Bio Studio project: Henriette Svarre Nielsen
Health Tech
Read more
The Bio Studio Program supports entrepreneurial academic researchers in translating their science into innovative products and solutions.
The Bio Studio program is a newly established program with the ambition of building and running a leading life science company creation facility in Europe. Through this program, BII will host 15-20 top-level entrepreneurial scientists from across the world to translate their science into new solutions. Bio Studio is anchored in our Innovation department.
The Bio Studio Program projects will join BII and establish a team that will work in a BII’s office and lab space alongside other Bio Studio projects and start-ups in other BII programs. Bio Studio projects will be supported by a tailored program to develop entrepreneurial and commercial competencies of the team and by dedicated BII anchors to help guide project progression.
Bio Studio is a successor of our former Faculty program and has the ambition of building and running a leading life science company creation facility in Europe.
BII is excited to invite entrepreneurial scientists to submit Expression of Interest for our Bio Studio program. Bio Studio is a newly established program specifically designed to support leading academic Principal Investigators (PIs) from universities, hospitals and/or research institutions in translating research into innovative products and solutions.
Interested in learning more? Please find more information below about our current expression of interest calls.
Our programs support life science start-ups operating within therapeutics, bioindustrials and health tech.
Click on the image below to read more.
Bio Studio supports ambitious translational projects that address major challenges with substantial societal and health impact and target a significant current or future market need.
The goal of each Bio Studio project is the creation of a viable startup by the end of the program that can raise seed or Series A financing.
As part of the Bio Studio program, you will receive help for scientific maturation, development of IP, entrepreneurial training, extensive in-kind partner services and preparation for fundraising.
Established PIs with at least three years of experience of leading an independent research group from across the world with a strong academic track record and demonstrated experience in translating research and/or commercialization.
Bio Studio projects are expected to run for up to 3 years and the funding is awarded in sequential 1-year in-kind grants of up to DKK 5M pending on annual approval of extension based on the milestone plan.
Funded projects will be incubated at BII’s state-of-the-art facilities in central Copenhagen. PIs themselves are not expected to relocate to BII and will remain at their host institution. Any IP generated during the Bio Studio project will remain with the PI’s host institution or with the inventors depending on appropriate legislation.
PI Henriette Svarre Nielsen
Henriette Svarre Nielsen is a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology and an expert in reproduction and recurrent pregnancy loss. Parallel to her clinical and academic career focusing on pathophysiology in reproduction and women’s health, Henriette Svarre Nielsen has successfully founded and chaired Maternity Foundation and co-founded OvaCure. Maternity Foundation aims to save lives in childbirth and develops evidence‐based solutions and is a strong actor within the emerging field of health tech. The Safe Delivery App developed by the Foundation has successfully instructed over 160,000 health care workers in Sub‐Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.
PI Karsten Kristiansen
Karsten Kristiansen has worked in the field of molecular biology since the late 70’s. He is a Professor at the Laboratory of Genomics and Molecular Biomedicine in the Department of Biology at the University of Copenhagen and has served as a member of Scientific Advisory Boards in several life science companies such as Evolva and in research institutions around the world such as The National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research in Norway. In 2001, he co-founded the start-up BioLigands.
In the Bio Studio project, his team is working on designing consortia of bacteria – termed collaboromes – able to prevent or diminish attacks by pathogens causing major annual losses of crops. The project will establish a comprehensive catalog of genes, species, and collaboromes characterizing the microbiota in fields with high or low incidence of diseases due to fungal or bacterial pathogens.
PI Jay Keasling
Jay Keasling is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and a visiting professor at the Technical University of Denmark. Jay Keasling is an expert in engineering microorganisms to produce chemicals such as pharmaceuticals, specialty and commodity chemicals, and biofuels. He has authored over 450 peer‐reviewed publications, is the inventor on over 50 issued US patents, and is the co‐founder of eight biotechnology companies. As principal investigator, Jay Keasling leads the overall scientific and business development efforts.
In his Bio Studio project, his team focuses on Monoterpenoid indole alkaloids (MIAs) which are plant-derived natural products with remarkable structural diversity and a myriad of applications as therapeutics, nutraceuticals, pest control agents, and materials precursors.
PI Thomas Lars Andresen
Thomas Lars Andresen has a background in biomaterial and biological engineering. He has started several companies such as Nanovi in 2012, Monta Biosciences in 2014 and the Boston-based Torque Therapeutics in 2015. Academically, he has received multiple research prizes including the Elite Research Prize from the Danish Ministry of Science and published more than 160 research articles and filed approximately 40 patent applications. He spent more than two years in Boston as full-time CSO of Torque Therapeutics and he was instrumental in merging the company with Cogen to form Repertoire Immune Medicines. He was lead on 3 IND filings in the US and 1 in Europe and led 4 distinct technologies into clinical trials. One of these technologies is now commercialized in Europe.
In the Bio Studio program, his team aims to develop a technology platform for localized gene therapy where the first technological objective is to generate a transfection system for pro-inflammatory cytokines that uses the cellular machinery within tumors to generate the cytokine in situ over a defined period of time. Local cytokine secretion will induce a proinflammatory condition in the tumor that will aid the immune system in recognizing and eradicating cancer cells.
PI Anja Boisen
Anja Boisen has more than 20 years’ experience in sensor development and has managed several larger national and international projects. She is heading the IDUN center of Excellence and has co-founded four spinout companies from DTU. Anja is among others the vice-chair of Innovation Fund Denmark, which supports entrepreneurs, researchers and businesses to develop innovative and viable solutions to society’s challenges.
In the Bio Studio program, her team is developing a miniaturized tabletop device that can perform therapeutic drug monitoring on a single drop of blood in a matter of minutes. The research group will be working on a solution available at the point of care without the need for specialized personnel and at a fraction of the currently available cost.
PI Morten Otto Alexander Sommer
In parallel to his academic career, Professor Morten Otto Alexander Sommer has been focused on translating research progress from his laboratory into start-ups. He has co-founded six life science companies, amongst them are SNIPR Biome and UNION therapeutics. The six start-ups have taken different corporate development strategies and through these experiences, Morten Otto Alexander Sommer has gained entrepreneurial competencies such as investor dialogue, pharma partnering, FDA/EMA interactions and drug development.
In the Bio Studio program, his team works on microbial cell therapies for modulating the gut-brain axis.
Rigshospitalet is the University Hospital of Copenhagen with specialized treatment, research and education at the highest international level. Through a strong focus on innovation, developing new treatments, services and solutions for better healthcare, the hospital seeks to benefit patients across the world, by being a global pioneer in future healthcare.
The hospital have established a structured process for innovation support, where clinicians receive help from a dedicated team of innovation consultants to convert their research in to new medical solutions. The aim is to take an active part in designing and developing future healthcare solutions together with startups and industry, that can bring products to market and scale to make a global impact.
Bispebjerg Hospital is one of the hospitals in the Capital Region of Denmark. Along with a number of other hospitals and the University of Copenhagen (the Faculty of Health Sciences), Bispebjerg Hospital forms part of the Copenhagen University Hospital. read more on their homepage here.
The University of Copenhagen was founded in 1479 by the Danish king Christian 1, and today has 37,500 students and 9,000 employees – of whom some 5,000 are researchers – and revenues of DKK 9.1 billion. Nine Nobel Prizes have been awarded to researchers at the University. The University of Copenhagen consistently ranks as the top university in Denmark and Scandinavia.
Find more information about them here.
Aarhus University (AU) is one of Denmark’s largest research and teaching hubs, with its main campus in downtown Aarhus. Rooted in strong disciplines, researchers and students have been generating new knowledge here for over 90 years. Aarhus University has 38,000 students, five faculties, research activities all over the country and campuses in Aarhus, Herning and Emdrup.
Research and education of the highest international quality are at the core of our mission, and strong partnerships with our society are at the heart of our activities. Thanks to our size and reputation as a leading research-intensive university, Aarhus University has strong impact and influence across the entire spectrum of disciplines, locally, nationally and globally.
Among more than 17,000 universities worldwide, Aarhus University is in the top 100 on several of the international rankings, and with its recently launched business collaboration and innovation initiative, Aarhus University will create even more tangible value for society.
Find more information about them here.