i&i Biotech Fund announces the launch of cooperation with Associate Professor Daniel Münich, who has joined the Fund's Advisory Committee. The renowned Czech economist will join the European Investment Fund's (EIF) delegate as a representative of the bio-innovation center, i&i Prague, and the innovation ecosystem around the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS (IOCB), to support the further development of i&i Biotech Fund.
i&i Biotech Fund (i&i Bio) aims to find and develop unique academic startups in the field of drug development, diagnostics, or medical technologies. It is the first-ever fund of this type not only in the Czech Republic but also in other V4 countries. It is led by a team of professionals who use their many years of experience to support academic startups that have ambitions to succeed in global markets. Now, renowned economist Daniel Münich joins i&i Bio as a member of the Fund's Advisory Committee as a representative of i&i Prague, the bio-innovation center at the IOCB, which founded i&i Bio together with the EIF.
"I very much appreciate that we could convince such a renowned personality of Czech economics as Assoc. Prof. Daniel Münich. I am sure that thanks to his involvement we will gain additional unique know-how within our innovation ecosystem," says Jaromír Zahrádka, CEO of i&i Bio, adding: "Assoc. Prof. Münich is a respected independent expert in the field of labor market economics, education, and especially research, its financing and return on public investment. I believe that our cooperation will also help to start a public debate on how to make the system of support for the commercialization of science and technology transfer more effective, so that science can better serve society as a whole."
"I see i&i Biotech Fund as an effective tool to help the emergence of new innovative products that can ultimately enable the improvement of the quality of life of millions of people around the world. The Fund's activities contribute to the return on the resources we as a society invest in science. I am convinced that the whole system of public support for science can be much more effective, and funds such as i&i Bio can be an important pillar of this," says Daniel Münich.
i&i Bio is part of a unique system of support for the transfer of scientific knowledge into practice, which has been built around the IOCB since 2009 (in addition to the IOCB and i&i Bio, it also consists of the IOCB Tech Technology Transfer Office and the bio-innovation center i&i Prague).
"This whole system supports the linking of the best projects in the field of natural sciences with the world of economics and business. In the Czech Republic this is still a pioneering approach, which allows innovative scientific knowledge to move into practice, but at the same time can become an important source of funding for science. After all, our institute is not only thanks to the work of Prof. Holý and his team a clear proof that it makes sense," adds Prof. Jan Konvalinka, Director of IOCB Prague.
About i&i Bio
i&i Bio is a Luxembourg-based venture capital firm that invests in innovative European Life Sciences companies focused on drug discoveries, medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health. The Fund was created thanks to the cooperation of the biotech incubator i&i Prague and the European Investment Fund (see below). With over €47M under management, i&i Bio plans to invest in about 20 early-stage companies. i&i Bio is led by an experienced team of professionals with backgrounds in private equity, healthcare and venture capital supporting entrepreneurs on their journey to global success. Thanks to close cooperation with the fund’s main sponsor, the biotech academic incubator i&i Prague, i&i Bio is supporting and advancing transformative Central European technology companies.
