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Meet Our Team Our team benefits from decades of know-how and experiences gathered in academic institutions, technology transfer and industrial companies. Using this knowledge, we are developing a pool of highly potent biotech projects originating in academia and finding commercial partners for them. Jiří Moos CEO, Board of Directors Jiří Moos is the Executive Director at i&i Prague. Read More Iva Machová Project Manager Iva Machová is a Project Manager at i&i Prague. Read More Martin Kovalčík Communications Martin Kovalčík is our Communications Manager. Read More Milan Prášil Chairman, Board of directors Milan Prášil is the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Read More Jiří Růžička Project Manager Jiri Ruzicka is a Project manager at i&i Prague. Read More Simona Šandová Office Manager Simona Šandová is the Office Manager of i&i Prague. Read More David Stíbal Board of Directors, Vice Director David Stíbal is the Vice Director at i&i Prague. Read More Roberto Fernandez Project Manager Roberto Fernandez is a Project manager at i&i Prague. Read More Mikuláš Vargic External Lawyer Mikuláš studied law at Masaryk University Brno and International and European Law at the University of Antwerp. Read More Our Mission We scout and support the growth through discovery, pre-seed or seed phase of the most promising projects with innovative potential in Drug Discovery, Diagnostics, MedTech and other Life Science fields. Our Objective Our ambition is to become a leading partner advancing and promoting game-changing biotech inventions coming from the Central Europe region. Our Team Our team benefits from expertise and experience gathered from IOCB and IOCB Tech. We are developing a pool of highly promising biotech projects originating from academia and finding commercial partners for them. Our background We operate as a private company under the wings of the Czech Academy of Sciences and its Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB). From 1994 to 2002, the IOCB was led by Dr. Antonín Holý, whose team invented and developed hugely effective and successful anti-HIV drugs (Truvada, Atripla, Complera, Eviplera). We believe that this is a legacy to build upon and that, with your and our combined expertise, we can make this world a better place and help millions of people.

< Back Roberto Fernandez Project Manager Roberto Fernandez is a Project manager at i&i Prague. He holds a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Costa Rica and a MSc in Biochemistry and Biotechnology from Autonomous University of Barcelona. Prior to joining our company Roberto completed his Ph.D. in Macromolecular Chemistry at Charles University, Czech Republic. His multicultural and multidisciplinary background built his interest for applied science, technology transfer and the positive changes this brings to society. In his last year of Ph.D., he participated in the management internship program started by i&i Prague, which provided hands-on experience working at a start-up in the portfolio of i&i Prague. Parallel to his work in i&i Prague, Roberto works as a project manager in the MedTech start-up LAM-X a.s. Due to his experience, Roberto prefers to focus on projects in the field of medical devices and drug delivery.

< Back Simona Šandová Office Manager During her career, Simona has worked as an Office Manager and a Junior Property Manager. She was responsible for training and conference organization, communication with clients and suppliers as well as administrative assistance for the project and property department. She has considerable experience in administration and office management.

We’ll show you what’s new with us here, offer you interesting media outlets that relate to our work, and you can find our press releases here. Our news We help invention grow! Welcome to the News section of i&i Prague – your go-to source for the latest updates straight from our incubator! This is where we keep you informed about everything happening at i&i Prague. Stay up to date with how we are driving innovation and turning scientific discoveries into real-world solutions. Whether you're a researcher, investor, or entrepreneur, this is the place to discover what’s new at i&i Prague. Highlights Podcast CHEMAGAZÍNtalks podcast presents Jan Berka: "At one point, we held the unofficial record for the longest DNA reading." Read More Interview "I love the feeling you get when you discover something new," says Kamila Burdová, the new incubation manager at i&i Prague. Read More Blog Our "Swiss Journey" Continues: From CometX at the University of Zurich to the Innovation Biotech Day 2025 in Prague Read More Press release i&i Prague and the Nencki Institute launch collaboration to develop an innovative test for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease Read More Press release i&i Prague, Technical University of Liberec, and the Faculty of Medicine of CU in Pilsen will support the Nanoflexion technology Read More Interview Jiří Růžička: The Start-up/Spin-off Gives Scientists the Opportunity to Help Shape the Path of Their Discovery Read More Other news Mar 18 2025 i&i Prague, ÚHKT and Medirekt Partner Join Forces to Bring an Innovative Sample Preparation Technology to Market Read More Feb 25 2025 Czech i&i Prague and the Polish Medical Innovation Institute join forces to support cutting-edge scientific innovation in the region Read More Feb 2 2025 CHEmic podcast with Milan Prasil about how to turn a scientific discovery into a successful start-up/spin-off Read More Jan 20 2025 Neuron 2024 Award for Bridging Science and Business Goes to SophoMer, s.r.o., a Startup from i&i Prague's Portfolio Read More Nov 23 2024 David Stíbal: We believe a startup is one of the best paths nowadays to develop interesting technologies beyond the academic level Read More Nov 7 2024 i&i Prague and other Prague.bio members participate in a business mission with Czech president in Switzerland Read More Oct 30 2024 Jiří Moos: From the lab to the market: What biotech commercialization looks like from the perspective of an incubator Read More Oct 21 2024 PANC-CKI Consortium led by CasInvent Pharma Secures €4M Eurostars Grant for Pancreatic Cancer Research Read More Sep 24 2024 The Prague.bio Conference 2024 welcomed approximately 300 participants from all over the world Read More Mar 11 2024 This fall Prague will be the stage for a showcase of cutting-edge biotechnologies featuring prominent figures such as ... Read More Now 30, 2024 CasInvent Pharma raises € 1.6 million from i&i Prague and Other Investors to Support the Development of CK1 Inhibitors for ... Read More Now 30, 2023 IOCB Tech Group Successfully Represents the Czech Republic at the Prestigious Biotech Conference BIO-Europe 2023 Read More Apr 25, 2023 The Prague.bio international conference will bring together the best of science and business in Prague Read More Feb 7, 2023 New startup in our portfolio: Sophomer's technology will make immunoassays faster, easier and cheaper Read More Feb 6, 2023 Czech liquid biopsy startup Elphogene comes under full control of one of the founders Read More Earlier News

Earlier News We help inventions grow! 2021-2022 Interview with Jaromír Zahrádka: Investments help science to serve people Read more The judges at Transfera Technology Day 2021 awarded the cream of the crop Read more i&i Prague supports the innovative PEP-Therapy in their extension of the Series-A ... Read more Enantis concluded a license agreement for the production of stabilised growth factor FGF2 Read more PerioTrap Pharmaceuticals Raises €3M Seed Round to Develop Selective ... Read more Elphogene received a TA CR grant for “Sample prep system and technology for cancer ..." Read more Our notes from a trip to “The most startup friendly country in the whole world” Read more Spin-off CasInvent Pharma receives the Neuron Award for excellent Technology Transfer Read more Licensing agreement for a novel SARS Cov-2 virus neutralization antibody test was signed Read more i&i Prague supported LAM-X a.s. won the 2020 EIT Health MedTech Bootcamp final ... Read more UCT Prague entered in memorandum with i&i Prague, s.r.o. Read more i&i Prague announces its first exit, DIANA Biotechnologies is bought out by its founders Read more i&i Bio, the newly estabilished investment fund powered by i&i Prague and EIF Read more Green chemistry start-up Sulfotools closes seed round with i&i Prague Read more CasInvent Pharma, an University Spin-Off Focused on Developing Cancer Drugs... Read more Dracen Announces the Initiation of First-in-human Study of DRP-104 in Adult Patients With ... Read more 2020-2018 Nanofibers from Technical University of Liberec brings new hope in fight against Covid-19 Read more Enantis – first biotechnology spin-off from Masaryk University in Brno Read more DIANA Biotechnologies – technology that raised EUR 3M in 3 years Read more License for use of iBodies® bought by Immunotech, a member of the Beckman... Read more LAM-X: revolutionary wound-treating nanomaterials Read more Elphogene – liquid biopsy assay for non-invasive monitoring of patients with colorectal cancer Read more Novel partnership for iBodies has been facilitated by i&i Prague and IOCB Tech... Read more i&i Prague became a shareholder in the spin-off XENO Cell Innovations! Read more i&i Prague successfully mediated an out-licensing of antibodies from IMG Read more LAM-X – light-activated nanomaterials for face-masks and respirators Read more Elphogene: non-invasive screening of patients in advanced stages of cancer Read more DRACEN Pharmaceuticals – Novel glutamine antagonist as anticancer therapies Read more iBodies – synthetic antibodies from Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry Read more Elphogene in World Journal of Gastroenterology! Read more A novel early cancer diagnostics method has been developed at University of Pardubice,... Read more Revolutionary type of catheter raised €2 million from private investors Read more i&i Prague co-invested Dracen Pharmaceuticals, a company developing a novel oncology... Read more Prague startup RIOCATH had recently entered market with its world-unique catheter! Read more Czech anti-covid19 #hackathon won by two i&i Prague accelerated projects Read more LAM-X a.s. is collaborating with TUL to develop active nanofilters against COVID-19 Read more iBodies established cooperation with Ximbio, a TTO within the UK’s largest charity... Read more LAM-X: the spin-off accelerated by i&i Prague in Media Read more DIANA Biotechnologies, a novel startup in the i&i Prague´s academic incubator Read more Startup Riocath is among Hello Tomorrow’s top 500 stratups in the world Read more i&i Prague is joining Hello Tomorrow Ecosystem, a global community boosting deep... Read more

< Back Iva Machová Project Manager Iva Machová is a Project manager at i&i Prague. She is responsible for the analysis of project technology. Before joining our company, Iva worked as a postdoc researcher at the Biomedical Center of the Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen. She holds BSc and MSc degrees from UCT Prague, Czech Republic, and she did her Ph.D. at the Institute of organic chemistry and biochemistry, AS CR. Iva spent several months on a postdoctoral fellowship at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Due to her scientific experience in biochemistry, she is focused on projects in the field of drug discovery and cell therapy.

< Back Milan Prášil Chairman, Board of directors Milan has a thorough knowledge of a business as well as an academic environment. Functioning for eight years as a chancellor of the oldest and one of the largest universities in Central Europe, Charles University in Prague, Milan’s special assignment was a technological transfer and commercialization of academic research results. Milan is well acquainted with the entrepreneurial environment since he founded and managed a consulting company focused mainly on the assessment and improvement of clinical healthcare efficiency and the assessment and professional development of managers. Before he entered the world of entrepreneurship, Milan had spent a great deal of his early professional career developing expertise in the pharma industry. He initially worked for the Czech branches of research-oriented pharma producers (Novo Nordisk, Bayer) in various positions in sales and marketing. He later gained international senior management experience working at a multinational biotech company (Genzyme Therapeutics), where he was responsible for the process of company expansion to the regions of Central and Eastern Europe. Milan Prasil graduated from the 1st medical faculty of Charles University in Prague (1995) and got his MBA from the Rochester Institute of Technology and the U.S. Business School in Prague (1996).

IOCB Tech Group Successfully Represents the Czech Republic at the Prestigious Biotech Conference BIO-Europe 2023 Over 5,000 participants from more than 50 countries and a total of over 30,000 official meetings – that was the outcome of this year's edition of the international BIO-Europe conference in Munich. The Czech Republic was represented by the companies IOCB Tech, i&i Prague, and i&i Biotech Fund (i&i Bio), which are entities associated with the IOCB Tech Group under the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences. The Czech stand at the event was also supported by representatives of the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Munich. “IOCB Tech Group regularly participates in BIO-Europe. It is a useful opportunity for us to meet with leading representatives of the biotech, medtech, and life sciences world, as well as investors and scientific research clusters. Thanks also go to the organizers, the EBD Group,” said Martin Fusek, director of IOCB Tech. “BIO-Europe represents a great opportunity for us to meet startups at the forefront of Biotech. Specially, in the CEE region we have found great founders who are shaking the field with their innovative technologies. The event also gives us a chance to reach out to startups which might not have been ready for investment when we originally talked to them, but after some time it is fascinating to see their progress,” adds Roberto Fernandez Alvarez, who represented the incubator i&i Prague with other colleagues. “This year's BIO-Europe was also unique due to the inclusion of a new section of panel discussions on so-called translational funds. These are investors who provide fund financing for the translational phase of research and the technology transfer process. Besides our i&i Bio, four other funds from Germany, Austria, and Belgium were presented, which were also established at significant scientific institutions,” says Jaromír Zahrádka, director of i&i Biotech Fund, adding: “It is evident that such funds have their place in the European venture capital market and often become the initial investor in new projects and biotechnological spin-off companies, which then get the chance to appeal to a broader group of less specialized investors.” The IOCB Tech team conducted more than a hundred meetings and negotiations over three days. “We are particularly grateful for the discussion with the EBD Group regarding the potential hosting of the BIO-Europe conference in Prague, and we are pleased that this vision is also supported by significant clusters such as LISAvienna – Life Science Austria Vienna, BioM Biotech Cluster, Biosaxony association, and many others,” added Martin Opatrný, spokesperson for IOCB Tech. “BIO-Europe represents a great opportunity for us to meet startups at the forefront of Biotech. Specially, in the CEE region we have found great founders who are shaking the field with their innovative technologies. The event also gives us a chance to reach out to startups which might not have been ready for investment when we originally talked to them, but after some time it is fascinating to see their progress,” Roberto Fernandez Alvarez i&i Prague Discussions on cooperation also took place, for example, with the company Symeres, a leading research organization focused on the discovery and development of new drugs. Representatives of the Consulate General in Munich also expressed their support for the IOCB Tech Group, whose visit was a significant recognition of the activities of the IOCB Tech Group. “We are glad to be part of this significant event and present, thanks to IOCB Tech, Czech excellence in the field of life sciences and pharmacy, and thus show the world the innovations and potential of Czech science and technology transfer,” said consul Lukáš Opatrný from the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Munich. BIO-Europe is an annual meeting of visionaries, innovators, and experts in the field of biotechnology and pharmaceutical research from around the world. Over the past 29 years, BIO-Europe has grown not only in size but especially in becoming the flagship of European biotech. Its international reach is a symbolic gateway to the global life science community. About IOCB Tech The Technology Transfer Office IOCB Tech, s.r.o. is a fully owned subsidiary of the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB). The main responsibilities of IOCB Tech include the identification of commercially interesting projects at IOCB, analysis of their market potential and patentability, protection of intellectual property, support for the development of the projects in the form of project management, search for commercial partners and negotiation of contractual terms for signing license agreements. IOCB Tech has been involved in the process of negotiating and concluding more than a dozen key license agreements with major pharmaceutical partners such as Gilead Sciences, Merck, Novo Nordisk and SHINE Medical Technologies. In 2017, the company established a subsidiary, i&i Prague, which focuses on funding promising early-stage projects at the Institute and other research and academic institutions. For more information visit www.iocbtech.cz . About i&i Prague The i&i Prague Bio-Innovation Center focuses on the transfer of new technologies into practice. The company was established at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS and is mainly dedicated to innovations in the field of drug development, diagnostics and medical devices originating from academic institutions. It supports the creation of spin-off companies and the sale of licenses. So far, the company has participated in the creation of or otherwise supported 15 spin-off companies from five countries, has an equity stake in nine of them and has invested over 70 million crowns. In total, the spin-offs in i&i Prague's portfolio have raised more than CZK 1.8 billion from other investors. In addition to direct financial investments, i&i Prague also assists more than 15 research institutions and universities in the Czech Republic and abroad in the commercialization of innovative technologies. In 2021, i&i Prague started up the i&i Bio investment fund. About i&i Biotech Fund (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. For more information visit www.inibio.eu . About EIF i&i Bio is supported by an investment from the EIF, with the support of: lnnovFin Equity, with the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020 Financial Instruments and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) set up under the Investment Plan for Europe. The purpose of EFSI is to help support financing and implementing productive investments in the European Union and to ensure increased access to financing; and the Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF), implemented by the EIF with the financial support of the Participating Member States. The objective of EGF is to respond to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring that companies in the Participating Member States have sufficient short-term liquidity available to weather the crisis and are able to continue their growth and development in the medium to long-term.

i&i Bio, the newly estabilished investment fund powered by i&i Prague and EIF It is our pleasure to announce the start of operations of i&i Biotech Fund (i&i Bio ) in September 2021. This is a great success of i&i Prague team and it brings a new quality and a unique opportunity for early-phase deep-tech spin-offs in Czechia and rest of the Europe. i&i Bio focuses on unique technologies in the fields of Medtech, Diagnostics and Drug discovery. i&i Bio manages more than 45 million EUR and the fund is prepared to invest an average of 2 million EUR (more than 50 million CZK) in a specific project, but in exceptional cases the amount may grow to as much as 4.5 million EUR for a single project. The fund will be joined by further investors in near future including CUIP , the daughter company of the Charles University in Prague. Further details and press release could be found here ! 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 €45M 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 the close cooperation with the fund’s sponsor, the biotech academic incubator i&i Prague, i&i Bio is supporting and advancing transformative Central European technology companies. For more information visit www.inibio.eu . About European Investment Fund i&i Bio is supported by an investment from the EIF, with the support of: lnnovFin Equity, with the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020 Financial Instruments and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) set up under the Investment Plan for Europe. The purpose of EFSI is to help support financing and implementing productive investments in the European Union and to ensure increased access to financing; and the Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF), implemented by the EIF with the financial support of the Participating Member States. The objective of EGF is to respond to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring that companies in the Participating Member States have sufficient short-term liquidity available to weather the crisis and are able to continue their growth and development in the medium to long-term.

Our "Swiss Journey" Continues: From CometX to the Innovation Biotech Day 2025 At the invitation of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Switzerland, we participated in the 5th annual CometX – Come and Meet Expats conference, organized by the CometX platform under the patronage of both the Czech and Slovak embassies. The event attracted a record 330 participants – primarily students and young researchers working in Swiss institutions. Among the distinguished speakers were former Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová, Radek Špíšek, CEO of Sotio, and etiquette expert Daniel Šmíd. Our goal was to reach out to young scientists and professionals and present the opportunities awaiting them in the Czech Republic – whether through involvement in scientific and innovation projects or by founding their own startups. The discussions often focused on the differences between the Czech and Swiss startup ecosystems, and on what Czech projects need to succeed internationally. We made several valuable new connections and were pleased to contribute to building greater trust in the Czech innovation environment. We’re committed to continuing this dialogue – the next step will be our participation in the 2nd Czech-Swiss Innovation Biotech Day 2025 , taking place on October 23, 2025, at the BIOCEV research centre in Prague. This conference will bring together researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, policy makers, and education experts from the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and beyond. The agenda will focus on technologies, innovations, tech transfer, and building a successful innovation ecosystem in Europe. The event is organized by the STAR research and innovation cluster in cooperation with the Embassy of the Czech Republic.

New startup in our portfolio: Sophomer's technology will make immunoassays faster, easier and cheaper The originators of SophoMer in their chemical laboratory. Prague, February 7, 2023. The academic startup Sophomer today announced the signing of a licensing agreement to commercialize a technology that can replace the traditionally used bovine serum albumin (BSA) in immunoassays. The newly licensed technology has been developed in collaboration between the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the CAS (IMC), Elisa Development and the bio-innovation center i&i Prague. The signing of the license agreement also officially accelerated the activities of the startup. Sophomer has also joined the portfolio of i&i Prague. BSA is one of the oldest industrially derived proteins. In immunoassays it is primarily used as a blocker, which makes the measurements more accurate by suppressing unwanted signals. It is derived from bovine serum, which poses a number of problems. These include the risk of pathogen transmission, which means that this material must be tested rigorously and expensively and its use is subject to certification to confirm its safety. "Logically, there is no such risk with our technology, as our product is fully synthetic. This eliminates other problems, whether it is the variability in reproduction of production, the relatively high price, which increases with the requirement for higher purity, or the complex disposal of the material. The ethical aspect of the whole matter is also not negligible," says Jan Plicka of Elisa Development and a leading expert in the development of diagnostic devices. Sophomer's technology will find application wherever immunoassays is a basic working tool. It has the potential to greatly assist in biochemical laboratories, in the development of In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) devices, in the monitoring of environmental contaminations, in food laboratories for the determination of allergen content, or in immunoassays in veterinary laboratories. "Our ambitions continue to grow as our research progresses, but the main idea remains the same: to make the work of our fellow developers and researchers faster, easier and, to a large extent, cheaper. We want them to be able to focus without distraction on their own ideas and the challenges that their demanding, extremely important and at the same time low-visibility work brings to the public," adds Martin Burkhard, CEO of Sophomer. A great example of technology transfer The creation of the start-up Sophomer is a prime example of technology transfer and the linking of science and industry. "At the beginning of the story there was a need for diagnostic test manufacturers, which we were able to identify thanks to our network of contacts. We then searched academia for a technology suitable to address this need. We found a suitable technology at the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry and, after successful validation tests, we assembled a joint development team," says Jiří Moos from the i&i Prague Bio-Innovation Center, which has been behind the project from the very beginning. Among other things, i&i Prague also participated in the creation of a startup that has been included in the portfolio of this bio-innovation center. "We are currently helping to find customers for the developed polymer Sophomer F10, while continuing to co-develop other products. We are also well on our way to arranging the first investment that will help kick-start the company's activities," adds Jiří Moos. Synthesis of a polymer product at a defined temperature in a bath. A team of scientists at the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry began developing the technology that led to the establishment of Sophomer about two years ago. "I am very pleased that we have managed to bring our joint efforts to the successful signing of a licensing agreement. We have thus taken an important step towards ensuring that the quality work of our scientists finds its application in real life. This builds on our previous successful transfers of basic research results into practice. I believe that this technology from the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry will significantly simplify the performance of immunoassays," adds Jiří Kotek, Director of the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the CAS. Contact Martin Kovalčík, 777 472 863, kovalcik@iniprague.com The signing of a licensing agreement from the right: Jiří Moos, Martin Burkhard, Jiří Kotek, Jan Plicka and Alexandr Krajhanzl The signing of a licensing agreement Jiří Kotek, Director of the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the CAS The signing of a licensing agreement Alexandr Krajhanzl, i&i Prague The signing of a licensing agreement from the right: Jiří Moos, Martin Burkhard, Jiří Kotek, Jan Plicka and Alexandr Krajhanzl 1/6 About Sophomer Sophomer Ltd. is an academic startup founded by a group of people who come from both industry and academia. Their vision is to bring together two seemingly unrelated fields: immunoassays and polymer chemistry to help anyone who uses immunochemical assays in their work. One of the startup's first and widely applicable products is SophoMer(TM), a polymer that can replace the widely used bovine serum albumin in immunochemical assays, currently a component without which the development of immunological analytics is seemingly unimaginable. Read more here: www.sophomer.com . About Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the CAS, v. v. i. (IMC) The Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the CAS, v. v. i. (IMC) is the largest research institution in the field of polymer and polymer materials research in the Czech Republic. In this field, it is also among the most important academic research centres in the world. IMC has a knowledge potential of more than 120 scientists in the key fields of macromolecular chemistry, physical chemistry and polymer physics, as well as in related fields such as biochemistry or biomedical or materials engineering. Although the institute is primarily focused on basic research, it also works closely with the application sphere, as evidenced by a number of applied basic research results. Read more here: www.imc.cas.cz/eng . About i&i Prague The i&i Prague Bio-Innovation Center focuses on the transfer of new technologies into practice. The company was established at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS and is mainly dedicated to innovations in the field of drug development, diagnostics and medical devices originating from academic institutions. It supports the creation of spin-off companies and the sale of licenses. So far, the company has participated in the creation of or otherwise supported 15 spin-off companies from five countries, has an equity stake in nine of them and has invested over 70 million crowns. In total, the spin-offs in i&i Prague's portfolio have raised more than CZK 1.8 billion from other investors. In addition to direct financial investments, i&i Prague also assists more than 15 research institutions and universities in the Czech Republic and abroad in the commercialization of innovative technologies. In 2021, i&i Prague started up the i&i Bio investment fund. About Elisa Development Elisa Development, in cooperation with the Food Research Institute Prague, has previously developed and marketed several ELISA format immunoassay kits for the quantitative detection of food allergens in food and food raw materials. During this development, the company's staff has repeatedly faced the problem of variable quality of BSA, which is very often used as a blocker of non-specific interactions. These problems were the impetus for the idea of replacing BSA derived from bovine serum with a synthetic polymer, which led to the approach to i&i Prague and subsequently to the collaboration with the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry.

"I love the feeling you get when you discover something new," says Kamila Burdová, the new incubation manager at i&i Prague Kamila joined i&i Prague in May this year. She brings over a decade of scientific experience in molecular biology, genome stability, and DNA repair, gained at leading research institutions including the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Prague, the University of Oxford, and the University of Sussex. “I want to be part of a team that can turn a unique scientific idea into a real product that will help people,” says Kamila about her work at i&i Prague. Kamila, in your CV, we find some interesting addresses such as Oxford and Sussex. What made you return to the Czech Republic? I spent a total of four years in England, specifically from 2018 to 2022. One year I was at Oxford and three at the University of Sussex. There were two reasons for my return. The first important factor was Brexit and everything that came with it. Prices skyrocketed, and some goods became unavailable. It all brought enormous uncertainty, which I didn’t want to endure long-term. The second reason was that I was approached by a former colleague who was expanding her activities to Switzerland and was looking for someone to help her run her laboratory in Prague. Am I right in understanding that a scientist working in the United Kingdom had trouble financing everyday life after Brexit? Unfortunately yes. I moved to the UK shortly after the referendum and left a few months after the Hard Brexit. I lived in some of the most expensive parts of the country, and sadly, living there as a postdoctoral researcher became economically unsustainable. So you returned to the Czech Republic to work in academia. Why did you decide to leave and join i&i Prague? I had been thinking about leaving academia for some time, mainly due to uncertainty about the future. The negatives started to outweigh the positives, and the academic environment stopped fulfilling me personally. So when I came across the position at i&i Prague, I knew right away. Here I can use what I enjoy most about science, but at the same time look at it from a completely different perspective. So when I came across the position at i&i Prague, I knew right away. Here I can use what I enjoy most about science, but at the same time look at it from a completely different perspective. KAMILA BURDOVÁ Incubation Manager What do you enjoy most about science? The necessity of constantly learning. And then that feeling you get when you discover something new, something no one else has ever seen before. At i&i Prague, you work as an incubation manager. What exactly does this role involve? For projects going through our incubation program, we help with all the key aspects of launching a biotech startup. We assess the quality of the technology and the team’s readiness, the technology’s potential, intellectual property issues, and propose financing strategies. After joining, I started to be involved in multiple projects in different stages of the incubation process. Sometimes the work is more scientific, other times more business-oriented. In your view, how can the gap between science and business be bridged? I think this gap is mainly caused by a lack of information. Many scientists have no idea that commercialization is even an option. And those who have heard of it often hold misconceptions and are full of mistrust. We need to systematically raise awareness of this topic – include it in university curricula and show the benefits it can bring. It’s a long-distance run, but that’s the only way we’ll bridge this gap. What excites me more is being part of a team that manages to turn a unique scientific idea into a real product that helps people. That’s the goal for me. KAMILA BURDOVÁ Incubation Manager What types of projects do you enjoy the most? All our projects are interesting. However, projects related to my scientific background, such as cell therapies and drug development, are still closest to my heart. What do you think is the biggest weakness of Czech biotech? A major problem is definitely the low number of companies engaged in research. For a young scientist, it’s not easy to find a path outside academia if they want to continue doing science. Larger companies with in-house research are extremely scarce here. Do you have a dream project? I don’t have a specific area or technology I dream of. What excites me more is being part of a team that manages to turn a unique scientific idea into a real product that helps people. That’s the goal for me. I know that travelling and discovering new flavours are big hobbies of yours. Do you see any parallel with science? Absolutely! The kitchen is essentially a kind of home laboratory. And just like science, it’s about experimenting, discovering, and learning new things. Both have fascinated me all my life. So if you had to choose just one room, would it be the laboratory or the kitchen? Honestly? I’ve had my fill of laboratories. So at the moment, the kitchen – and discovering all those fascinating flavours the world has to offer. Thank you for the interview. Author: Martin Kovalčík