BioInnovation Institute (BII), a Copenhagen-based non-profit innovation hub established by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, is supporting 11 companies through its 12-month Venture Lab programme. Each company receives €500,000 in convertible loan funding, along with access to laboratory infrastructure, mentorship, business expertise, and BII’s investor network of more than 200 national and international investors.
BII supports early-stage life science startups and research projects by providing funding, laboratory facilities, mentoring, and business development support aimed at helping translate scientific research into commercial ventures.
The institute focuses on areas including human health, biotechnology, and planetary health, with the goal of developing technologies and solutions based on scientific discoveries that address societal and environmental challenges.
Commenting on the announcement, Trine Bartholdy, Chief Business Officer at BII, said:
Working across human health, planetary health and quantum, these eleven startups are aligned with BII’s mission to enable entrepreneurs to commercialise innovative solutions and technologies that address current and future societal challenges.
At BII, we look forward to supporting the startups in bringing their science to life by providing our knowledge, network, funding, and infrastructure to help build successful companies.
With the addition of this new cohort, BII has supported a total of 142 companies with €145 million in funding. These companies have collectively attracted around €1.1 billion in external investments and financing.
The eleven companies receiving support are:
- 2D - A spinout from the Technical University of Denmark developing scalable graphene-based technologies aimed at supporting sustainable industrial applications.
- Vasuqi - A clean water technology company developing light-based solutions to remove complex industrial pollutants and support water reuse.
- Cerentry - A biotechnology company developing approaches for systemic drug delivery to the brain based on research from the University of Copenhagen (co-financed by the Lundbeck Foundation).
- Étiquette - A food technology company developing fermentation-based processes to produce alcohol-free wine while maintaining flavour and structure.
- Combotope Therapeutics - A biotechnology company developing tumour-selective antibodies that target cancer-specific glyco-epitopes to improve precision in cancer therapies.
- Anorit Medical - A spinout from Aarhus University developing an automated ventilation device designed to assist bystanders in responding to cardiac arrest situations.
- Equilibrium Diagnostics - A spinout from Aarhus University, developing non-invasive diagnostic tools to assess kidney tubular function in chronic kidney disease.
- Ibnova Therapeutics - A biotechnology company developing vascularised engineered heart tissue patches aimed at supporting new approaches to heart repair.
- Heureka Therapeutics - A biotechnology company developing a dual-acting molecule intended to restore liver function in patients with fatty liver disease.
- 1st Biome - A spinout from the Technical University of Denmark developing next-generation probiotics designed to support improved health outcomes.
- QFactory - A spinout from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen, developing customised quantum systems for advanced sensing technologies.
Recently, BII also provided €1.3 million in follow-on funding to five portfolio startups (Synuca Therapeutics, Gefjon Pharma, MicroMiner, DARERL, and Diasense) to support product development, operational scaling, and progress toward market deployment across health, climate, agriculture, and deeptech sectors.
Photo credit: BioInnovation Institute
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