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Live Interviews — Meeting on the Med 2026 — cell-and-gene-therapy — venture-capital — biotech-investment — saisei-ventures

Sven Kili, Partner, Saisei Ventures | Onyx Live | Cell & Gene Meeting on the Med 2026

Great science isn't enough to get funded, says investor Sven Kili – only great medicines are. Inside the CGT funding squeeze, and what specialist VCs actually screen for.

Federico Citterich Federico Citterich
1 min read
Sven Kili, Partner of Saisei Ventures
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"Investors love great science, but we will not invest in great science – we only invest in great medicines." That is how Sven Kili, a clinician and venture capitalist, sums up the bar a biotech company has to clear today. With the IPO window largely shut and VCs struggling to refill their own funds, the science has rarely looked better and the money has rarely been harder to raise.

  • The macro squeeze: a closed (and only briefly reopening) IPO market means existing portfolio companies can't exit, so VCs can't recycle capital into new ones – the constraint is financing, not science right now.
  • The post-COVID "dumb money" has left; specialist funds are back in control and far more sensitive to data, technology and how efficiently a company is spending. The branded jackets and shiny buildings at Series A no longer fly.
  • The upside: the quality of data and companies now coming through is markedly better – painful for founders chasing capital, but healthier for the field long term.
  • Don't treat CGT as a hammer for every nail – be pragmatic about where a cell or gene therapy genuinely fits the treatment paradigm versus a small molecule, biologic or surgery, because that dictates reimbursement and fundability.
  • Saisei Ventures is a boutique, specialist CGT investor that does roughly 60% of its deals in Japan, focuses only on therapeutics, gets deeply involved in company building from seed and Series A, and deliberately keeps its Japanese companies in Japan while bringing Western expertise in.
  • His advice to founders: be harsh on your own technology, don't drink your own Kool-Aid, come through a warm introduction rather than a cold calendar link, and do your homework on the VC before you pitch.

Onyx caught up with Sven Kili, Partner at Saisei Ventures, at Cell & Gene Meeting on the Med 2026 in Rome to talk about why great science isn't enough, what specialist investors are really screening for, and how founders can turn a promising platform into a fundable medicine.

A special thanks to our Onyx Live sponsor:

Cellares – Automated cell therapy manufacturing at scale. https://cellares.com/

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