13 May 2015, Munich, Germany – This year’s BioVaria, held on 11 May in Munich, featured 58 commercially attractive life-science technologies originating from 50 academic institutions and universities in 10 European nations. Additional investment and partnering opportunities were presented by seven high-potential start-ups during the BioVaria Spin-off Panel. 16 European technology transfer organizations, more than in any previous year, teamed up to organize the event, attracting the highest ever number of participants.
The overwhelmingly positive response from industry and venture capitalists confirms BioVaria as Europe’s leading technology transfer marketplace, where decision makers can quickly get an overview of top-quality academic projects as licensing, partnering or investment opportunities.
‘BioVaria is a great place to discover a broad range of high-potential academic projects and meet innovative minds from all over Europe,’ said Dr Maria Flocco from Pfizer.
This year’s winner of the BioVaria Spin-off Award is CytoSwitch, a future Munich-based spin-off. Under the leadership of Dr Oliver Thorn-Seshold a novel, proprietary class of cytoskeleton inhibitors, called Photostatins, has been developed. Photostatins can be switched on and off using light, and have applications as novel research tools and a potential anti-cancer drugs.
‘Participating in the Spin-off-Panel and the Investor-Speed-Dating was a wonderful opportunity to make contacts and get expert feedback from professionals, and it’s been a fantastic day here at BioVaria,' said Oliver Thorn-Seshold from CytoSwitch. 'Winning the award was a very welcome additional highlight.'
The prize, sponsored by Pinsent Masons, is worth EUR 1,000 plus a professional start-up consulting package. The second prize, a start-up consulting package, went to Cardior Pharmaceuticals, a spin-off project from Hannover Medical School headed by Prof. Thomas Thum. He is developing an innovative oligonucleotide inhibitor to improve heart function and prevent heart failure.
The next BioVaria will take place on 17 May 2016 in Munich. Register at www.biovaria.org to receive news about the upcoming event.
All technologies and spin-offs presented during BioVaria 2015 are available at www.biovaria.org. Oral presentations will be online soon.
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Contact
Dr Susanne Letzelter, Corporate Development & Communication, Ascenion GmbH
T: +49 (0)89 318814-16
F: +49 (0)89 318814-20
letzelter@ascenion.de
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About BioVaria
BioVaria brings together European research institutions across national borders in order to improve the transfer of their research results into application. In just one day, it presents an unmatched density of highly innovative technologies to potential investors, collaboration partners and licensees from the international biopharmaceutical industry.
Key features of BioVaria:
- Unique gathering of Europe’s top scientists, technology transfer professionals, investors and industry representatives.
- Presentation of more than 50 licensable technologies and spin-offs originating from public research institutions and universities across Europe.
- Focus on patent-protected, commercially attractive opportunities covering research tools, diagnostics and therapeutics in the fields of cancer, infectious diseases, metabolism, autoimmune and neurodegenerative disorders, and other disease areas.
- Interactive, efficient one-day format combining 10-min oral presentations with an all-day poster exhibition.
- Spin-off Panel presenting promising European life-science start-ups.
- Ample space to discuss scientific details face-to-face with the inventors.
- Jointly organized by Ascenion and a selected group of leading European technology transfer organizations.
Patron:
Bavarian State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology
Sponsors:
BioM, Boehringer Ingelheim, Johnson & Johnson Innovation / Janssen Cilag, MSD, HERTIN, LSP, Vossius & Partner, Pinsent Masons, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology - University of Gdansk and Medical University of Gdansk (IFB), TVM Capital
Technology transfer partners:
Aalborg University, Ascenion, Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft, Bayerische Patentallianz, Bio&Technology Innovations Platform, BTO Bergen Teknologioverføring, Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas de Canarias, EMBLEM Technology Transfer, FIST, Helmholtz Zentrum München, IOCB TTO, Lead Discovery Center, MITO Technology, Max-Planck-Innovation, MRC Technology, PROvendis
Network partner:
ASTP Proton, Bayern Innovativ, Best of X, Bio Deutschland, TTS Global Initiative
Communication supporters:
Business Wire, Current Partnering, GoingPublic, KONOCOM, transkript
About Ascenion
Ascenion GmbH is an IP asset management company with particular expertise in the life sciences. Ascenion advises and supports public research institutions with regard to the protection and exploitation of their intellectual property (patents, know-how, materials), and initiates and mediates license agreements between research institutions and industry. The company places particular emphasis on coaching company founders and on active equity management. Ascenion was founded in 2001 as a 100% subsidiary of the LifeScience Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Research and is technology transfer partner of 23 research institutes in the Helmholtz and Leibniz Associations, as well as of the Charité, the Hannover Medical School, the research institute TWINCORE and the Universität zu Lübeck. Ascenion currently markets around 750 technologies on behalf of these institutes, and closes an average of about 80 revenue-generating agreements between research and industry per year. The team has also coached numerous spin-offs through their foundation and early growth and Ascenion holds equity in 25 of these companies. Ascenion’s headquarters are in Munich, with further offices in Berlin, Braunschweig, Hamburg, Hanover and Neuherberg.
Further information at www.ascenion.de