Startups pitch at the "Acceleration Day" of the EIT Health BioEntrepreneurship Lab Oxford-Munich 2019
On July 12, the final of the "EIT Health BioEntrepreneurship Lab Oxford-Munich 2019" took place at BioM in Martinsried near Munich with the awarding of the winners. Ten startup teams from all over Europe had designed and validated their innovative biotech business concepts during the three-month programme under the leadership of BioM and Oxford University Innovation and the Entrepreneurship Center of the University of Oxford. With a pitch, all teams presented the results of their work at the "Acceleration Day". DoDerm from Munich and Utrecht achieved first place with its pathogen-specific, sprayable skin therapy for the local treatment of multi-resistant bacterial inflammations.
For three months, the (pre-)seed startups designed, improved and optimized their business idea during the BioEntrepreneurship Lab. The founders were coached for one week each in Oxford and Munich and took part in various workshops on the design and validation of their business concept. Between the two on-site weeks, the teams worked with individually assigned mentors and were challenged by their peers and the program supervisors. They were also asked to conduct numerous expert interviews to validate their business idea.
At the Acceleration Day, all teams faced an expert jury and its critical questions. The DoDerm team convinced the jury members with its business idea and was delighted with the victory: "During the BioEntrepreneurship Lab we were able to refine our concept in such a way as to hopefully successfully present it to investors. Today's win will certainly help us," said Beatrix Förster from team DoDerm.
Second place went to Glymipro, which is developing two neuroprotective substances for various neurological diseases. OncOpinion and Identiti Medical can be pleased about a common third place. OncOpinion is a web-based second opinion service that connects cancer patients from Gulf states with Western experts. Identiti Medical is working on an imaging device for caries without dangerous ionizing radiation.
Sarah Jones, Licencing & Ventures Manager at Oxford University Innovation, emphasizes the quality and diversity of the startup ideas: "I am very impressed with all the teams and the excellent biomedical solutions they brought to the program. With the EIT Health BioEntrepreneurship Lab, they certainly have a good basis to continue pursuing their business ideas."
"With this program, which BioM offers annually in different constellations, we support pre-seed teams in the design and validation of their biotech business concept. The cross-border exchange and the participation of international teams enable the participants to establish a network throughout Europe and to look beyond their own horizons. We would like to thank EIT Health for financing the project," summarizes Angelika Leppert, Start-up Coach, Strategy & Corporate Finance at BioM.
During the event, the young founders and scientists also took the opportunity to network and exchange ideas with investors and experts from the biotech scene.
About Oxford University Innovation
Oxford University Innovation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the University of Oxford which manages the University’s technology transfer and consulting activities. Oxford University Innovation (OUI) aims to use creative solutions to enable the University community to maximise the global impact of Oxford’s research and expertise and to support a world-leading innovation ecosystem with Oxford University at its heart. Founded in 1988, OUI has grown significantly and now creates over 20 spinouts a year, completes over 600 deals with industry a year and manages a protfolio of almost 4000 patents. https://innovation.ox.ac.uk/
About Entrepreneurship Centre of Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
The Entrepreneurship Centre is part of The University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School. The Saïd Business is a young, vibrant, and entrepreneurial business school deeply embedded in the world’s most prestigious university with the aim of tackling world-scale problems. The role of the Entrepreneurship Centre (EC) is to support the university community in pursuing their innovation & entrepreneurial ambitions. This is done through experiential learning, local and global networks, and thought leadership. The EC offers a range of programs with a focus on entrepreneurship and innovation. https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/research/centres-and-initiatives/entrepreneurship-centre
More information: BioM's offer for startups.