Karen Wagner has a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology and worked at McKinsey, Roche, and Glycart before joining Ysios Capital in 2007, where she stayed through the 2008 financial crisis and has taken on board roles including chair of Aelix Therapeutics and seats at Kala Pharmaceuticals and Minoryx Therapeutics. Based in Zurich while investing in European biotech companies, she judges startup competitions like BIO-Europe Spring's Startup Slam and speaks at events like Swiss Biotech Day, and she's known for saying biotechs need exceptional data to stand out while also treating ESG as a real part of building a company, not just a side issue.
About their Fund
Ysios Capital is Spain's largest life sciences venture capital firm, with ties to Spain's science leadership through cofounder Cristina Garmendia, who left the firm to serve as Spain's Minister of Science and Innovation before returning as a partner, and it has moved beyond typical venture investing into company creation through its InceptionBio vehicle, which builds biotech companies from early tech-transfer projects with a strong focus on Spain. The firm focuses on hard science areas like gene therapy, oncology, orphan CNS disease, calcification disorders, and regenerative cardiovascular implants, has backed deals such as Sanifit's acquisition by Vifor Pharma and U.S.-based Kala Pharmaceuticals, and produced three NASDAQ IPOs in 2021 alongside its oversubscribed €216M third fund.
















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