BioCentury
ARTICLE | Product Development

Lessons in lean innovation: Esobiotec’s fast exit with in vivo CAR T

With a product-first mindset and China-based clinical strategy, Esobiotec offers a playbook for capital-efficient biotech in a shifting global landscape

June 26, 2025 1:17 AM UTC

As China’s emerging biotech ecosystem redefines cost efficiency in drug discovery and early development, the pressure is on for European biotechs — long seen as slower-moving than their U.S. counterparts — to adopt a greater sense of urgency.

Against this backdrop, Esobiotec S.A. offers a case study in product-focused strategy — no science for science’s sake — to turn €14 million in seed funding into early clinical proof of concept for an advanced modality, in vivo CAR T, in just four years. ...