you enter the job market post-graduation, you can easily shape your career path going forward.

Also, if you are applying for positions, always try to understand the current status of the organisation, get a drift of where they are moving in order to emphasise how you can contribute to that."