NGBiLab S3.E4: AxCell Labs

Based in Sherbrooke, Quebec, AxCell Labs is a biotech engineering startup developing a new generation of biomaterials designed to help the body heal itself.

Their core innovation is a specialized scaffold made from bacterial cellulose—originally derived from a local kombucha culture—that provides a physical structure for human cells to colonize and regenerate soft tissue lost to trauma, surgery, or cancer.

In this episode, host Jim Wilson sits down with CEO Jérémie Chaussé to share the "accidental" origin story of the company, which began when two university students went door-to-door hunting for kombucha scoby to start their first lab culture.

Jérémie discusses the grit required to navigate a three-year master’s degree while acting as his own tax accountant, the critical technical pivot they made after a failed animal trial, and how their "scaffold" technology provides a new benchmark for reconstructive surgery.

This conversation offers a candid look at the reality of student entrepreneurship, the importance of securing intellectual property early, and how a bit of "kombucha luck" turned into a high-stakes medical mission.