Aton
Turn research into medicines
Award-winning new name, strategy and brand voice for a life science business that aims to transform medicine
When experience becomes the strategy
Hybrigenics Pharma was a French biotechnology company listed on Euronext. They'd developed promising treatments for cancer but had setbacks in late-stage trials. The share price suffered. Morale was low.
The new CEO saw potential others might have missed. The group had valuable technologies. Deep experience in pharmaceutical development. And insight into where the process breaks down between promising research and treatments that reach patients.
Her vision: pivot from developing treatments to supporting others. Build a life sciences group that helps change how medicines get developed. An ecosystem of complementary companies working in synergy.
But to make it work, they needed to reset. Rally investors. Build a new team. Attract partners.
That meant more than operational change. It needed a clear strategic position. A new identity that signalled transformation while preserving credibility. And a story that made sense of the pivot.
The strategic insight – turn setbacks into strength
Most companies would bury the difficult years. Draw a line. Start fresh.
But those trials weren't just history to overcome. They were the source of everything the new group would become. The credibility that would make partners trust them. The insight that explained their purpose.
The question wasn't to hide the past. It was how to use it honestly.
- FROM: A biotechnology company with deep pharmaceutical development experience, pivoting under new leadership to become a holding group.
- VIA: Experience from clinical trials isn't a liability – it's rare insight into what goes wrong between research and medicine.
- TO: Position as trusted guide. A life sciences group that will help you accelerate development of safer, more effective therapies.
Finding the name
The strategic shift demanded a new name. Something that carried no historical weight. That works internationally. That captures both scientific rigour and the human purpose at the heart of the business.
Aton (from the sun – ancient Egypt). A metaphor for the group’s role as guiding light at the centre of an ecosystem. Short, confident, memorable. No baggage.
The tagline made their promise and ambition plain: Turn research into medicines.
The positioning: We help create, support and energize cutting-edge technologies, to deliver tomorrow's medicines.
The purpose: To advance therapies for the good of patients, medicine and society.
Principles: Envision the future. Build trust together. Embrace life’s adventure.
Personality: purposeful, warm, bold and bright.
Making it real
The narrative leads with experience, not apology: Aton and its mission – to change how medicines are tested and developed – was born of experience.
It acknowledges the evolution from Hybrigenics without dwelling on it. Focuses on what that journey created. An ecosystem designed to give every patient access to tomorrow's therapies: the right treatment, to the right person, at the right time.
The messaging emphasises complementary specialisms working in synergy. Technologies and skills across different disciplines, united around one goal.
Totem’s striking visual identity brings the strategy to life – a confident word mark with an emblematic ‘O’ suggesting both scientific precision and collaborative ecosystem.
Why it works
The rebrand doesn't ask people to forget the past. It asks them to understand how that experience created something valuable. The honesty builds trust. The pivot from doing to guiding makes sense. The name gives them fresh identity while the narrative preserves credibility.
Aton was recognised at Transform Europe Awards for Best Brand Naming and Best Brand Development Project to reflect a change of mission, values or positioning.
The rebrand enabled Aton to raise investment, attract partners, and build the ecosystem they envisioned.
- The challenge: Rebrand a biotech company pivoting to become a life sciences holding group
- The insight: Experience from pharmaceutical development becomes a credible foundation for guiding others
- The expression: Aton | Turn research into medicines
- The outcome: Transform Europe Award winner
- Partnership: Colin Byrne and the team at Totem
This process energized something in us. Because we know the story we are in, but it helped us to open up, to see broader and to focus on the vision. Honestly we could not achieve this without him.
Aton
— Before
Description:
Award-winning new name, strategy and brand voice for a life science business that aims to transform medicine
Intent:
Rename and reposition a former biotech into a life sciences group with a new purpose
Who: