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Biopro - biotech manufacturing challenges fosters innovative hightech startups
Published on 07 September 2018
Denmark
Sjælland
This is the good practice's implementation level. It can be national, regional or local.
About this good practice
BIOPRO’s ambition is to find new ways of making biotech production more efficient and sustainable.
Biopro does this by bringing in real-world biotech manufacturing challenges into Biopro and, in conjunction, selecting and funding start-ups to solve the challenges.
Hence the startup becomes an encapsuled entity to solve a manufactoring challenge. If the startups succeeds in solving the challenge, the startup will
continue expanding its business and go global.
The biggest challenge for biotech startups is the possibility to test a product in a real world, full-scale setting. Making a viable test setup is too big an economical challenge for all biotech start-ups, so they need a large company with a full scale running production.
The biotech companies in Biotech removes the test-obstacle for the start-ups and their own benefit. The start-ups gets a test setup, the large companies gets solutions for their production, improving the quality, efficiency and economic viability of their production.
The start-ups use the large biotech companies in Biopro to develop and test their product. Subsequently the large biotech companies can become the first customers for the start-ups improving the chance of success vastly.
BIOPRO is founded by five large Danish biotech companies (CHR Hansen, CP Kelco, Novo Nordisk, Novozymes and Ørsted) , a venture company, Tecnical Univeristy of Denmark, University of Copenhagen and Region Zealand.
Biopro does this by bringing in real-world biotech manufacturing challenges into Biopro and, in conjunction, selecting and funding start-ups to solve the challenges.
Hence the startup becomes an encapsuled entity to solve a manufactoring challenge. If the startups succeeds in solving the challenge, the startup will
continue expanding its business and go global.
The biggest challenge for biotech startups is the possibility to test a product in a real world, full-scale setting. Making a viable test setup is too big an economical challenge for all biotech start-ups, so they need a large company with a full scale running production.
The biotech companies in Biotech removes the test-obstacle for the start-ups and their own benefit. The start-ups gets a test setup, the large companies gets solutions for their production, improving the quality, efficiency and economic viability of their production.
The start-ups use the large biotech companies in Biopro to develop and test their product. Subsequently the large biotech companies can become the first customers for the start-ups improving the chance of success vastly.
BIOPRO is founded by five large Danish biotech companies (CHR Hansen, CP Kelco, Novo Nordisk, Novozymes and Ørsted) , a venture company, Tecnical Univeristy of Denmark, University of Copenhagen and Region Zealand.
Expert opinion
This practice is an interesting example of a challenge-based approach to foster start-ups with backing from relevant industry actors “owning” the challenges. The involvement of big companies is key as it provides start-ups with test facilities, competence that can give input on the suggested solutions, and potential first customers that catalyse the commercialisation. At the same time, the large biotech companies benefit from external solutions to their challenges that may help them to stay competitive. The transferability depends on the conditions in the implementing region; there has to be a group larger companies willing to commit and cooperate around similar challenges, and of course also the necessary funding.
Works at
Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform
Resources needed
Biopro was initiated by Region Zealand together with the funding partners via financing from regional funds and the ERDF. Biopro received ERDF funding for a total of 4,95 million € from three different ERDF projects.
Evidence of success
Results so far
9 biotech manufacturing start-ups and 40 high-skill jobs in 3 years
BIOPRO has a portfolio of projects based on industry needs to increase yield and sustainability as well as to challenge new research.
A number of projects in 6 project groups: Fermentation, recovery process, real time monitoring, plant-wide optimization, water & energy, people (talent development).
9 biotech manufacturing start-ups and 40 high-skill jobs in 3 years
BIOPRO has a portfolio of projects based on industry needs to increase yield and sustainability as well as to challenge new research.
A number of projects in 6 project groups: Fermentation, recovery process, real time monitoring, plant-wide optimization, water & energy, people (talent development).
Potential for learning or transfer
Region Zealand has funded and used Biopro as a mean to support the fostering of hightech startups, with a high probability of success.
The overall vision, is to start a cluster of biotech manufactoring.
Regions with sectoral competitive advantages or sectoral agglomeration have the possibilty to combine the solving of core production development issues with the ability to foster high tech start-ups.
Directions for transfer to other regions:
- Gather a group of larger companies with similar challenges
- Gather the challenges and fomulate them as a business case
- Setup a startup based on the most viable business cases
- Hire people from the industry or the involved larger companies to maximize success probability
- The startup will develop a product ready for testing in a large scale test setup
- If the test succeeds, the startups continue the product - and business development and later on export development.
The overall vision, is to start a cluster of biotech manufactoring.
Regions with sectoral competitive advantages or sectoral agglomeration have the possibilty to combine the solving of core production development issues with the ability to foster high tech start-ups.
Directions for transfer to other regions:
- Gather a group of larger companies with similar challenges
- Gather the challenges and fomulate them as a business case
- Setup a startup based on the most viable business cases
- Hire people from the industry or the involved larger companies to maximize success probability
- The startup will develop a product ready for testing in a large scale test setup
- If the test succeeds, the startups continue the product - and business development and later on export development.
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
Organisation
Biopro
Denmark
Sjælland
Contact
Development Manager