A stepping stone for growth within Life Science

AstraZeneca has established the in-house platform for growth, BioVentureHub, to help companies, researchers and innovators in the region reach their full potential. BioVentureHub is more than an incubator, and more than a collaboration platform. It is a stepping stone for growth within Life Science in the Gothenburg region.

Many companies have already joined the AstraZeneca BioVentureHub during the years, and many more will come. Some have now finished the journey within the innovation hub and have grown out of the facilities at AstraZeneca. One such company is Intelligent Implants which recently moved to GoCo House and a total of five companies will move there during 2023. They will become BioVentureHub Alumni to keep the collaborative relationship with the BioVentureHub community.

”Over the ten years that BioVentureHub has been in operation, we have been publicly financed by Vinnova, the Västra Götaland Region and Business Region Gothenburg. In addition BioVentureHub has been privately financed by AstraZeneca., Carl Bennet AB and Patricia Industries. AstraZeneca has made the decision to continue supporting the BioVentureHub even after the public funding has ended. This is a very important strategic development for the region as a place for innovations and development in Life Science”, says Magnus Björsne, CEO of BioVentureHub.

Building a strong ecosystem

In connection with AstraZeneca taking over the entire financing of BioVentureHub, work will be intensified to identify and highlight new innovative companies that can grow with the right support in the right environment.

“We are an important driving force for building a strong ecosystem for Life Science in the region, and even working on a Nordic basis as we already inspire other regions to do the same”, underlines Magnus Björsne.

BioVentureHub will continue to operate as before and will focus on nurture and develop the dare to share culture that make it even more valuable for companies to establish themselves and operate in its environment. This is an environment integrated at the heart of AstraZeneca´s strategic R&D center in Gothenburg, where companies in the BioVentureHub community have access to labs and infrastructure, as well as to AstraZeneca expertise and scientists.

“Our goal is ideally to turn challenges to opportunities for growth that would have been more difficult to realize without the type of support the BioVentureHub provides”, adds Björsne.

Recent developments

In addition to building a strong eco-system, AstraZeneca is also looking to expand its Nordic mentoring programme, led by BioVentureHub. This entails 16 partnering incubators across the Nordic countries. The programme with these incubators enables their entrepreneurs to connect and exchange knowledge and experiences with AstraZeneca mentors.

All the efforts are focusing on finding new talents and new companies to join in. At the same time, BioVentureHub support the companies and collaborations with AstraZeneca expertise and partners, in order to strengthen the Nordic Life Science Ecosystem.

This will open up for many new and interesting collaborations that reach far beyond the Gothenburg region and put Sweden and the Nordic countries as one of the most important and innovative regions in the world of life science.