“In Big Pharma, innovation is often stifled because the bureaucracy and mindset completely kills creativity and intuition needed for discovery. That’s why they now prefer to allocate their early-phase resources to smaller biotechs,” explains Julien Laizé, sharing candid insights about the delicate balance between innovation and compliance in vaccine manufacturing

Julien Laizé serves as Director of External Manufacturing CTM at Valneva, a French-based specialty vaccine company developing and commercialising vaccines for infectious diseases. With previous roles at Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, Julien brings unique perspectives on managing external manufacturing across both big pharma and biotech environments, particularly in navigating the tension between innovation and regulatory compliance.

Ahead of CDMO Live next week, Julien shares his experiences in fostering innovation while maintaining rigorous quality standards, and explains why the industry’s greatest discoveries often come from embracing calculated risks.

Listen to the full episode here and join Julien and other ExM leaders at CDMO Live 2025, 7-8 May, Rotterdam.