BioInnovation Institute announces new cohort of companies entering the Venture Lab program

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Sept. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BioInnovation Institute (BII), an international commercial non-profit foundation incubating and accelerating world-class life science research, today announces the latest cohort of participants in its Venture Lab acceleration program for early-stage companies. The cohort consists of nine ventures plus two corporate-sponsored innovation projects from Novo Nordisk – all strategically aligned with BII's focus on developing ground-breaking scientific initiatives for the benefit of human and planetary health.

Designed to help build research-based ideas with high-growth commercial potential into viable start-ups, BII's 12-month Venture Lab program supports business acceleration, scientific and team development, and provides a risk-free convertible loan of EUR 0.5 million plus access to labs and offices at BII's entrepreneurial ecosystem in the center of Copenhagen. In becoming a part of the Venture Lab program, the early-stage companies also get an exclusive opportunity to apply for an add-on opportunity of up to EUR 1.3 million through BII's new Venture House program.

Commenting on today's launch, Bobby Soni, Chief Business Officer at BioInnovation Institute, said: "We are delighted to announce the next cohort of start-ups accepted onto our Venture Lab program and we look forward to supporting them with the many aspects of development needed to deliver first-in-class science that will positively impact global health and the environment. Furthermore, we are thrilled to present two strong innovation projects from Novo Nordisk and look forward to helping these projects progress by offering our Venture Lab program as a platform for innovation."

Each start-up will be supported in undertaking the necessary steps to reach initial proof-of-concept, to make a business plan and to set up a team. Assisted by a dedicated scientific advisor, a leadership coach and a BII business development expert, the new ventures will be guided in developing a detailed milestone plan and will be assisted in overcoming the challenges of growing a business.

The new companies BII has accepted into the Venture Lab acceleration program are:

• Agrobiomics uses cell bacteria that are metabolized to help crops cope with abiotic stress such as drought, thus providing farmers with new sustainable solutions.
• TriptoBio is developing a production platform for high-value plant compounds. The company's first product aims to eliminate rat poison.
• Upstream Foods is on a mission to redefine the future of seafood bringing the taste and health benefits to plant-based seafood.
• MATR Foods has developed a new method to create delicious new plant food from the side streams of the current food industry.
• Myco4Food transforms organic waste products into mycoprotein-enriched food ingredients. The company produces sustainable protein alternatives without the use of agricultural land.
• HHC Medical is developing a technology platform based on electroporation to deliver therapies to patients across a broad spectrum of diseases.
• HEKA VR uses virtual reality to provide a new type of immersive therapy for the many millions of treatment-resistant schizophrenia patients who currently have no viable treatment option.
• Fimmcyte is developing the first disease-modifying treatment for endometriosis to help relieve the millions of women affected by this painful condition.
• Ebumab seeks to use its antibody AMT-technology in combination with the body's own immune system to fight cancers.
• IVJector is a corporate sponsored project from Novo Nordisk that aims at transforming the patient experience of IV-based drug administration.
• D'ChangO is a corporate sponsored project from Novo Nordisk that devotes itself to providing a solution for people with binge-eating disorder via a digital, personalized and easy-accessible companion.             

Since its inception in 2018, BII has supported 62 start-ups and projects with EUR 50 million alongside the venture capital, pharma and business expertise it provides to help them accelerate to the next level.  In total, BII's start-ups have raised over EUR 207 million in external funding from both local and international investors.  Recent company successes include Adcendo, Stipe Therapeutics, Twelve Bio, Octarine Bio, and Cirqle Biomedical.

Read more about the Venture Lab program 

About the BioInnovation Institute Foundation

The BioInnovation Institute Foundation (BII) is an international commercial foundation with a nonprofit objective supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. BII operates an incubator to accelerate world-class life science innovation that drives the development of new solutions by early life science start-ups for the benefit of people and society.

BII, located in Copenhagen, Denmark, offers start-ups and early-stage projects within health tech, therapeutics, and bioindustrials state-of-the-art labs, vibrant office facilities, business development, start-up business incubation, access to high-level mentoring and international networks, plus unique funding opportunities of up to 1.3 million euro per start-up and 2.4 million euro per project.

Since the inauguration of BII in November 2018, BII has awarded 50 million euros to 62 high-growth start-up companies. Read more on www.bioinnovationinstitute.com

SOURCE BII