BioInnovation Institute (BII)

Breye Therapeutics ApS secures €67.5M Series A to advance oral treatments for retinal diseases. Big congratulations to BII alumni Breye Therapeutics on raising €67.5 million. The round was co-led by Mission BioCapital and Novo Holdings, with participation from both existing and new investors 👏 The financing will help advance Breye Therapeutics' lead candidate, danegaptide, into a Phase II clinical trial for non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), a leading cause of vision loss that affects millions of people worldwide. The funding will also support the development of the company's broader pipeline targeting retinal diseases, including age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma. Breye Therapeutics is developing oral therapies designed to treat retinal diseases earlier in their progression, with the ambition of providing patients with non-invasive treatment options that can help preserve vision and quality of life. Breye Therapeutics came through BII in 2020 with €1,3M in support and we are proud to have supported Breye Therapeutics on its journey and are excited to see the team reach this important milestone. Congratulations to Ulrik Mouritzen and the entire Breye Therapeutics team, and best of luck with the next phase of development.

What happens when research challenges convention? For Courtney Schreiber, it meant helping improve care for women experiencing early pregnancy loss. Her work earned her the 2026 BII & Science Magazine Translational Medicine Prize for Innovations in Women's Health and highlights how translational research can drive meaningful change for patients. We are now looking for the next researchers advancing women's health through innovative science. Applications are open for the BII & Science Translational Medicine Prize for Innovations in Women's Health, recognizing research with the potential to improve women's health outcomes worldwide. 🏆 USD 25,000 Grand Prize 🥈 USD 10,000 Runner-up prize(s) 📖 Publication in Science Translational Medicine 📅 Application deadline: 1 November 2026 Apply here: https://lnkd.in/eB7rwhUR Could your research be next?

BioInnovation Institute (BII) and Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) join forces to bring science to life in the UK. As part of BII's ambitions to help more European innovation reach the market, we are pleased to announce a new partnership with ARIA, strengthening our growing presence in the UK innovation ecosystem. The partnership also includes € 10 mio. to assist the great UK research. Since launching activities in the UK, BII has been working to bring the innovation platform across the Northern Sea to support the translation of breakthrough research into companies and solutions with real-world impact. Expanding our scope in the UK is an important part of that ambition, allowing us to engage with more of the country's leading research and innovation environments in different areas within planetary and human health. As an ARIA Activation Partner, BII will gain access to a strong pipeline of ambitious research projects and technologies from across the UK. The partnership broadens our scope to support innovation in new scientific areas while helping more promising discoveries move beyond the lab. Together, BII and ARIA bring complementary experience in identifying and advancing high-potential innovation, creating new opportunities to help transformative science reach its next milestones.

From 3,600 applicants to 15 Mission Track companies: one came through BII. Cohesys has been selected for NATO DIANA's Mission Track, advancing from a program that began with around 3,600 applicants and 150 participating companies. Cohesys develops BoneTape - a drill-less solution for minimally invasive bone fracture fixation, replacing traditional plates and screws, and has been part of the program run at BII during 2026. The selection places the company among a small group of ventures chosen to continue into the next phase of NATO DIANA's innovation program. It is exciting to see a company that participated in our collaboration with DIANA continue gaining momentum on the international stage. Cohesys joined a cohort of ambitious startups working to translate cutting-edge research into technologies with real-world impact. "Throughout the NATO DIANA program at BII, everyone was incredibly welcoming and always willing to help. Our mentors worked hard to connect us with the right people across the Danish Armed Forces. We met several times with military surgeons at Rigshospitalet and, by the end of the program, had the opportunity to demonstrate our technology in a cadaver lab. It was very encouraging to see strong interest in our technology across a range of surgical specialties. The program also gave us the opportunity to meet stakeholders from across the Danish military and medical device industry, including in Odense, Aalborg, and Aarhus. One outcome is that we have since engaged a Danish startup as one of our suppliers," – Michael Tessier. Congratulations to the team on this significant milestone. We look forward to following the next chapter of the journey.

A lot has happened in the last year and a half: Xendara Bio spins out. A little over a year ago, Nano-X entered Bio Studio with an ambitious goal of overcoming some of the biggest challenges in cell and gene therapy. Built on research from DTU - Technical University of Denmark and developed through BII's Bio Studio, the team has created a modular nanoparticle platform designed to improve how therapeutic payloads are delivered to cells. And this could open new possibilities in next-generation T-cell therapies. Over the past 18 months, the team has worked to transform a promising academic technology into a venture-ready company. Along the way, Nano-X secured four patent families, generated promising preclinical data, and achieved the acceptance of key research findings in Nature Communications. The team also expanded with both scientific and entrepreneurial expertise, laying the foundations needed to advance the technology beyond the laboratory and into a company setting. Today, that journey reaches a new milestone as the project spins out as Xendara Bio. The spin-out reflects the progress made across technology development, IP, scientific validation, and commercial readiness. Most importantly, it marks the transition from academic research to an independent company positioned to bring the technology closer to patients. Congratulations to the entire Xendara Bio team on this exciting next chapter. 🚀

BII scales up and supports an unprecedented 17 startups 📈 As part of our strategy, we are scaling up our support and in the fall of 2026 we are taking in 17 startups. With the € 560.000 funding, the startups also get access to our acceleration program, our huge investor network and partnerships with the industry. And now, get ready to meet the new startups ⚡ FIBERNEX is developing advanced porous materials and coatings for energy and industrial applications, with core technology in electrodes for alkaline electrolysis. 👩⚕️ Women’s health company, Sylvia Health, is developing new solutions for the treatment of rectocele and other forms of pelvic organ prolapse. 🌍 KhaosGuard is developing laser systems for real-time measurement of greenhouse gas emissions across industrial facilities. 👁️ Corcellys Therapeutics is focused on regenerative cell therapies for the treatment of diseases affecting the surface of the eye. ♻️ Launch Bioindustries is using advanced fermentation to create sustainable biomaterials, to convert organic waste into high-performance bioplastics. 💊 Alvara Therapeutics are working to create small-molecule medicines for the treatment of chronic kidney disease. 🔬 EpiMass develops real-time diagnostic and therapeutic solutions for skin cancer. The technology is used to analyse surgical smoke and airborne particles generated during energy-based surgical procedures. 🩻 IQopta develops AI solutions for medical imaging to speed up patient access to personalized cancer treatment. 🧬 AffinityAI develops AI-designed protein binders for use in drug development, diagnostics and biomedical research. 🍃 React Foods develops sustainable yeast-based ingredients for human health and nutrition. 🏫 Human Thinking develops educational AI agents and learning systems that support and engage students’ own critical thinking in interaction with artificial intelligence. 🫧 PureSurf, supported through BII’s collaboration with XISTA in Austria, develops high-performance bio-based surfactants for use in the chemical industry. ⚗️ Reformable develops catalysts and catalytic process technology for converting methane and CO₂ into syngas and subsequently into fuels and chemicals. 🔋 Aperio Therapeutics, supported through BII’s collaboration with XISTA in Austria, is working on therapy aimed at diseases related to metabolic physiology. 💡 Lucore Technology develops photonic hardware for artificial intelligence. ⚙️ Copenhagen Microsystems develops advanced equipment for micro- and nanofabrication. 🔆 Lizard Photonics is developing nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS)-integrated photonics for AI data centers, photonic computing and quantum technologies. Thank you to Novo Nordisk Foundation for making it possible for us to support this fantastic innovation and bring science to life. At BII we wouldn’t have anything to support if not for the work that goes into the novel ideas at the universities 👏 see where every startup originate from ⬇️

6 months in BII and our two newest Bio Studio projects are getting on with business. In April, Syntara and Sephida came into BII through the Bio Studio funding model, and since then, they have been working hard to move the projects along. Sephida is building a platform for taste discovery. Their novel technology, that functionally expresses human taste receptors, offers solutions across the full taste innovation pipeline. Since April, they have finalized the hiring of their team, set up an automated screening lab at BII and successfully transferred the technology from Københavns Universitet - University of Copenhagen to BII. Sephida's Principal Investigator is Sotirios Kampranis from Københavns Universitet - University of Copenhagen, with entrepreneur in residence Emil Andersen. 16.000 chemicals are being phased out in the EU and Syntara are identifying the replacement molecules that will make industries as diverse as personal care, agriculture and aquaculture safer end more resilient. Syntara have also been hiring and have a complete team in place to continue the work on their lead applications in the areas of personal care and cosmetics, plant agriculture and animal health, and are in active discussions with potential partners in these areas. The project's Principal Investigator is Jay Keasling, professor at University of California, Berkeley, and entrepreneur in residence is Jerome Unidad. We can’t wait to see where they go.

BII doubles down on 6 companies and adds € 8 mio. in total support. Through their time in BII, PanTarg, 3Sonic, INIA Biosciences, Yngvi Bio, Proxi Biotech and SAGAVA have shown fantastic progress, which gives BII the highest confidence and incentive to support with an additional € 1,3 mio. to each startup. This new funding goes on top of the € 560.000 they were awarded through our Venture Lab funding model. PanTarg is developing a targeted cancer therapy that aims to attack both pancreatic cancer cells and the protective tissue surrounding them, with the goal of overcoming one of the biggest barriers to treating solid tumors. PanTarg is a spin-out from the Københavns Universitet - University of Copenhagen and Rigshospitalet. 3Sonic, a spin-out from Rigshospitalet, creates 3D ultrasound imaging of tumor specimens during surgery, allowing surgeons to assess the surgical margins while the patient is still on the operating table. INIA Biosciences is developing a non-invasive ultrasound-based therapy for inflammatory diseases. Instead of using drugs to suppress inflammation, INIA Biosciences use precisely targeted sound waves to modulate the immune system. Last year’s Demo Day pitch winners, Yngvi Bio, is developing protein-based crop protection solutions designed to control agricultural pests with much higher precision than conventional chemical pesticides. Yngvio Bio is a spin-out from Københavns Universitet - University of Copenhagen. Proxi Biotech develops vaccines and immunotherapies against bacterial infections caused by drug-resistant pathogens. The company's proprietary platform detoxifies bacterial toxins while preserving their native structure, turning them into safe, highly immunogenic antigens. Their lead program targets prevention of recurrence in patients with Clostridioides difficile infection. SAGAVA are creating bio-oil from biomass to help solve Europe’s energy dependency. You can read more about the Demo Day Groundbreaking Innovation winners in this story from last week: https://lnkd.in/evT7SfzP SAGAVA originated from the DTU - Technical University of Denmark. We are so thrilled to continue the collaboration and can’t wait to see where the companies go from here.

SAGAVA's founders were transporting biomass in suitcases for their first tests. Today, they're scaling industrial solutions to make Europe energy independent. Europe imports most of the oil it consumes, while vast amounts of biomass are treated as low-value waste. SAGAVA’s technology converts any type of organic waste into bio-oil with energy content comparable to fossil fuels, helping unlock the potential of resources that already exist around us. Alongside the oil, the process also produces biochar, creating value from materials that would otherwise be discarded. Unlike many alternative fuels, the company's bio-oil can be used in existing petrochemical infrastructure, including maritime shipping, without requiring modifications to engines or transport systems. Their idea can be traced back to a very different starting point. While working in México, co-founder Cristiane Sanchez became fascinated by the enormous amounts of waste generated by tequila production. After the agave plant is harvested and processed, large quantities of biomass are left behind. Most people saw a disposal problem. Cristiane and the rest of the team saw an opportunity. The challenge was that the expertise, equipment and co-founders, Jan Octavio Wilske, Nil Puig Engel and Daniel P., were in Denmark. So they improvised. Agave waste was packed into suitcases and shipped across the Atlantic. Customs declarations had to explain why agricultural waste was crossing international borders. Back in Copenhagen, samples were dried on rooftops. At the time, it was the only way for the team, with their limited resources, to answer an important question: could this waste be turned into something valuable? As experiments progressed, the founders realized they weren't building a solution for tequila waste alone. The same technology could work with multiple biomass feedstocks, opening opportunities far beyond a single industry or geography. Today they have validated their technology with 90+ biomasses. What began as an exploration of agave waste gradually evolved into a broader ambition to help transform underutilized biomass into valuable energy products. The company that grew from those experiments looks very different today. Built in Denmark, Sagava has assembled an international team spanning engineering, logistics, shipping, finance and industrial development. The company has evolved from the makeshift supply chains and the small-scale testing of the early days to an operational modular unit at commercial scale, ready for deployment across EU & the world. Yet the suitcase story remains an important reminder of how innovation often begins. Not with certainty or a detailed roadmap, but with curiosity and persistence. With founders willing to test assumptions, solve problems one step at a time, and occasionally explain to customs officials why they're importing agricultural waste across the Atlantic. Sometimes, the path to industrial-scale innovation starts with a suitcase.

Most water technologies take years, sometimes decades, to reach the market. Vāsuqi is aiming to do it in less than three. Vāsuqi, the winners of Best Pitch at Demo Day, is developing a visible-light technology designed to remove contaminants that conventional water treatment systems struggle to eliminate. In just months, the team has moved from concept to prototype, with plans to begin testing the technology on real wastewater streams as they work towards a pilot deployment by 2028. The idea did not begin in a laboratory. It began with a recurring problem. While working in the water industry, co-founder Adarsh Raj repeatedly encountered customers facing contaminants that were difficult and expensive to remove from wastewater. Existing technologies often relied on energy-intensive processes, additional chemicals, or combinations of multiple treatment systems. Even major industry players were still searching for better solutions. Rather than accept the limitation, he began looking for an alternative. After reviewing research from around the world, one particular technology developed at DTU caught his attention. He reached out to Professor at DTU, Wenjing (Angela) ZHANG, whose work suggested a new approach might be possible. The scientific foundation was there, but turning it into a practical product would require a different type of expertise. That was where Jörg Vogel entered the picture. Having spent nearly two decades helping build Aquaporin from its earliest stages, Jörg brought extensive experience in water technology, product development and innovation. Together, the founders combined industry insight, technical understanding and a shared ambition to tackle a challenge they had both encountered throughout their careers. Today, Vāsuqi is developing a system that uses visible light to break down persistent contaminants in wastewater. The goal is to help industries and water treatment providers address pollutants that conventional systems struggle to remove, while reducing reliance on energy-intensive processes and additional chemicals. Rather than creating a technology that only works in the laboratory, the founders have focused on building something operators can use comfortably in the real world: predictable, reliable and designed to cheaply fit into existing treatment infrastructure. The founders know the journey ahead will not be easy. Water infrastructure is a conservative industry where new technologies must prove themselves over years of testing and validation before they are widely adopted. But they are highly motivated in an industry many others might overlook. For the Vasuqi team, water has become more than an industry. It is one of society's most essential resources, and ensuring access to cleaner water is a challenge worth building a company around. At the 2026 BII Demo Day, they showed off their company and product, which ended with the award for Best Pitch.