Women’s health has historically received comparatively little attention across the spectrum of health research. Through its newly established Bio Studio program, BioInnovation Institute (BII) announces a unique funding opportunity of up to 6.5M DKK per year specifically focusing on supporting projects that improve women’s health globally.
“Despite unmet medical needs and high societal impact, women’s health has been an area with limited funding opportunities across the translation pipeline for decades. Through BII’s Women’s Health Initiative, we aim to catalyze innovation in this undeservedly overlooked space by supporting new Bio Studio projects,” says Johanna Roostalu, Women’s Health Lead at BII.
To be considered eligible for entering the Bio Studio program, the applicant must be an established PI with a minimum of three years of experience in leading an independent research group.
You can express your interest here
Addressing an unmet societal need
BII is especially interested in projects focusing on new non-hormonal therapeutics solutions and evidence-based health tech approaches. The specific themes of interest in women’s health are: 1) Non-hormonal contraception, 2) Vaginal microbiome, 3) Menstrual health, 4) HPV/cervical cancer treatment, 5) Endometriosis and 6) Menopause symptoms.
“In Bio Studio, we support ambitious translational projects that address some of the major challenges with substantial societal and health impact. If you are a researcher in women’s health with such a project in mind, we would be delighted if you’d let us know by submitting the expression of interest describing your idea,” says Johanna Roostalu.
Each Bio Studio project’s goal is to create a viable start-up by the end of the program that can raise seed or Series A investment. The funded projects will be incubated at BII’s state-of-the-art facilities in central Copenhagen. However, 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 stay with the PI’s host institution or the inventors depending on appropriate legislation.