
SynBioBeta 2026 Speaker
Per Falholt
21st.BIO
CSO, Co-founder
Per Falholt is a Danish chemical engineer with more than 40 years of experience in industrial biotechnology and innovation. He spent over three decades at Novo Nordisk and Novozymes, where he held senior leadership roles, including EVP of R&D, and was responsible for global research centers and the successful launch of around 200 new enzyme products across multiple industries.
Since 2016, he has co-founded several biotech companies, including Bactolife, Lactobio (sold to LโOrรฉal in 2023), ExelCyte, and 21st.BIO, where he serves as co-founder of a fast-growing Danish-American biotech firm. He is also an inventor on ~15 patents and contributed to pioneering enzyme technologies, large-scale protein production, and the application of CRISPR and other advanced biotech tools.
Falholt has served as Chairman of DTUโs Board (2012โ2020) and currently holds board positions at Danfoss, Co-Ro, and several biotech ventures, as well as advisory roles at DTU and international life science companies.



Reagan
Jarvis
Anocca AB
CEO, Co-founder

Alex
Rives
CZI Biohub
Head of Science

Karenโฏ
Akinsanya
Schrodinger
President, R&D โ Therapeutics

Christopher
Arendt
Takeda
CSO, Head of Research

Stef
van Grieken
Cradle
CEO

Michael
Koeris
DARPA
Director, BTO

Jennifer
Dionne
Pumpkinseed
CEO

Daniyal
Hussain
GSK
Exec. Dir., Tech BD

Cynthia
Hong
Novartis
Dir., Search & Evaluation
SynBioBeta 2027 May 3-6, San Jose, California


