Lifesciences

Lifesciences are a natural environment for the Bertarelli Foundation’s activities and commitment. The family has been deeply involved in this sector for three generations: the grandfather Pietro managed the Istituto Farmacologico Serono in Rome; the father Fabio moved the Ares-Serono Group to Switzerland in 1977; Ernesto as CEO drove Serono to become the world’s third largest biotechnology company and Dona was also involved in the management of the company as Executive Director, Public and Professional Affairs.

Building on the Foundation’s initial focus on the disease area of infertility, the Bertarelli family, individually or as a group, has always dedicated interest and resources to projects related to health. An example has been Dona’s support for the World Heart Federation through her sailing team Ladycat. More recently, the Bertarelli Foundation has embraced the opportunity to be a key partner of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) innovative Center for Neuroprostheses.

In its plans for the future, the Foundation intends to continue promoting research and development in many areas of this critical sector for human endeavour.