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 to benefit 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 chance to apply for an add-on funding 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 program are: Agrobiomics, TriptoBIO, Upstream Foods, MATR Foods, Myco4Food, HHC Medical, HEKA VR, Fimmcyte, Ebumab, IVJector (corporate sponsored project from Novo Nordisk) and D’ChangO (corporate sponsored project from Novo Nordisk).
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.