Insight

BioInnovation Institute - Life Science commercialisation platform attracting expertise and investment to Denmark

Insight

BioInnovation Institute - Life Science commercialisation platform attracting expertise and investment to Denmark

The BioInnovation institute is Denmark’s preeminent commercialisation platform for “bringing ideas to life and research to market” and has developed a strong track-record of accelerating early-stage start-ups. International investors have taken notice.  

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The BioInnovation Institute supports the commercialisation of science by using its accumulated knowledge, networks, direct funding, and research infrastructure to support world-class, science-based start-ups. The Institute and its activities are anchored in one of Europe’s leading Life Science clusters, offering start-ups and investors a specific platform to connect within a broader national ecosystem that nurtures science and values the translation of new discoveries into commercial enterprises to bring solutions to market.

The Institute has created tailor-made programs that bring together expertise and resources to help start-ups increase the likelihood of successful exits, with specific supports that align with the needs of early-stage commercial ventures based on strong scientific research.

All together, the programs and supports offered by the BioInnovation Institute have helped place Denmark on the map as a place for Life Science start-ups to launch a new venture or for investors to identify investment-ready teams that have benefited from the resources of the Institute, thereby accelerating new solutions that seek to make an impact on human and planetary health. 

“The Bioinnovation Institute is a critical part of why Denmark consistently translates world-class research into high potential companies, acting as a magnet for skilled entrepreneurs, scientific expertise, and venture capital from around the world. It complements our strong universities and collaborative environment for conducting scientific research, ensuring that great ideas reach the market and ultimately make an impact on human and planetary health.”

Anne Hougaard

Director at Invest in Denmark

Venture Lab - Accelerating early-stage, science-based ventures

The Venture Lab is a 12-month programme designed to help newly established early-stage start-ups that do not yet have commercial investors. It is a combination of business acceleration and scientific development to reach proof of concept from a technical and business model perspective. Participants are supported with a EUR 500,000 convertible loan and intensive support from the resources of the Institute’s team, including knowledge, networks, funding, research infrastructure all organised around a dedicated BII anchor to ensure progress towards commercialisation.

The fourth cohort of the prestigious Venture Lab program at the Bioinnovation Institute has recently been announced, and new calls take place twice a year. 

 

                  

 

This year’s cohort includes companies from across a range of segments, sharing in common a foundation in science and potential impact on human and planetary health.

Agoprene develops furniture foam from biomass to help the furniture industry reduce the need for petrochemicals

AIDA Oncology selects the best cancer drug for each patient, using the RNA expression pattern of their tumour and machine learning

Alba Health is on a mission to reduce chronic disease risks from childhood, leveraging data science and the latest microbiome science.

Droplet IV automatically flushes every IV set at the precise time of medicine termination, ensuring patients’ optimal treatment quality.

FÆRM provides an enzymatic solution for plant-based cheese, translating dairy practices to legumes in cooperation with dairy plants.

METSYSTEM has developed a unique technology to predict cancer metastasis and determine the optimal chemotherapy to treat it preventively.

Norfalk rethinks soap, cosmetics, and detergents by producing sustainable active and stabilizing ingredients called surfactants.

Dawn Bio is developing a drug discovery platform based on human embryo models for drug development for women’s reproductive health.

Fuse Vectors is disrupting manufacturing to enable universal access to gene therapy.

Amplify Therapeutics develops transformative, disease-modifying therapies for Gaucher disease and genetic subgroups of Parkinson’s disease.

“We are pleased to welcome this new cohort of early-stage companies working across the bioindustrials, therapeutics, women’s health and health tech industries to the Venture Lab program. BII’s mission is to create products for the welfare of people and society, and we believe that BII’s support of the innovative science in this Venture Lab cohort will deliver on that promise.”

Bobby Soni

Chief Business Officer at The Bioinnovation Institute 

Commercialise your discovery in Denmark

Other programs include the Bio Studio to help spinout companies based on transformative research, Venture House to mature projects to help attract funding, and a residence program to help established start-ups connect to the innovative environment offered at the Institute’s facilities.

International start-ups are eligible for participating in BII’s programs, as long as they establish a legal entity in Denmark. In 2021, 43 percent of the program applicants came from outside of Denmark.

One such participant is Stimuliver, a Scottish start-up which relocated to Denmark and participated in the Institute’s Venture Lab program. The company has since attracted international and Danish financing to bring its regenerative treatment for liver disease to market. 

“Access to capital and expertise in a location within EU were key drivers when deciding to locate our cell therapy company in Copenhagen. The ecosystem has multiple layers of support, such as a well-established venture capital community and fantastic generalist and specialised early-stage funders such as the BioInnovation Institute. Other funds such as Innovationsfonden and Dansk Growth and Investment Fund have supported the dynamic local ecosystem. These are in turn complemented by major stakeholders such Novo Nordisk Foundation that are driving the development of technology and infrastructure to support the development of regenerative medicine therapeutics.

Crucially, large stakeholders such as Novo Nordisk have a significant interest in cell therapy, which has led to a build-up of expertise in the ecosystem, which we have benefited from.  As a result, we have been able to become established quickly and build a number of high value partnerships, which are so important for an early-stage company like ourselves.” 

Giles Dudley

Chief Business Officer at Stimuliver

Other Venture Lab cohort companies includes Norwegian start-up Agoprene. As part of the Venture Lab program, the CEO and Co-founder of Agoprene, Celine Sandberg, will relocate to Copenhagen to collaborate with the ecosystem. It also includes Dawn Bio, a women’s health start-up spun out from Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Vienna.

Companies from outside Denmark will benefit significantly from participating in any of BII’s programs. In addition to financial support, start-ups receive hands-on support from a dedicated anchor within the Institute, who will curate access to Danish and broader European research networks, partnership opportunities, and engagement with a network of local and international venture capital teams.  

Learn more about the various programs and their benefits

BII - Find Your Program

Invest in world-class science - BioInnovation Institute attracts international venture capital investment

Recent experience has shown that venture capital is often the next stage of growth for companies moving through the programs. Indeed, alumni from Bioinnovation Institute have raised a total of EUR 333 million in follow on external funding after matriculating from the Institute’s programs.

The international investment community has caught on to the deal flow emanating from these programs, with alumni companies such as BioSyntia, Adcendo, Evodiabio, Octarine Bio among the companies raising financing from international investors.

This international investment is facilitated by the inclusion of venture partners in the Program Advisory Group, offering expertise, global network, and joining investment rounds for promising start-ups. This group include Sound Bioventures, Abingworth, Sofinnova Partners, Redalpine, The March Fund, Wellington Partners, and SR One.

International venture capital investors can benefit from the consolidated pipeline of highly innovative start-ups that have received proven investment readiness support from the team at the Institute. The Institute has become a hub for aggregating international venture investment and facilitating access to start-ups as they proceed through the programs.  

Read about the BII alumni company BioSyntia and its latest investment from the Germany-based European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF)  

get in touch

Interested in learning more about the Danish Life Science ecosystem, either as an investor or as a startup? 

We provide free-of-charge confidential and tailor-made solutions for foreign companies looking to set up a new business in Denmark or expand an existing one. Please contact one of our experts here:

Copenhagen

  • Sarina Lohmann

    Title: Special Advisor – Maritime and transport – Analysis & Partnerships

    Area: Copenhagen

    Phone: +4533920423

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