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

BioInnovation Institute (BII), an international commercial non-profit foundation incubating and accelerating world-class life science research, announced the latest cohort of participants in its Venture Lab acceleration program for early-stage startups. 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 startups, BII's 12-month Venture Lab program supports business acceleration, scientific and team development, and provides a risk-free convertible loan of €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 €1.3 million through BII's new Venture House program.

Bobby Soni, Chief Business Officer, BioInnovation Institute: "We are delighted to announce the next cohort of startups 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 startup 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 startups and projects with €50 million alongside the venture capital, pharma and business expertise it provides to help them accelerate to the next level.  In total, BII's startups have raised over €207 million in external funding from both local and international investors. 

www.bii.dk