Ex-CEO of Incyte Hervé Hoppenot on 10x Growth, Biotech Cycles, and Breaking Bureaucracy | E58

<p>When Hervé joined Incyte in 2014, the launch of lead product Jakafi in the US was choppy. By the time he left in 2025, he had grown their revenue from $300 million to a whopping $5 billion. We talk about the bureaucracy of Big Pharma, rare diseases, and why a biotech M&amp;A supercycle isn’t as likely as you&#39;d think.</p><p>---Discover the best biotech companies in 🇪🇺 with the FlotBio Map. <a href="https://bit.ly/4nXmKjN" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://bit.ly/4nXmKjN</a>---</p><p>⭐️ ABOUT THE SPEAKER</p><p>Prior to his time at Incyte, Hervé led the oncology business unit at Novartis and had leading roles at Aventis (now Sanofi). He is currently on the boards of companies including Incyte, Pierre Fabre, &amp; Bicycle Therapeutics.</p><p>🔗 LINKS MENTIONED</p><ul><li>Pascal Touchon | Cell Therapy, Jeito, Kymriah | E49 —<a href="https://flot.bio/episode/pascal-touchon-jeito/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://flot.bio/episode/pascal-touchon-jeito/</a></li><li>Alessandro Riva, Transgene | Cancer Vaccines, Oncolytic Viruses | E50— <a href="https://flot.bio/personalized-cancer-vaccine-oncolytic-viruses/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://flot.bio/personalized-cancer-vaccine-oncolytic-viruses/</a></li><li>Penn and Novartis CAR-T alliance (2012) — <a href="https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/university-pennsylvania-and-novartis-form-alliance-expand-use-personalized-t-cell-therapy-cance" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/university-pennsylvania-and-novartis-form-alliance-expand-use-personalized-t-cell-therapy-cance</a></li><li>Incyte and Novartis deal (2009) —<a href="https://investor.incyte.com/news-releases/news-release-details/incyte-announces-major-collaboration-and-license-agreement-two" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://investor.incyte.com/news-releases/news-release-details/incyte-announces-major-collaboration-and-license-agreement-two</a></li><li>Hoppenot steps down as Incyte CEO (2025) — <a href="https://investor.incyte.com/news-releases/news-release-details/incyte-announces-change-its-board-directors" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://investor.incyte.com/news-releases/news-release-details/incyte-announces-change-its-board-directors</a></li><li>argenx leadership transition (2026) —<a href="https://argenx.com/news/2026/press-release-3212418" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://argenx.com/news/2026/press-release-3212418</a></li><li>BioNTech co-founders leadership transition (2026) — <a href="https://investors.biontech.de/news-releases/news-release-details/biontech-and-co-founders-announce-plan-pursue-next-generation" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://investors.biontech.de/news-releases/news-release-details/biontech-and-co-founders-announce-plan-pursue-next-generation</a></li><li>Incyte tumbles after combo therapy with Merck fails study (2018) — <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/incyte-study/update-2-incyte-tumbles-after-combo-therapy-with-merck-fails-study-idUSL4N1RJ2HW/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.reuters.com/article/incyte-study/update-2-incyte-tumbles-after-combo-therapy-with-merck-fails-study-idUSL4N1RJ2HW/</a></li><li>Bristol-Myers Squibb receives accelerated approval of Opdivo (2014) — <a href="https://news.bms.com/news/details/2014/Bristol-Myers-Squibb-Receives-Accelerated-Approval-of-Opdivo-nivolumab-from-the-US-Food-and-Drug-Administration/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://news.bms.com/news/details/2014/Bristol-Myers-Squibb-Receives-Accelerated-Approval-of-Opdivo-nivolumab-from-the-US-Food-and-Drug-Administration/default.aspx</a></li><li>U.S. FDA approves Padcev (2025) <a href="https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/us-fda-approves-padcevr-plus-keytrudar-certain-patients" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.pfizer.com