Interview with our new Chairman of the Supervisory Board: Laurent Frigara

1. Could you introduce yourself in a few words?

I am Laurent Frigara, an entrepreneur passionate about healthcare. Right after graduating from computer engineering school, I founded my first company, which already combined healthcare and technology. I then had the opportunity to build and grow meaningful projects that improved hospital care. My best-known venture is Enovacom, which I co-founded to make it a leader in digital health in France, before selling the company to the Orange Group.

This extensive experience also led me to become an investor. In this role, observing the healthcare, tech, data, and AI ecosystems I interact with daily sends me a clear message: the next revolution for patients will come from the convergence of tech and biotech.

2. What motivated you to accept this role?

Honestly, how could I refuse such a mission? We are facing a major public health challenge: chronic pain, which affects hundreds of millions of people. Each of us—myself included—knows someone, or is experiencing it firsthand, who is dealing with chronic pain. And then there is the opioid crisis, a terrible human tragedy.

Tafalgie doesn’t just offer an alternative: it paves the way to simultaneously provide relief for patients and address a major public health crisis.

Then there’s the team. At Tafalgie, I discovered an absolutely incredible concentration of talent. Brilliant scientists, seasoned experts… Their infectious passion and energy finally convinced me that I had to get involved.

3. What will be your priorities as Chairman of the Supervisory Board?

Together with the Supervisory Board, we are here to advise, challenge, and support the management team. My role is to ensure that our mission and value creation are aligned: to ensure that our mission—to relieve patients’ suffering—translates into sustainable and transparent value creation for our shareholders.

It’s also about building for the future: helping to structure Tafalgie’s growth. This means maintaining the agility of a startup while building a solid foundation, particularly by leveraging my network and ensuring the well-being of our teams, who are our greatest asset.

Finally, it’s about forging the right alliances. A biotech company’s success depends on smart strategic partnerships. I will share my experience to ensure that Tafalgie surrounds itself with the best partners to bring our first molecule to patients.

4. What is your vision for Tafalgie in the coming months and years?

Tafalgie has everything it needs to become a leading global player in next-generation painkillers.

In the short term, the first clinical results should confirm what we all sense: the immense potential of our approach. This milestone will pave the way for decisive strategic partnerships.

In the medium term, I dream that the name Tafalgie will become synonymous with breakthrough innovation in pain treatment. That we will become a leader, capable of attracting the best talent and developing a portfolio of life-changing solutions.

5. What do you see as the main challenges facing Tafalgie?

I see three main ones.

First, the scientific challenge, which is already well underway: transforming scientific promise into irrefutable clinical evidence. We must demonstrate absolute rigor in our trials, while remaining at the forefront of innovation, particularly through AI.

Next, the strategic challenge: charting our course through a complex regulatory and financial ecosystem.

Finally, the human challenge must not be overlooked. Hypergrowth is always a human challenge: it’s about maintaining a sprint’s intensity over a marathon’s distance. We’ll need to attract and retain a world-class team, cultivate a culture of excellence and kindness, and structure the company so it can grow without losing its soul.

6. If you had to choose just one keyword or ambition to sum up your appointment?

One word, it would be: trust. Trust for the patients awaiting a solution, for society facing a major health challenge, and finally for the team of Tafalgie founders committed to an extraordinary professional and human challenge.