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We’ll show you what’s new with us here, offer you interesting media outlets that relate to our work, and you can find our press releases here. Our news We help invention grow! Welcome to the News section of i&i Prague – your go-to source for the latest updates straight from our incubator! This is where we keep you informed about everything happening at i&i Prague. Stay up to date with how we are driving innovation and turning scientific discoveries into real-world solutions. Whether you're a researcher, investor, or entrepreneur, this is the place to discover what’s new at i&i Prague. Highlights Press release i&i Prague, ÚHKT and Medirekt Partner Join Forces to Bring an Innovative Sample Preparation Technology to Market Read More Podcast CHEmic podcast with Milan Prasil about how to turn a scientific discovery into a successful start-up/spin-off View More Press release Czech i&i Prague and the Polish Medical Innovation Institute join forces to support cutting-edge scientific innovation in the region Read More Press release Neuron 2024 Award for Bridging Science and Business Goes to SophoMer, s.r.o., a Startup from i&i Prague's Portfolio Read More Blog i&i Prague Continues to Support Biotech Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Young Talents at Lifbee Academy 2024/25 Read More Interview David Stíbal: We believe a startup is one of the best paths nowadays to develop interesting technologies beyond the academic level Read More Other news Nov 7 2024 i&i Prague and other Prague.bio members participate in a business mission with Czech president in Switzerland Read More Oct 30 2024 Jiří Moos: From the lab to the market: What biotech commercialization looks like from the perspective of an incubator Read More Oct 21 2024 PANC-CKI Consortium led by CasInvent Pharma Secures €4M Eurostars Grant for Pancreatic Cancer Research Read More Sep 24 2024 The Prague.bio Conference 2024 welcomed approximately 300 participants from all over the world Read More Mar 11 2024 This fall Prague will be the stage for a showcase of cutting-edge biotechnologies featuring prominent figures such as ... Read More Now 30, 2024 CasInvent Pharma raises € 1.6 million from i&i Prague and Other Investors to Support the Development of CK1 Inhibitors for ... Read More Now 30, 2023 IOCB Tech Group Successfully Represents the Czech Republic at the Prestigious Biotech Conference BIO-Europe 2023 Read More Apr 25, 2023 The Prague.bio international conference will bring together the best of science and business in Prague Read More Feb 7, 2023 New startup in our portfolio: Sophomer's technology will make immunoassays faster, easier and cheaper Read More Feb 6, 2023 Czech liquid biopsy startup Elphogene comes under full control of one of the founders Read More Earlier News

CasInvent Pharma receives the Neuron Award for excellent Technology Transfer The laureates of the prestigious Neuron Awards in 2021 have been announced. Since 2009, the Neuron Endowment Fund has been rewarding the first-class Czech researchers for their contributions to science. For the first time this year, the Neuron Award has also been given for the collaboration of academic researchers and industrial partners. The award recognized Vítězslav Bryja, Kamil Paruch and Radoslav Trautmann for the close collaboration between the Masaryk University in Brno (MU) and the incubator and investor i&i Prague, and for their work on the establishment of the spin-off company CasInvent Pharma . Masaryk University, the second largest university in the Czech Republic, is one of the foremost research-oriented Czech universities. i&i Prague is a biotech incubator and hub in the Central European Region, scouting and supporting projects with excellent innovative potential in the fields of MedTech, Diagnostics and Drug Discovery. These two well-known organizations have joined forces working on the establishment of CasInvent Pharma, one of the first spin-offs of its kind, to enable further development of small-molecule compounds with anticancer properties. The core of the technology licensed to CasInvent from MU is a proprietary class of highly potent and selective inhibitors of casein kinases 1. These compounds are being developed for the treatment of selected types of leukemias, lymphomas and solid tumors. The entire team of CasInvent Pharma, including the laureates Vítězslav Bryja, Kamil Paruch, Radoslav Trautmann and further composed of Pavlína Janovská (MU) and David Stíbal (i&i Prague) is currently progressing their lead compound through the advanced stages of preclinical development.

Czech i&i Prague and the Polish Medical Innovation Institute join forces to support cutting-edge scientific innovation in the region Iva Machová (i&i Prague) and Jakub Chwiećko (Medical Innovation Institute) during PACTT conference in Poland. Prague/Warsaw, 20 February 2025 – The partnership between i&i Prague and the Polish Medical Innovation Institute (MII) aims to support the commercialization of unique Polish innovations. The companies want to identify biotech projects with the potential to achieve global success and contribute to their development. In the long term, they want to strengthen the links between the Czech Republic and Poland in this field and create a bridge between basic research and its commercial application. i&i Prague is dedicated to helping scientists transform their groundbreaking discoveries into market-ready solutions. The company offers step-by-step guidance to help with the commercialization of innovations, from shaping the scientific idea into a business concept to connecting inventors with top-tier experts in science, law, and industry. With this step, i&i Prague is expanding its activities beyond the borders of the Czech Republic, seeing Poland as a strategic partner. "Until now, we have focused mainly on the Czech environment, which we are trying to co-create and move forward in the long term. Now we are offering our expertise to Poland. We believe that just like in the Czech Republic, we will find unique scientific projects with a high level of innovation. We are ready to help them transform into successful startups and spin-offs," said Iva Machová, Incubation Manager and Regional Manager for Poland at i&i Prague. The Medical Innovation Institute (MII) is a Polish organization dedicated to advancing the commercialization of innovative research in the healthcare sectors. We support scientists and entrepreneurs by offering expert guidance, securing funding, and fostering strategic partnerships to transform innovative ideas into market-ready solutions. MII works closely with both local and international stakeholders, ensuring that innovations are not only successful in the Polish market but also have the potential for global impact. "Cooperation with i&i Prague marks another significant step in our efforts to internationalize Polish scientific projects. With their deep expertise in commercialization, we are confident that, together, we can pave the way for Polish innovations to enter global markets," said Michał Jeska, Chief Growth Officer at Medical Innovation Institute. Contact for journalists: Martin Kovalčík, kovalcik@iniprague.com , +420 777 472 863

Enantis, a Masaryk University spin-off company, concluded a license agreement for the production of stabilised growth factor FGF2. After months of negotiations, we are delighted to announce that Enantis, one of i&i Prague´s first supported start-ups, has entered into a global license agreement with one of the top providers of life science solutions with ther innovative FGF2-STAB® molecule and its use in research and cell therapy market. “Having a licensing deal with a company from Fortune magazine’s yearly list of 500 largest US companies is a significant milestone for us,” says Roman Badik, CEO of Enantis. Under the terms of agreement, Enantis along with Masaryk University have granted worldwide royalty-bearing license to manufacture FGF2-STAB® and develop new products containing this patented molecule. More details including the name of the licensee cannot be disclosed as per the terms of the license. Enantis, Masaryk University’s first biotechnology spin-off company, has recently concluded a license agreement with a leading global distributor of materials for science and research. This will enable to increase the production of FGF2-STAB, a patented fibroblast growth factor, making it available to laboratories all over the world. Revenues from sales will also go to MU. Growth factors are among the most important biomolecules in living cells. The synthesis and degradation of growth factors at the various stages of cell division and differentiation enable living organisms to develop and grow properly. Fibroblast growth factor 2 is among key molecules in cell cultivation media used to grow embryonic stem cells, which have broad applications in biomedical research and clinical practice. Fibroblast growth factors are proteins supporting cell growth and division. Petr Dvořák and Pavel Krejčí from the Department of Biology at the Faculty of Medicine were among the first to work with these factors, focusing on FGF2. They discovered and characterised some of its properties, but more importantly, they managed to stabilise the factor using protein engineering. This means they modified it to remain functional for over twenty days at temperatures of around 37 degrees Celsius, which is critical for biological applications. Leveraging their close co-operation with the teams at Loschmidt Laboratories, RECETOX, and the Department of Experimental Biology at the Faculty of Science, they agreed to test the newly developed FireProt stabilisation platform on these biomedically interesting but unstable molecules. “FireProt is a computational system that enables us to search for suitable modifications of molecules to make them useful in practice. FGF2 was the first system with applications in biomedicine on which we successfully used our platform,” said Jiří Damborský, describing the steps towards the recent success. Modifications of FGF2 through protein engineering took three years and focused on the protein’s thermodynamic stability. “We gradually substituted certain amino acids in its structure for different ones, or in other words we deliberately created point mutations. This process strengthened the interactions between the amino acids, thus improving the overall robustness of the protein. The design of the mutations and their construction was quite fast, but then came a long period where we had to test their influence on the FGF2’s biological activity. We were very careful not to damage the protein, so we always tested only a single variant out of thousands of candidates,” added David Bednář, one of the creators of the FireProt platform. Stabilised FGF2 can be used by scientists in their work with stem cells because it stimulates cell division and can be used in cell therapies, treatment of slow-healing wounds such as burns and in the treatment of diabetes. The molecule is protected by a patent that is jointly owned by MU and Enantis. The product named FGF2-STAB secured a European patent and patent proceedings in other countries are pending. Enantis is responsible for the commercial applications of the molecule. After a year of negotiations, the company managed to conclude a license agreement with a US company which will manufacture and further develop the application possibilities of the growth factor. “The negotiation was not easy, but we’re happy that such an important global company decided to license our technology and satisfy the growing demand for our product,” said Roman Badík, CEO of Enantis. While the name of the global company and other details of the license agreement have not been made public, it represents a breakthrough in the history of Masaryk University. “Each year, MU enters into dozens of licensing agreements for the intellectual property developed at the university. However, in terms of future benefits, this may be one of the most important contracts signed so far,” said Radoslav Trautmann, head of MU’s Technology Transfer Division, adding that it marks a milestone in biotechnology not only for the South Moravian Region, but the Czech Republic as a whole.

Notes from a trip to “The most startup friendly country in the world” At the end of April, Karel Kubias (one of the partners of i&i Biotech Fund) and Jiří Moos (CEO of i&i Prague) attended an event in Riga, Latvia, called Roche Latvia Innovations Day. Here you can read their blog where they describe their impressions from the event and, more importantly, provide further evidence that the Baltic States can serve as inspiration for the Czech Republic. At least in terms of technology transfer… At the end of April 2022, the Latvian representative office of the global pharmaceutical company, Roche, invited us as guests of the “Roche Latvia Innovations Incubator Day”. We gladly accepted the invitation as supporting and building technology transfer is in i&i Prague and i&i Biotech’s genes. It is commendable and positive (but not surprising) that Roche has decided to establish incubators in different territories to financially support primary research results and create an environment where innovative ideas can grow and mature. In Latvia, moreover, this initiative is closely aligned with significant state support. Developing the knowledge economy During the one-day event, two representatives of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (www.liaa.gov.lv ) spoke, among others, about how the Agency supports innovation and technology transfer, increases Latvia’s attractiveness for foreign investors and, last but not least, introduced us to its support programs for startups. Additionally, we learned that: in 2021 Latvia had over 400 startups from different sectors (from Fintech to Medtech and Healthtech to Biotech); the entire country (almost one-fifth smaller than the Czech Republic in size) is divided into 11 regional incubators, each of which provides startups with pre-incubation and incubation programs. Latvia has a “Startup Law”, designed to support startups, which allows them to receive co-funding from the state for qualified staff as well as tax benefits. However, the agency not only supports startups, but also the activities of entrepreneurs looking to develop new products or technologies in the form of Innovation Vouchers of up to €25,000. If you are interested in transferring your activities from abroad to Latvia and establishing a startup there, the Agency will arrange a visa for you. Thanks to all this, the Baltic country has been named “the most startup friendly country in the world” by Index Ventures. At times, we felt like we were at a conference in Germany or Austria, where the state also strongly supports technology transfer and startups in general. But Latvia? The targeted efforts to promote technology transfer here have a quite prosaic reason, this country does not have a strong industrial base, so they are focusing on promoting technology transfer in order to create favorable conditions for the development of the knowledge economy in Latvia. The meeting in Riga ‘one of the most exceptional’ As part of our contribution “What does your start-up need to be ready for investors?”, we shared our experience of the process of evaluating and supporting startups before i&i Biotech Fund decides to invest. We were delighted with the feedback from the audience who found our experience beneficial and did not hesitate to contact us with questions after the program. The full morning program can be viewed here. In the second part of the program, we were then introduced to the presentations of seven startups. Each of them received feedback from us and also recommendations for next steps. We continue to stay in contact with two of the teams and are considering investment in the future. Finally, we would like to acknowledge the Roche team for the excellent organization of the meeting. In our professional lives we have made dozens, if not hundreds of business trips, and only a few have stuck in our minds for their uniqueness. We dare to say that this visit to Riga will be one of those exceptional experiences. And we must also admit that we were pleasantly surprised by the level of support the Latvian government is dedicating to technology transfer. Our country can take inspiration from Latvia in this respect. Jiří Moos, i&i Prague (Executive Director) Karel Kubias, i&i Biotech Fund (Partner) THE CZECH VERSION OF THE BLOG CAN BE FOUND HERE . Contact: Martin Kovalčík, kovalcik@inibio.eu , +420 777 472 863

With our investment, we try to help innovative ideas in their transition from research projects to functional companies. Investment We help inventions grow! We have moved the investment part of our business to our associated venture capital firm, i&i Biotech Fund I. We target early-stage Life Science startups that often build on decades of research and have the potential for breakthrough discoveries. We are trying to help them in their transition from purely scientific projects to functional companies. We focus mainly on projects from European Union member states, our core expertise lies in Central and Eastern Europe. Our focus DRUG DISCOVERY MEDTECH DIAGNOSTICS OTHER LIFE SCIENCES Stage of investment i&i Biotech Fund is supported by highly reputable institutions, a strong track record, a team of professionals and proprietary access to deal flow. In cooperation with it, we are targeting the following investment phases: SEED Ready to create? We can start at € 150 K to support business creation. A SERIES A Prepared to grow? Our sweet spot lies between 0.5 and 2 million euros. B Being exceptional? In exceptional cases, we are able to provide extra financing. SERIES B Investment steps GO-NO GO decision can occur during the whole investment process STEP 01-05 is in primary competency of i&i Prague STEP 06-10 is in primary competency of i&i Bio i&i Biotech Fund I For more information about the i&i Biotech Fund please visit the website. Read more

CasInvent Pharma, a New University Spin-Off Focused on Developing Cancer Drugs Established with Help of i&i Prague! A new spin-off company, CasInvent Pharma, a.s., has been established by Masaryk University (MU) in cooperation with its investment partner, i&i Prague, s.r.o. (Ltd), in order to facilitate further development of new compounds that could be used to treat certain types of leukaemia, lymphoma and solid tumours. The company will test the compounds that inhibit the enzyme Casein Kinase 1 (CK1) which is responsible, among other things, for the migration of leukaemia cells into lymphoid organs. The research groups of Vitězslav Bryja and Kamil Paruch from the Faculty of Science MU have been studying and developing these compounds for a long time now. Thanks to the newly-established company, they will be able to finish the preclinical stage of the development of these prospective drugs and move on to clinical trials of the most promising compounds. “The main reason behind establishing this spin-off company is the fact that it is virtually the only option to commercialize this technology, which is still in early stages of development, and advance the research to such stage that it catches the interest of big investors from the pharmaceutical industry,” says the director of Technology Transfer Office MU, Eva Janouškovcová, as to why the joint-stock spin-off company was established with the university as one of its stakeholders. “The i&i Prague company searchs and supports the most promising technologies and the highest quality projects. We have known for a long time that the inhibitors of CK1 are the most promising Czech projects. I am glad that Masaryk University has chosen the i&i Prague as a strategic partner for this project. I believe that we will be able to make significant progress towards clinical trials in the development of the drug, attract other co-investors and international partners and enable the practical use of these new substances as soon as possible thanks to the establishment of the CasInvent Pharma company,” said the CEO of i&i Prague, Jaromír Zahrádka. The CasInvent Pharma spin-off will continue developing the promising results of the scientific teams which led to the patenting of the inhibitors, i.e. compounds that significantly decrease or completely inhibit the activity of CK1 and can be used to treat e.g. certain types of leukaemia. More specifically, the B-Cell Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) and the Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML). CLL characteristically causes the accumulation of dysfunctional cancer cells in the blood and their migration to lymph nodes, liver, spleen and bone marrow, which causes further complications such as enlargement of organs, immunodeficiency, anaemia and other. The aggressiveness of the disease then depends on the interaction of these dysfunctional cells with their immediate surroundings – so-called microenvironment. This interaction leads to tumour cells dividing uncontrollably. The inhibitors of CK1 can effectively stop the migration of the leukaemia cells to lymphoid organs, which prevents them from being damaged and hinders the spreading of CLL. AML, which is one of the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat types of leukaemia, has CK1 working in a different way. Based on the current results, the scientists expect the new compounds to initiate programmed cell death (so-called apoptosis) in leukaemia cells. Targeting interactions in the microenvironment, regulating apoptosis and inhibiting migration mechanisms can be successfully used with other forms of cancer as well, e.g. solid tumours the growth and spreading of which often depends on roughly the same principles. CasInvent Pharma joined the ranks of the other 17 spin-off companies Masaryk University helped to establish. The purpose of these spin-off companies is mainly to utilize the university’s intellectual property and increase its value. The university grants companies intellectual property licensing agreements and, in some cases, it even owns shares of the company. As a result, the spin-off companies established by the university bring profit to all the parties involved: for the university, it is the best way to appreciate its intellectual property, the spin-off company gains a competitive advantage on the market and, last but not least, the end product reaches the consumer more quickly

i&i Prague supports the innovative start-up PEP-Therapy in their extension of the Series-A financing, totalling €5.4 million to progress the clinical development of the lead candidate PEP-010 PEP-Therapy, a biotechnology company developing cell penetrating peptides as targeted therapies for the treatment of cancers, announced today that it raised an additional €2.6 million ($3 million) in an extension of its Series A financing round, bringing the total raised in this round to €5.4 million ($6.4 million). This new funding comprises €1.6 million in equity from Anaxago, i&i Prague and BADGE as well as a €1 million loan from Bpifrance. This increased financial support highlights the potential of PEP-010, as well as PEP-Therapy’s Cell Penetrating & Interfering Peptide (CP&IP) technology platform, which was first developed at Sorbonne University and Institut Curie. PEP-010 is the first of a new class of therapeutic peptides based on PEP-Therapy’s innovative Cell Penetrating & Interfering Peptide (CP&IP) technology. These innovative molecules penetrate cells and specifically block relevant intracellular protein-protein interactions, leading to the inhibition of key pathological mechanisms, without altering physiological mechanisms. PEP-Therapy will use the funds to finance the Phase I a/b clinical trial of PEP-010, PEP-Therapy’s lead candidate, for the treatment of advanced solid tumors. The first part of the Series A, which closed in April 2021, will finance the Phase Ia dose escalation part of the study, with the additional funds being used for the development of PEP-010 until the end of the expansion cohorts, Phase Ib. PEP-Therapy expects to generate promising clinical data from this study, particularly in two indications: metastatic triple negative breast cancer and platinum resistant ovarian cancer. Patients with these two types of solid tumors have a poor prognosis and limited therapeutic alternatives. Antoine Prestat, CEO and co-founder of PEP-Therapy, said: “We are delighted to have completed this financing round via an attractive balance of dilutive and non-dilutive funds from new high quality and diversified investors who will bring expertise and new insights to support our development.” Jaromír Zahrádka, PhD, CEO of i&i, commented: “PEP-Therapy has developed an extensive knowledge of targeted peptides and the promising preclinical data the company has generated show great potential. We are looking forward to seeing the confirmation of the positive results seen in preclinical data in the upcoming Phase I study.” Gaston Vasseur, Investment Manager at Anaxago, added “This extended financing highlights PEPTherapy’s capacity to attract highly specialized as well as diversified investors. The Company has managed to rapidly secure the funding for the Phase I trial with PEP-010, a very important milestone for the company. We are happy to contribute to this financing round in conjunction with a number of experienced life science investors.” In addition, PEP-Therapy and its clinical partners, Institut Curie and Gustave Roussy, previously received a €2.9 million grant from the French state innovation fund – Fonds Unique Interministériel (FUI) – to finance nonclinical and early clinical development of PEP-010. About Anaxago Founded in 2012, Anaxago Venture Capital is a digital VC firm specialised in Healthtech & Biotech, Proptech, Fintech and Impact investing. Anaxago Venture Capital has financed more than 45 companies since its creation. About BADGE Business Angels des Grandes Ecoles (BADGE), created in 2004, is a leading French Business Angels association with more than 280 members, and having participated in 21 fundraisings in 2020 of a combined value of over €5.3 million. Its members are recognized leaders in all sectors of the industry and are willing to finance and support young innovative companies with high growth potential. BADG aims to: Identify and review promising innovative projects Conduct fund-raising for the most promising ones Support the entrepreneurs with individualized business advice and key contacts Provide training and methodological support to its members BADGE has thus financed more than 185 young companies since its creation.

The Prague.bio international conference will bring together the best of science and business in Prague. Promising ideas will receive money for their development. Prague, 25 April 2023. The first edition of the Prague.bio international conference will offer a unique meeting of representatives from science and business who will exchange their experiences in the development of new drugs, diagnostics, medical technologies and other areas of biotechnology. The event is supported by the Czech government and will feature renowned experts from the world of BioTech. The Prague.bio international conference is intended for academics, investors and industry representatives from all over Central Europe. Experienced investors, representatives of leading pharmaceutical as well as diagnostic companies and technology transfer offices will meet promising startups, scientists and students to help them with advice and insights in commercializing their scientific ideas. For industry representatives and investors, the conference will provide an interesting space for exchanging ideas and establishing further cooperation. "Science and business are often two completely different worlds. But they need each other and have something to offer each other. Scientific projects are often a source of unique commercial ideas and an interesting investment opportunity, while successful commercialisation of scientific knowledge brings significant financial resources back into research," explains Prof. Martin Fusek, Director of IOCB Tech, one of the organisers of the conference. According to him, the Prague.bio conference should contribute to the creation of a permanent network of partners whose goal will be to build a more effective transfer of biotechnology not only in the Czech Republic but also in the entire Central European area. The transfer is also supported by the government "Who does not transfer is not a good economist. The transfer of scientific research knowledge into practice is one of the priorities of our government and I am pleased that a conference is being prepared to help this even on an international scale," explains Helena Langšádlová, Minister for Science, Research and Innovation of the Czech Republic, whose department is co-organizing the event. Moreover, according to the Minister, technology transfer is an important topic not only for science but also for the national economy. It can generate billions of Czech crowns in revenue annually. The Prague conference is based on the experience of similar events abroad. However, it is unique in Central Europe. "At the moment, we can reveal that the Prague.bio conference will not lack lectures by representatives of major pharmaceutical companies, we are also preparing an interesting panel discussion with foreign investors and several pitch sessions that will provide an opportunity to present promising projects in the field of biotechnology," adds Jaromír Zahrádka, CEO of the i&i Biotech Fund and founder of the i&i Prague bio-innovation centre, another of the conference organisers. The conference will take place on 26 September at Liechtenstein Palace in Prague. Registration is now open for those interested in attending. The relevant form, including payment options, can be found at www.prague.bio . The fee for early registration is 200 Euros, or 150 Euros for students and researchers. Interesting scientific research ideas can also apply for the event and register at the above-mentioned website. The registered projects will be evaluated by an expert committee and the best ones will compete for investor support at the conference. Contact Martin Kovalčík, 777 472 863, kovalcik@iniprague.com Martin Opatrný, 602 252 405, opatrny@prclinic.eu About IOCB Tech The Technology Transfer Office IOCB Tech, s.r.o. is a fully owned subsidiary of the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB). The main responsibilities of IOCB Tech include the identification of commercially interesting projects at IOCB, analysis of their market potential and patentability, protection of intellectual property, support for the development of the projects in the form of project management, search for commercial partners and negotiation of contractual terms for signing license agreements. IOCB Tech has been involved in the process of negotiating and concluding more than a dozen key license agreements with major pharmaceutical partners such as Gilead Sciences, Merck, Novo Nordisk and SHINE Medical Technologies. In 2017, the company established a subsidiary, i&i Prague, which focuses on funding promising early-stage projects at the Institute and other research and academic institutions. For more information visit www.iocbtech.cz . About i&i Prague The i&i Prague Bio-Innovation Center focuses on the transfer of new technologies into practice. The company was established at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS and is mainly dedicated to innovations in the field of drug development, diagnostics and medical devices originating from academic institutions. It supports the creation of spin-off companies and the sale of licenses. So far, the company has participated in the creation of or otherwise supported 15 spin-off companies from five countries, has an equity stake in nine of them and has invested over 70 million crowns. In total, the spin-offs in i&i Prague's portfolio have raised more than CZK 1.8 billion from other investors. In addition to direct financial investments, i&i Prague also assists more than 15 research institutions and universities in the Czech Republic and abroad in the commercialization of innovative technologies. In 2021, i&i Prague started up the i&i Bio investment fund. About i&i Biotech Fund (i&i Bio) i&i Bio is a Luxembourg-based venture capital firm that invests in innovative European Life Sciences companies focused on drug discoveries, medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health. The Fund was created thanks to the cooperation of the biotech incubator i&i Prague and the European Investment Fund (see below). With over €47M under management, i&i Bio plans to invest in about 20 early-stage companies. i&i Bio is led by an experienced team of professionals with backgrounds in private equity, healthcare and venture capital supporting entrepreneurs on their journey to global success. Thanks to close cooperation with the fund’s main sponsor, the biotech academic incubator i&i Prague, i&i Bio is supporting and advancing transformative Central European technology companies. For more information visit www.inibio.eu . About EIF i&i Bio is supported by an investment from the EIF, with the support of: lnnovFin Equity, with the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020 Financial Instruments and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) set up under the Investment Plan for Europe. The purpose of EFSI is to help support financing and implementing productive investments in the European Union and to ensure increased access to financing; and the Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF), implemented by the EIF with the financial support of the Participating Member States. The objective of EGF is to respond to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring that companies in the Participating Member States have sufficient short-term liquidity available to weather the crisis and are able to continue their growth and development in the medium to long-term.

Czech liquid biopsy startup Elphogene comes under full control of one of the founders February 6, 2023 Czech biotechnology start-up Elphogene who pioneered cancer monitoring through its liquid biopsy technology has announced a change in its shareholder structure. The new and sole owner is now Marek Minarik, one of the two original founders of the company. Elphogene, which based its original business plan on molecular cancer diagnostics and monitoring of cancer therapy for patients with colorectal tumors using its proprietary liquid biopsy technology, has seen unprecedented economic growth over the past two years resulting from COVID-19 PCR tests. The company chief, Marek Minárik, says: "With the outbreak of the covid pandemic we have surprisingly seen a significant decrease in interest in our oncology diagnostics from the referring clinical sites. Based on this, our SARS-CoV-2 virus PCR protocol, which was originally developed only for internal testing of our oncology patients, was then converted into accredited regime and after obtaining a license for the Czech National Institute of Public Health we have become part of the official national network of testing laboratories." Elphogene labs, which greatly benefited from their location near the Václav Havel International Airport in Prague - Ruzyne, processed close to 330,000 PCR tests throughout the pandemic, representing approximately 1% of all COVID PCR tests performed at that time in the Czech Republic. The company was first with accreditation for COVID-19 PCR testing, and also one of the first to introduce and validate the pooling method for preventive screening provided to a number of primary and secondary schools in Prague and the Central Bohemia region. "After the decline in COVID tests during the spring of last year, we decided to focus fully to the research and development of a new generation of our technology for the sensitive detection of tumor-specific markers in the peripheral blood of oncology patients," says Minarik, adding: "At the end of the last year, we succeeded in validating of a completely new approach, for which we are now finalizing European patent application. At the same time, we have already approached several leading players in the field of instrument diagnostics with a possibility of technology transfer." Minarik, one of the two original founders, who until now owned 78% stake in the company, acquired the remaining share from a biotechnology incubator i&i Prague, which was the original angel investor when Elphogene was founded at the beginning of 2020. The founder share buy-back, which took place during the last days of December, represents the second successful exit of the investing fund which was established at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Prague. i&i Prague: Our mission ends, we wish you much success In the portfolio of the bio-innovation center i&i Prague, Elphogene was among the most mature. "Our investments were at the early stage of the company and helped the transition of its technology from the laboratory to oncology patients and, last but not least, enabled it to respond flexibly to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to this, Elphogene has become one of the leading laboratories in the Czech Republic in the diagnosis of this disease," says Jiri Moos, executive director of i&i Prague and, until recently, also one of Elphogene's executives. The task of i&i Prague is to search for promising technologies and help them with their introduction to the market. This was achieved in this case, the company Elphogene is today a functioning private healthcare facility that has all the necessary accreditations and permits authorizing it to operate its activities. "At this point, our mission ends and we will focus on supporting other unique ideas from our portfolio. We would like to thank Associate Professor Marek Minarik for excellent cooperation and wish the Elphogene company much success in the commercialization of their technology," adds Jiri Moos. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Co je to transfer technologií? Transfer technologií je zjednodušeně přenos myšlenky, poznatku či vynálezu do praxe. Jde o dlouhou cestu, během které je nutné zajistit dostatečné financování, právní ochranu i správné komerční nasměrování původního nápadu. Bez profesionálního transferu technologií se komerčního úspěchu prakticky žádný vynález nedočká. I tak v praxi v Česku uspěje přibližně každý desátý projekt. Ročně zajišťuje transfer technologií české vědě prostředky v řádech miliard korun.

Jaromír Zahrádka: Investments help science to serve people Jaromír Zahrádka According to Jaromír Zahrádka, director of the i&i Biotech investment fund, investing in science is like the proverbial chicken and egg. If there is a lack of investment, no new projects are created. And without interesting projects, it is impossible to get investors interested. So how to solve this dilemma? Jaromír Zahrádka answers these and other questions in an interview for Vědavýzkum.cz. The fund was established last year and has so far a total of 45 million euros at its disposal. It plans to invest this money over the next five years in about 20 scientific startups, in close cooperation with the i&i Prague incubator and the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS. Please try to briefly introduce the i&i Biotech Fund. What are you involved in? We focus on investments in unique ideas in the field of drug development, diagnostics and medical technologies. We target early-stage scientific startups that often build on decades of research and have the potential for breakthrough discoveries. We invest to help them at a critical stage of their development. This is the period when they leave their laboratories or research facilities and lose their ability to access traditional sources of funding, such as research grants. At the same time, they are not yet in a position to compete for their first investors. We are trying to help them in their transition from purely scientific projects to functional companies. How does the new fund help? The fund gives us completely new opportunities to do so. And it's certainly not just about increasing the volume of investments we are able to make now. We have added experienced professionals to the team who have a wealth of experience with similar investments, which has significantly expanded our expertise. The fund is also built on standards that are common in Western Europe and the US. It is above all a transparent system with a precisely described investment strategy, clearly defined responsibilities of investors and managers and a precisely defined decision-making system. We want to set a certain standard and thus contribute to the cultivation of the overall environment. It is necessary to move on, because investing in the natural sciences unfortunately does not yet have much of a tradition in our region. The fund was created in cooperation between the i&i Prague incubator and the European Investment Fund (EIF). How was the idea for its establishment born? Let me go back in time. When we founded the i&i Prague incubator five years ago, we wanted to show that there are interesting ideas in the field of life sciences in the Czech Republic that deserve the attention of investors. We have drawn a lot from our close cooperation with the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS and from the experience of its technology transfer office IOCB Tech, which works well under the leadership of Professor Martin Fusek. Thanks to this, we knew the expectations that international companies and investors have when assessing scientific projects, and we knew what it takes to get them interested in a new technology. At the same time, we had already built up quite a wide network of contacts from previous activities. Thanks to all of this, we have managed to find and support many unique startups over the years, and we have helped many of them to attract important strategic partners. Within the incubator we have built an interesting portfolio of promising startups, in which we have already invested over 70 million (Czech) crowns in addition to other support. However, we felt from the beginning that this investment component of our business needed strengthening, if only to be able to attract more investors. That is why we decided to create a completely new entity that will specialise in investment activities. We we approached the EIF with our vision and they liked our idea. What followed was a rather difficult negotiation that resulted in the creation of the i&i Biotech Fund. If I may make light of it, our whole business resembles the well-known saying about the chicken and the egg. If there is a lack of investment, new projects do not emerge, but without interesting projects you will not get investor interest. I am therefore very pleased that we can now support the development of all elements of our innovatory ecosystem simultaneously. This gives the Fund the chance to access unique and well-proven investment opportunities that may not be available to other investors. Could you describe more about how the negotiations with the EIF went? It was a relatively long-term affair, with the first contacts and discussions taking place before the establishment of i&i Prague. The final phase of "courtship" lasted three years, with the last two being very intense. During that time we had to convince the EIF that we could invest their money well. We had to prove that we could identify innovative scientific startups with interesting investment potential, that we could manage the portfolio of these startups and increase their value over time. In addition, we had to go through many formal processes. We were scrutinized on the overall setup of the fund, the transparency of its management, the functionality of its control mechanisms and the ethics of investing. Last but not least, we had to meet the general criteria of the EIF – for example, that the support must be directed to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We are opening up to the world, which will also help Czech projects You have announced your first investment ventures. These are investments in the Austrian start-up Celeris Therapeutics, in the American company Dracen Pharmaceuticals and in the Czech-American technology start-up, Sampling Human. Although there is a significant Czech footprint in two of the three investments, it cannot be said that you are primarily focused on domestic startups. Is that right? Yes, it is. When we founded i&i Prague, we decided not to focus purely on the Czech Republic, but to open up to the world, figuratively speaking. We did the same when we set up the fund. The reason is simple – by cooperating with foreign partners for a long time, we learn and gain invaluable experience. We can then use this to select the most interesting Czech startups and help them become even better. This ultimately moves them forward and makes them competitive both in Europe and globally. When looking for investment opportunities, we therefore focus primarily on the Central European region, which we know well and where we have many good partners. However, in the event of an interesting offer, we are also ready to support projects that originate outside this geographical area. Thanks to the fact that we are creating a portfolio composed of unique Czech and foreign startups, we increase the chances of success for the whole fund and attract the attention of other foreign investors who are not yet familiar with our region. This is not to say that we don't want Czech projects. On the contrary, we will be happy for them. Our advantage is that, in addition to investment, we can also offer them intensive support from the i&i Prague incubator. What is your experience with the quality of Czech projects? How do they compare with foreign competitors? We know from experience that the ever-increasing quality of science in the Czech Republic gives the opportunity for unique ideas, inventions and technologies that are no worse than similar projects from the USA or Western Europe. The difference is mainly in the mindset of the people and the availability and quality of the supporting infrastructure, be it technology transfer centres, incubators or grant resources. I believe that, thanks to our Fund's approach, we will also gradually become fully integrated into the advanced European countries where we belong in the area of innovation and investment. Let us move on. As you yourself have already indicated, investment in the natural sciences does not have much of a tradition in the Czech Republic. Could you explain at least some of the specifics that this sector entails? Compared to other industries, investing in life sciences is more demanding in terms of knowledge and the amount of investment. We need to be able to assess the potential of new scientific discoveries, which entails the need to understand their nature and uniqueness. There is also a need for considerable flexibility, as the chosen technology is often developed towards an inappropriate application, so that the final use changes multiple times during development. The original business plan is constantly being significantly modified based on the results obtained. The better and more comprehensively you can understand, monitor or even direct the development of the entire project, the better your chances of success. Compared to other industries, there are also much stricter regulations. The other side of the coin is that there is less competition in this field within the EU, which gives a relatively small and new fund like i&i Biotech the chance to get involved in top European projects. As far as valuation is concerned, if you manage to overcome the considerable initial barriers with your technology and obtain the necessary certifications, the value of the project will increase rapidly and you can find a place on a global level. But it's not just about the money. Investing in innovative science projects advances human knowledge and new technologies help people. And it's exciting to be at the start of a journey that may one day end up bringing new drugs to market or introducing new diagnostic methods. Technology transfer? Like driving a car... Let's now turn to technology transfer, a concept that is intrinsically linked to your work. How would you answer the question of what it is for a layman? The whole process can be imagined, for example, like driving a car. At the beginning of the journey, i.e. during the initial research period, the scientist himself drives the car. The moment the project leaves the lab and develops into a functioning company, the driving becomes more and more challenging and the driving needs to be shared with professionals, experts and managers. The scientist then becomes much more of a navigator, showing where to turn, but the overall direction of travel must already be determined by market principles. During the journey, the crew is further expanded to include other passengers, such as economists, lawyers, patent experts and, of course, investors, who together ensure that the car does not run into a dead end, that any breakdowns are quickly repaired and that the car does not run out of petrol. Some of the passengers will only ride for a short distance, others will become a permanent part of the crew, but it is only through the effective cooperation of everyone involved that the challenges of this challenging journey can be overcome. It is important to have working relationships in place, otherwise the journey can end at the first minor puncture. It is the establishment of fair partnerships and sufficient trust between scientists, their parent institutions, managers, investors and companies that I believe is the main task of technology transfer offices. Everything else then runs almost by itself. What do you see as the biggest benefit that technology transfer brings? Technology transfer, including various forms of contract research, generates billions of (Czech) crowns for Czech science and universities. It is therefore an important pillar of funding that can only be further supported. Above all, it enables the transfer of scientific discoveries from the laboratory into practice. It is a long and challenging journey, during which it is necessary to ensure sufficient funding, legal protection and the correct commercial direction of the original scientific idea. The fact is that, without professional technology transfer, virtually no invention will achieve commercial success. This is also why many interesting results of science and research go unused and never help anyone. All major research institutions are gradually realising this, and technology transfer is becoming an increasingly important issue for the Academy of Sciences as well as for universities and other institutions. Why should a scientific discovery be commercially successful? I am referring to the relationship between technology transfer and basic research... Basic research pushes the boundaries of human knowledge, so the function is irreplaceable. Without it, no discoveries will be made, there will be nothing to transfer, and everything will probably only happen at the level of small innovations in companies. However, the aim of scientists should not only be to discover something new, but they should also think about whether they can help people with their discoveries. To do this, it is necessary to transfer successful ideas from scientific laboratories into practice, which is what technology transfer makes possible. Thus, technology transfer does not go against basic research, but instead constitutes a service needed to fulfil one of the primary functions of science, which is to improve the quality of human life. Scientist as businessman? The success of a startup depends not only on the idea itself or the willingness of investors to finance its development, but also on the skills of its managers. Where can you find such people? Finding experienced managers with the necessary scientific background is more than difficult in the Czech Republic, but it is not easy elsewhere in Europe either. It is a question of when we will be able to change this, because science entrepreneurship has almost no roots here. This is a structural problem that will take time to solve. We can start, for example, by including subjects in the study of science that introduce students to the start-up as an interesting perspective for their life development and give them the opportunity to experience such work, for example through internships. Thanks to their creativity and imagination, science students and young scientists are very well-placed to become successful managers. If we allow them to get a good feel for the workings of a start-up during their studies, I firmly believe that many of them would actually start their own companies in the future. Unfortunately, it still happens quite often that top Czech experts and scientists want to return after gaining further experience abroad, but we are not able to offer them favourable conditions to carry on further work in the Czech Republic. This problem could be partly solved by technology start-ups. By supporting them, we will not only enable the return of the investments we have made in the education of these people during their studies, but we will also start a positive spiral towards a knowledge-based economy with high added value. Fortunately, the necessary change is already gradually taking place, with the first successes appearing and more to follow. I am glad we are there. In conclusion, what would you wish Czech science on its way to further successes? I would wish it to finally get the necessary attention from politicians and other authorities. So that it does not have to defend its social need and its funding in such a complicated and repetitive way. Unfortunately, the current overblown bureaucracy and the eternal "presumption of guilt" often makes scientists more like bureaucrats, trying to comply with all the administrative requirements of grant and other agencies. In all this, they are left with relatively little time for scientific work itself, and it is difficult to carry out the more daring projects that can lead to groundbreaking discoveries. Despite all these obstacles, however, Czech science is growing and producing unique results. It seems to me, therefore, that it is about time that we were able to recognise the potential that Czech science offers to our economy. However, I would like us all, first and foremost, to stop underestimating ourselves unnecessarily in the Czech Republic. At least in the area of science, technology transfer and smart investment, I see no reason to do so. Author: Martin Kovalčík Published on www.vedavyzkum.cz , the interview can be found in Czech here .