Plants that become bioreattori to produce sustainable biopharmaceuticals, bio-absorbable patches, technologies for sustainable encapsulation. And again, innovative therapies for autoimmune diseases and myeloid disorders, bio-rehabilitation services and recovery of contaminated and degraded land thanks to a mix of robotics, wireless devices and biotechnologies. These are just some of the projects in the Circular Bioeconomy and Life Sciences fields that have been selected by “BioInItaly Investment Forum & Intesa Sanpaolo StartUp Initiative“, The path organized by Assobiotec -Federchimica, the National Association for the development of biotechnologies, Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center and Cluster Spring, which for 14 years has allowed innovative biotechnology startups and business projects to meet financial and corporate investors from all over the world.
Despite the pandemic, also in 2021 BioInItaly Investment Forum & Intesa Sanpaolo StartUp Initiative started at the end of January with a Virtual National Roadshow, which touched the cities of Milan, Venice, Padua, Trieste and Naples and with an online call, collecting in total a hundred projects and applications. The experience continued in the following months for 22 selected startups, through a training course curated by Bill Barber, Coach and Head of Evaluation and Startup Acceleration of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center. At the end of the course, the protagonists were asked to present their project to the deal line-up in front of an audience of recruiters, made up of financial investors, sector experts and business managers.
At the end of this articulated journey and in full compliance with the limits imposed by the management of the pandemic emergency, 9 finalist startups had access to the Investment Forum. These are 5 new companies operating in the Circular Bioeconomy and 4 active in the Life Sciences, which had the opportunity to present their idea and their business plan to investors.
The finalist startup
Group 1 – Red Biotech & Medical Devices
Altheia Science – State-of-the-art gene therapies in autoimmune diseases and myeloid disorders thanks to teams of world-renowned scientists
Business Summary: Start-up active in preclinical gene therapy developing innovative approaches for T1D, MS and AML that still have no cure and severely affect quality of life and survival. Gene therapy with CAR-T and stem cells can restore immune balance and eliminate the root cause of the disease. The strength of Altheia Science is the team that includes 2 high-level scientists, a strong experience in translating advanced therapies on the market and a round A funding of 17 million euros.
Neomatrix – Personal Immunotherapy for Each Individual Patient: Next Generation Cancer Treatment is Now
Business Summary: New approach to cancer treatment leveraging current immunotherapy using a DNA-based vaccine designed on specific cancer mutations and clinically validated vaccine technology. The Phase I-II clinical trial will demonstrate safety and immunological responses to set the stage for an agreement with big pharma for a Phase III trial.
Transactiva – Plant Molecular Farming: plants as bioreactors to produce sustainable biopharmaceuticals
Business Summary: biotech company that builds green plant-based platforms to produce high-value proteins, with a current focus on therapeutic proteins (biopharmaceuticals). It offers a unique experience in the field of plant molecular agriculture, with complete research and development services ranging from the very idea of a new biopharmaceutical to the definition of a complete and scalable prototype ready to be licensed to large pharmaceutical companies.
Prometheus – Medical devices for regenerative medicine: wound care patch that combines the patient’s blood with biomaterials.
Business Summariesy: The product is a custom bioabsorbable wound patch that combines patient blood with biomaterials. The patch reduces healing time by 50% without scarring. It is made by an automated machine, extracting active molecules from the blood and combining them with biomaterials supplied in a disposable kit. The product is already on the veterinary market (from 2020) and is undergoing certification for human use on difficult wounds.
Group 2 – Circular Bioeconomy
Regrowth – Regenerative agriculture and livestock technology designed to fit smallholder farmers around the world.
Business Summary: Small-scale farmers around the world struggle to maintain their agricultural productivity in an increasingly hostile environment. Modern agricultural tools such as precision livestock farming (PLF) are out of their league due to size, complexity and cost. We offer small farmers a cut-to-size PLF system that is also suitable for grazing management. This feature allows for the precise application of regenerative farming practices by increasing the long-term sustainability of the farm.
Sphera Encapsulation – Innovative technology platform for sustainable encapsulation.
Business Summary: Sphera’s mission is the design and development of customized solutions capable of optimizing performance and facilitating the use and implementation of different active compounds and specific ingredients through encapsulation means. Thanks to our unique experience and knowledge, we enable our clients to obtain fast and adequate solutions according to their needs and the exact sector in which they are involved.
Mixcycling – Bio-based compounds based on plant-based waste with various applications from packaging to automotive
Business Summary: biochemical company that produces bio materials with low environmental impact and which aims to replace plastic of fossil origin with biocomposites that incorporate organic fibers that are waste from production processes. The result is a natural-looking, soft-to-the-touch material that can also be designed with a formula tailored to a wide range of applications.
DND Biotech – Terrestrial drone and metagenomics tools for bioremediation and recovery of contaminated and degraded land
Business Summary: By combining robotics, wireless devices and biotechnologies we are able to provide an innovative bioremediation service at very competitive costs and low environmental impact. Technology already successfully tested on hydrocarbons, PAHs, PCBs. We are now moving on to the degradation of pesticides and emerging contaminants.
Wrote – Transforming biogas digestate into profit for farms: from waste to a new resource, creating a virtuous circle of Circular Economy.
Business Summary: innovative circular economy project for all farms equipped with a biogas plant with serious disposal problems. The digestate produced from animal sewage is used to make a compost that generates a biostimulating granular product with high added value that can be used in floriculture, viticulture, ornamental greenery and organic farming.
Assobiotec, the national association for the development of biotechnologies, is a reality that represents around 130 companies and technological and scientific parks operating in Italy in the various sectors of biotech application: health, agriculture, environment and industrial processes. The Association brings together different realities – by size and sector of activity – which find a strong cohesion in the vocation for innovation and in the use of biotech technology: a strategic lever for development in all industrial fields and a concrete response to increasingly urgent needs. level of public health, care of the environment, agriculture and food. Established in 1986, within Federchimica, Assobiotec is a founding member of EuropaBio and of the International Council of Biotechnology Associations.
Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center aims to explore and analyze new business models to foster the competitiveness of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group and its customers, overseeing innovation development processes and plans. With a headquarters on the 31st floor of the Turin skyscraper designed by Renzo Piano and a network of national and international relations projected on the major capital markets globally, the Innovation Center – through the subsidiary Neva SGR, Corporate Venture Capital dedicated to Group strategic investments in innovation – it is an enabler of relationships with companies, startups, incubators, research centers and universities. Innovation is the basis of the evolution of the company and for the Intesa Sanpaolo Group it represents a lever to compete in increasingly complex and globalized markets