The international life-science community gathered this week in Munich for the 16th BioVaria, Europe’s leading showcasing event for breakthrough technologies and start-ups in the field. Organized by 13 top-tier technology transfer organizations, the event serves as a catalyst for forging partnerships between industry and academia to advance transformative innovations into commercial development.
This year’s event featured 10 highly promising start-ups during the BioVaria Pitch & Partner Program plus a total of 57 commercially and medically attractive technologies arising from top research institutions, universities and university clinics from all over Europe. In addition, BioVaria spotlighted selected early-stage projects supported by the GO-Bio initial and ForTra funding programs.
A highlight was the interactive Startup Pitch & Partner panel where 10 start-ups, five each in the categories ‘rising’ and ‘emerging’, competed to convince a jury of seasoned investors of their ventures’ potential. This year’s winners are SurvivX (rising) and QUASAR Therapeutics (emerging). SurvivX is a Dutch start-up developing a game-changing approach for the treatment of sepsis based on a novel nature-derived protein with outstanding immune stimulating capability. QUASAR Therapeutics is based in Germany and develops innovative regulators of the complement system, a part of the innate immune system whose malfunction is associated with serious diseases. Their rationally engineered protein has a unique, enzyme-like mode of action with superior efficacy, potency and targeting compared to available complement inhibitors. Both winners expressed their gratitude for the opportunities provided by BioVaria.
‘We’re extremely proud to have won the competition in our category. It was a great networking event, very well organized, great venue, and I have met very nice people. I’d definitely recommend it to other start-ups for the next years,’ said Leonie de Best of SurvivX.
Arthur Dopler and Matteo Mohr from QUASAR Therapeutics added: ‘BioVaria 2024 was a great and valuable event for us. It’s the perfect mix of start-ups, investors, industry and academia representing the entire life-science ecosystem. Many thanks to the organizers and sponsors who made this possible.’
Among the GO-Bio initial and ForTra projects, Innovade, Cognisa and Mallia Therapeutics were selected as winners by a jury of technology transfer professionals, due to their excellent pitch performance. It was the first time any of these start-ups had pitched to an international audience of top-tier life-science investors and industry representatives.
BioVaria attendees also had the opportunity to gain insights into the latest patent regulations and practices relating to the intersection of artificial intelligence and medical technologies. The EPO-Lecture titled ‘Evolution and Patenting of AI in MedTech’ was much appreciated.
With its diverse program, outstanding portfolio, and a record number of 310 participants, BioVaria continues to reinforce its status as a premier destination for life-science companies and investors seeking to expand their portfolios and uncover Europe's most compelling innovations arising from academic research.
Mark your calendar for next year’s BioVaria which will take place in Munich on 28 - 29 April 2025.
Summaries of all the technologies and start-ups presented are available on the BioVaria website.
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Patron:
Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy
Sponsors:
BioM, ForTra gGmbH für Forschungstransfer der Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung, AbbVie, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, MSD, HERTIN & Partner, Kador & Partner, Eli Lilly, Vossius
Startup-Sponsors:
Bayer AG – Pharmaceuticals, CARMA Fund, Kroher Strobel, live science factory, RV invest
Technology transfer partners:
Ascenion, BayPAT, EMBLEM Technology Transfer, FIRHSCSP, FITT, H3 Health Hub, Innovectis, IOCB Tech, Lead Discovery Center, Max Planck Innovation, PROvendis, UniSMART, Wallonie–Bruxelles International
Network partners:
ASTP, BioRN, Charité BIH Innovation, Labena Ventures, LISAvienna
Communication sponsors:
Eurasanté, Going Public, Nucleate Germany, transkript
About BioVaria
BioVaria brings together leading tech transfer professionals, innovators from academia and startups with investors and representatives of the global biotech and pharma industry.
Key features of BioVaria:
- Unique gathering of Europe's top scientists, entrepreneurs, technology transfer professionals, investors and industry representatives
- Presentation of more than 70 licensable technologies and startups originating from public research institutions and universities across Europe
- Focus on patent-protected, commercially attractive opportunities covering therapeutics, diagnostics and research tools in the fields of cancer, infectious diseases, metabolism, autoimmune and neurodegenerative disorders, and in other disease areas
- Startup Pitch & Partner program with a competition for the BioVaria Startup Award, one-on-one mentoring and startup-investor speed dating
- Ample space to discuss scientific details face-to-face with the inventors and entrepreneurs
- Jointly organized by Ascenion and a selected group of leading European technology transfer organizations
Further information and technologies: www.biovaria.org
About Ascenion
Ascenion is an independent technology transfer company focussing on the life sciences. It is partner to over 30 research organizations, universities and university hospitals in Germany and Europe, including life-science institutes of the Helmholtz and Leibniz Associations, the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Hannover Medical School, the Medical University of Innsbruck and the University Medical Center Göttingen. Ascenion’s multidisciplinary, industry-experienced team works closely with its partners to tap the potential of their research by identifying promising results, obtaining patent protection, and turning pure science into applied technology. Particular strengths are spin-off support and project development, where early-stage projects are transformed into assets that attract potential investors and licensees. This has led to the founding of numerous new companies and the transfer of innovative medical approaches into approved drugs, changing the lives of thousands of patients. In 2022 Ascenion initiated the CARMA FUND which invests in early-stage projects and start-ups in the life-science and healthcare sector. Profits from Ascenion’s operative business and exit proceeds flow via its parent company, the LifeScience Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Research, to fund further translational research at its partner institutes.
Further information at: www.ascenion.de
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Contact
Stanislava Zollner, Corporate Communication, Ascenion GmbH
zollner(at)ascenion(dot)de, +49 89 3188140