Luxembourg, Belgium, and Paris, France – 17 March 2023: eureKARE, an innovative investment company for disruptive synthetic biology applications, today announces that it has won a grant from the European Commission’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme to lead SYNBEE, a synthetic biology project in Europe.
The SYNBEE project – SYNthetic Biology Entrepreneurial Ecosystem – aims to boost entrepreneurial education of young synthetic biology professionals across Europe and bring together key players within the space. It includes academic centers of excellence and their accelerators, incubators, and technology transfer offices, as well as industry partners and investors from 25 European countries who share this common goal.
Synthetic biology, also known as the Engineering of Biology, is reinventing our lives by offering new ways to produce what human beings consume, from medicine and food to fuels and textiles. Leading European research organizations have a proven scientific track record of excellence in the field, but remain largely under-exploited commercially.
Over the next 2 years, SYNBEE’s members will implement a unique methodology to analyze the synthetic biology landscape and stakeholders’ needs, thus empowering them with the right skills and training to build successful synthetic biology companies in Europe and potentially create future unicorns.
Coordinated by eureKARE, the SYNBEE project involves a broad synthetic biology community with 14 key players from 8 countries: Häme University of Applied Sciences (Finland), Delft University of Technology (Netherlands), INRAE Transfert – Toulouse White Biotechnology/ IBISBA (France), Biocatalyst Foundation (Latvia), F6S Network (Ireland), Riga Technical University (Latvia), Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (Germany), London Biofoundry (UK), Potter Clarkson (UK), Start Codon Limited (UK), iGEM (USA), CEA (France), and the German Association for Synthetic Biology e. V. (Germany).
Alexandre Mouradian, Chairman, Founder, and Chief Executive Officer of eureKARE, commented: “Synthetic biology offers what investors look for – return on investment and impact for society. At eureKARE, we see a tremendous opportunity to industrialize synthetic biology scientific discoveries by building bridges between academia and industry. We are delighted to be working alongside such major academic and industrial names and leading this innovative project dedicated to strengthening the synthetic biology network in Europe. I look forward to supporting young talented professionals with the right skills to build disruptive synthetic biology-based businesses across Europe.”
Alexandra Chukas, SYNBEE Project Coordinator and Head of Non-Dilutive Funding of eureKARE, commented: “Synthetic biology will renew and challenge major industries. It has already attained a compound annual growth rate of 28.8% globally. Leading European research organizations have a proven scientific record of excellence in the field. Now it is time to also boost the commercial exploitation of the research results in synthetic biology in Europe via targeted entrepreneurial training. This is the main objective of the SYNBEE consortium. I am pleased and honored to coordinate it, and confident that with such extraordinary players, this project will be a great success.”
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Project No: 101100509
Start Date: 15 January 2023
Project Duration: 24 months
The SYNBEE project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Grant Agreement 101100509.
Disclaimer: Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
eureKARE is an investment company focused on financing and developing
synthetic biology innovation across Europe. Driven by the belief that synthetic
biology holds the key to many of the world’s most pressing health and
environmental challenges, eureKARE’s experienced team is focused on
harnessing untapped leadership in the
field to build the companies of the future. eureKARE is championing a new model
of start-up creation and development to create a dynamic ecosystem of early and
later-stage ventures through its network of biotech studios. eureKARE’s studios
act as a bridge between academia and industry, helping to catalyze the
commercialization of innovations while giving young startups access to all the
ingredients they need to grow, prosper, and bring benefits to society.
Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation with a budget of €95.5 billion. It tackles climate change, helps to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and boosts the EU’s competitiveness and growth. The programme facilitates collaboration and strengthens the impact of research and innovation in developing, supporting and implementing EU policies while tackling global challenges. It supports creating and better dispersing of excellent knowledge and technologies. It creates jobs, fully engages the EU’s talent pool, boosts economic growth, promotes industrial competitiveness and optimizes investment impact within a strengthened European Research Area.
eureKARE SA
Alexandra Chukas, the Project Coordinator and Head of Non-Dilutive Funding
alexandra.chukas@eurekare.eu
Michelle Wilson-André, Head of Communications
F6S Innovation – PR contact point
Catarina Reis, EU Project Manager at F6S
Anja Stipankov, Communications Manager at F6S
Luxembourg | France | Belgium
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