October 15, 2026 | 5:30 pm | Cocktails to follow
Portolano Cavallo is excited to host a new seminar as part of the “Life Sciences Talks” series by Italian Tech Alliance, in collaboration with Goodwin.
The European life sciences ecosystem is entering a new phase.
Regulatory reforms and geopolitical shifts are reshaping the industry’s investment landscape, while capital markets are showing signs of renewed momentum.
However, funding is increasingly concentrated on later-stage, de-risked assets, creating new challenges for early-stage innovation, academic spin-offs and emerging companies.
This Life Sciences Talk will bring together investors, founders, and advisers to explore how evolving market conditions, policy changes and regulatory reforms are influencing capital allocation, growth strategies and value creation across the European life sciences sector.
Introduction:
- Francesco Cerruti — General Director, Italian Tech Alliance. ITA is the leading Italian association representing venture capital investors, innovative start-ups and scale-ups. Francesco will open the session with ITA’s work and initiatives in the life sciences sector.
Speakers:
- Cristiano Fontana – MedTech Strategic Advisor, Board Member and Investor, Three Bridges. Advisor and investor with 15+ years in healthcare, supporting early-stage MedTech companies on fundraising, business development and board-level strategy.
- Valentina Garonzi — CEO and Co-Founder, Diamante. Diamante is an Italian biotech company that uses plants as a sustainable platform to produce high-value compounds for new therapies that re-educate the immune system in autoimmune diseases.
- Sophie McGrath — Goodwin Procter, London. Leading life sciences lawyer at one of Europe’s foremost VC and growth equity practices, advising on complex cross-border transactions across biotech, medtech and digital health.
- Giada Pellegrin — European Investment Fund (EIF), Investment manager in venture capital investment in European life sciences, with extensive oversight of the EIF’s portfolio across Italy and the wider continent.
Moderators:
Luca Gambini – partner, Portolano Cavallo.
Antonia Verna – partner, Portolano Cavallo.
