Nicholas Draeger

Biography

Nicholas possesses over 20 years experience in healthcare including large Pharma, Biotech and Medical Devices in research, business development and fund management. He started his career at Roche in the field of Alzheimer’s disease, and HIV diagnostics, research and later was a member of the Global Business Development team in the Pharmaceuticals division, specialising in M&A and licensing. Nicholas was involved in the acquisition by Roche of Boehringer Mannheim and Chugai Pharmaceuticals amongst other projects. Nicholas then joined the Italian pharmaceutical company, Recordati, as Director of International Business Development. Nicholas then entered the financial industry and headed the Biotech sell-side research group at the French finance group, Credit Agricole Indosuez Cheuvreux, and was scientific advisor for the healthcare research team. After some years on the sell-side, Nicholas joined the Bellevue Group as a member of the management team of BB Biotech AG, thereafter moving to Adamant Biomedical Investments AG, a company founded by his wife, Dr Nora Frey, both in Switzerland, where he specialised in investments in Asia, Australia and South Africa, as well as venture capital on a global basis. Nicholas was, simultaneously a Senior Research Scientist in health economics at the University Hospital Basel, Switzerland. Nicholas then left Adamant to co-found Cederberg Advisors GmbH, which is now Cederberg GmbH, a pharmaceutical marketing and distribution company in Switzerland, and Valevia UK, a biotech research and development company. Nicholas later founded a food production company in Africa, Nurevas International AG, as well as an import/export company, Africa’s Best Products, in South Africa. He is currently on the advisory panel of the SA Biopark in Pretoria, South Africa and a judge on the GAP Bioscience competition in South Africa and advises various biotech companies. Nicholas is very passionate about improving the levels of education in Southern Africa and is a Board member of the Africa Genome Educational Institute which focuses on the improvement of education in South Africa as well as being a founder of the Isilimela Trust for the improvement of education in Southern Africa. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Chemical Engineering from the University of Natal, Durban, South Africa, a PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK, in Biochemical Engineering, and a MBA from the University of Warwick, UK.

Research Interest

 Management