Embarking on a long-term adventure
Embarking on a long-term adventure
Starting from ideas or discoveries conceived in the VIB labs, the New Ventures team builds new biotech ventures. First off, the team will build a solid data package, obtain proof of concept (PoC) and define a solid IP strategy. The idea’s value is determined by proprietary knowhow, PoC data and intellectual property. Together with the scientists and supported by the IP colleagues, the New Ventures managers aim to de-risk and make the invention commercially relevant and applicable – and thus more marketable.
Next the entrepreneurial team will draft a tangible business plan. This is where targets, timings and cost estimates come in. Involving entrepreneurs early-on in this process is a preferred route. They can help make the plan and eventually become part of the start-up’s management team. These ‘entrepreneurs in residence’ are usually seasoned professionals in biotech or pharma, who are ready to take a leap into a new adventure.
When the project is sufficiently derisked, the team starts looking for funding. For Aelin Therapeutics, the team was able to raise a record amount of 27 million euros, sufficient to bring a first candidate drug to the clinic and test its safety in humans.
In 2015, VIB launched the early stage life sciences investment fund V-Bio Ventures. V-Bio Ventures invests throughout Europe in start-up and early-stage life science companies with high growth potential. The fund focuses on investments in (bio)pharmaceuticals, diagnostics and agricultural improvements, and intends to build a portfolio of companies drawn from both VIB’s research pipeline and elsewhere.
