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< Back Revolutionary type of catheter raised €2 million from private investors Czech company Riocath Global has introduced a worldwide unique technology applicable to tubular medical devices. This revolutionary technology has been patented and developed in collaboration with the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences ( IOCB Prague ). The urinary catheter is one of the first clinically significant applications. The clinical trials will begin by the end of this year. The RIOCATH® (Reversal Inside-Out CATHetrisation) design greatly reduces the risk of introducing bacterial infection into the body. The current catheter is carrying on its surface microbes from the urethra tip as it makes its way through the urethra. Another danger is the damage to sensitive tissues caused by the insertion of current catheters. The new type of RIOCATH® urinary catheter will be of great benefit to a broad spectrum of patients. Reduction in bacterial infections should contribute significantly to reducing the need for antibiotic treatment. All of this should contribute to significant savings in the health care system and more comfortable patient care. “Unlike old catheters whose casing rubs on the urethra´s wall during insertion, the new technology allows for the catheter to extend by unfolding itself from the inside out, virtually imitating a snail´s eye stalk,” explains Miroslav Svoboda, MD, the project initiator, co-inventor and the CEO of Riocath Global. ​ “Upon completion of clinical trials and marketing of the catheter, the estimated value of the company will grow to tens of millions of euros. Apart from urinary catheters, the principal can be used in a number of other applications which are part of the company´s development portfolio with the considerable market and therapeutic potential,” comments on the importance of the patented technology Jaromír Zahrádka, PhD., the CEO of i&i Prague and a member of the board of directors of the Riocath Global. responsible for the intellectual property protection. The first product market entry is expected in 2019. ​ The full press release can be found here . Previous Next

< Back LAM-X: revolutionary wound-treating nanomaterials Story of LAM-X technology is a perfect example of our work in i&i Prague. For the last year our expert Investment manager Barbora Šumová entered project called LAM-X: light activated nanomaterials providing protection from bacteria, viruses and other patogenes. In cooperation with the university of origin (Charles University, Prague and CUIP) and the inventor doc. RNDr. Jiří Mosinger, PhD., Barbora helped LAM-X reach all milestones, build a proper business plan, set up a functional team and, finally, launched this advanced technology as a Start-up. Company itself was established on 20th February 2020. LAM-X is now a fully functional biotechnology company, it´s lead product is a nanomembrane that generates singlet oxygen upon activation by visible light. The clinical study on patients suffering from ulcers proved the efficacy of the LAM-X membrane. This platform technology can be used in the fight against infections that are caused by surface-transmitted pathogens found in hospitals, sanitation facilities, food and water production factories. Unlike antibiotics, which target specific cell parts, the singlet oxygen approach is quick and rather nonspecific, making it impossible for microbes to develop resistance mechanism. It can provide solution in countries, where sanitary conditions complicate even the simpliest medical interventions as well as it answers the general demand for non-antibiotic treatment, too. Previous Next

< 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).

LAM-X, a.s. won the 2020 EIT Health #MedTech Bootcamp final #Pitch Event i&i Prague supported start-up, LAM-X, a.s. , become a winner of the 2020 EIT Health #MedTech Bootcamp final #Pitch Event! After 5 intense, dense and focused full-time weeks in front of zoom, where the teams refined their business model, widened their network and worked on regulations and pitch skills, the 10 teams presented their projects to a curious, knowledgable jury: Jörg Trinkwalter, Olaf Weiner, Samuel Schuler and Stefan Fasbender – and LAM-X a.s. was evaluated as the most advanced! ​ Congratulations!

i&i Prague Bio-Innovation Center We are the first choice partner and the leading institution for the best early-phase biotech innovations and smart money investments. Read more We are i&i Prague , a bio-innovation center located right in the heart of Europe. Our objective is to identify the potential of new inventions in Drug Discovery, Diagnostics, MedTech and other Life Science fields . We do this by scouting for innovative projects and investing in the most promising ones. Then we will help with product development and, ultimately, market entry. ​ We can help you with Investment With our investment, we try to help innovative ideas in their transition from research projects to functional companies. Read more Partnering We are creating a unique network of partners that brings a long-term exchange of innovative ideas and original experiences. Read more Incubation We are your new team member, leading your journey from groundbreaking invention to market-storming product. Read more Education We offer exciting educational activities that introduce important topics connecting the worlds of science and business. Read more Excellence & Knowledge We are the center of excellence and a knowledge base. Commercalization Partner We facilitate discussions between spin-offs and industry. Complex Support We are the center of complex support for the best of all projects. Our role Our portfolio We focus on unique ideas that have the potential to succeed on a global scale. We are dedicated to innovations in Drug Discovery, Diagnostics, MedTech and other Life Science fields that originate from academic institutions. Read more i&i Biotech Fund I In 2021, we established the i&i Biotech Fund I (i&i Bio) in cooperation with the European Investment Fund. i&i Bio is the venture capital firm that invests in innovative European Life Sciences companies focused on Drug Discovery, Diagnostics, MedTech and other Life Science fields. Read more Highlights Dec 23, 2022 We are looking for new Antonin Holy and new drugs and diagnostics that can have a global impact and success "i&i Bio invests in technology transfer with a strong focus on healthcare. We look for unique technologies that come from Czech and foreign science. We always try to find something new and unique, something that could bring great benefit to patients and also to our investors," says Jaromír Zahrádka for Fintag.cz. The podcast is in the Czech language. Read more Sep 28, 2022 Smart bandages not only capture pathogens, but also destroy them in no time. All they need is ordinary light. Hospital-acquired infections are a problem that current technologies are not able to deal with effectively. However, this could change in the future; the Czech spin-off LAM-X a.s. is working on the development of a nanomaterial that not only passively prevents pathogens from entering open wounds, but can also actively destroy them... Read more Sep 13, 2022 CasInvent Pharma Raises €1.3 Million from KHAN-I and i&i Biotech Fund CasInvent Pharma, an early-stage drug discovery company developing small-molecule compounds with anticancer properties, has raised an investment round of €1.3 million provided by KHAN-I and i&i Bio. With this funding, CasInvent will be strengthening its portfolio of CK inhibitors and progressing its lead compound to... Read more Read more i&i Prague in numbers 15 We have created or otherwise supported 15 spin-off companies from 5 countries . 9 We have an equity stake in 9 spin-offs . We have already announced our first exit. 1.8 Overall, the spin-offs in our portfolio have raised more than CZK 1.8 billion from other investors. 10 We have participatedin the sale of more than 10 licenses with a value exceeding CZK 5 million. Where you can meet us Our partners To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Read more

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.

< Back Jiří Růžička Project Manager Jiri Ruzicka is a Project manager at i&i Prague. He is responsible for the analysis of projects, mainly from the scientific and technological aspect. Before joining our company Jiri worked as a Research Associate at the Institute of Experimental Medicine (IEM, part of the Czech Academy of Sciences), as well as within the international research center of IEM, University of Cambridge, and University of Leeds, called Neurorecon. He holds BSc. and MSc. Degrees from the Faculty of Science, Charles University. He has done his Ph.D. at IEM, AS CR, and the 2nd Faculty of Medicine of Charles University. During his postdoc as a member of the Neurorecon team he spent several months at Imperial College London and had close collaboration with the University of Cambridge, including several short research stays. He has 14+ years’ experience in the fields of neuroscience and regenerative medicine with a broad focus on brain/spinal cord injuries, neurodegenerative diseases, and aging. He has been dealing with enzymatic, gene, or cell therapies, biomaterial applications, and genetic models of neurodegenerative disorders.

< Back DIANA Biotechnologies, a novel startup in the i&i Prague´s academic incubator A new startup, DIANA Biotechnologies , has been founded at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IOCB Prague). This unique technology created by postgraduate student Václav Navrátil has the potential to significantly improve disease diagnostics and accelerate the development of new drugs. The startup has earned the trust of investors, who are putting more than 3 million EUR into the project. A PhD graduate, Václav Navrátil has developed together with his colleagues a technology known as DIANA, or DNA-linked Inhibitor Antibody Assay. The unique method allows for ultrasensitive quantification of enzymes and other proteins in a solution, e.g. human blood, urine, or saliva. In practice, it should help doctors diagnose certain diseases (cancer and various infectious diseases, for instance) at an earlier stage than is possible with existing methods. Moreover, it enables screening of large numbers of chemical substances for enzyme inhibitors and the identification of suitable compounds for further development as drug candidates. ​ DIANA Biotechnologies is being set up with the support from the academic incubator of biotechnologies i&i Prague as well as from investors at bpd partners, who plan to provide over 3 million EUR in the next few years. ​ The DIANA technology was developed at IOCB Prague. The institute is known for its efforts to systematically advance the results of basic research applicable in practice and facilitate their transition to the world of business, which is overseen by the institute’s subsidiary IOCB Tech (formerly IOCB TTO). ​ The quality and potential of the DIANA project is reflected in the prestigious Werner von Siemens Award for the most significant result in the field of development and innovation, which was recently awarded to Navrátil and his team. ​ The full press release can be found here . Previous Next

< Back Enantis – first biotechnology spin-off from Masaryk University in Brno Enantis s.r.o. was founded in 2006 as the first biotechnology spin-off from Masaryk University in Brno , Czech Republic. Project went through long development and its expertise is now based on vast experience in protein science and state-of-the-art software tools. A combination which enables Enantis to provide protein engineering and production. Enantis s.r.o. now located at INBIT, biotechnology centre operated by JIC and located on Masaryk University’s campus and closely collaborate with Loschmidt Laboratories and other research institutions. They are predominantly focused on improving the poor stability eg. of fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) for research and therapeutic use. Enantis offers contract research services and licensing of their original products and the company already collaborate on the B2B level with multiple international companies. ​ Under current difficult circumstances Enantis are one of the key suppliers of research products. They also became a member of FASTCURE ( https://fastcure.net/ ) consortium recently. ​ i&i Prague and Enantis started a collaboration in 2017 and it is based on consultations and business development support of the Enantis team. ​ To learn more about this company: Enantis s.r.o. webpage. Previous Next

< Back Elphogene – liquid biopsy assay for non-invasive monitoring of patients with colorectal cancer Another one of successful projects supported by i&i Prague is the Prague-based biotechnological start-up Elphogene, Inc. Its oncoMonitor™, a liquid biopsy technology, was recently turned into a commercial assay for non-invasive diagnostic monitoring of patients in advanced stages colorectal cancer. Elphogene, Inc. has been founded at the beginning of 2019 as a spin-off from the Genomac Research Institute , and it´s launch was widely covered by media alike the most recent launch: LAM-X . Prague, 13th June 2019 – A team of Czech scientists from the Elphogene company presents a unique diagnostic method called oncoMonitor™, which offers cancer survivors an improvement in regular control screening aimed at the verification of their treatment’s success or timely detection of the disease’s reoccurrence. ​ The Prague-based biotechnological start-up Elphogene has received an initial investment from i&i Prague in order to implement its oncoMonitor™, a liquid biopsy technology into a commercial assay for non-invasive diagnostic monitoring of patients in advanced stages colorectal cancer. This method brings a key benefit of personalized testing to detect potential new metastases and the timely option to select further treatment. ​ “We have completed pilot studies demonstrating the analytical sensitivity of the oncoMonitor™ assay, and the data were presented at the annual conference of American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Atlanta, USA, in April. We are very happy with the results of this test, which can be applied universally to various forms of solid tumours, and currently we are initiating clinical validation in cooperation with leading domestic oncological centres,” says Dr. Marek Minárik, Co-Founder and General Manager of Elphogene. ​ The company has been founded earlier this year as a spin-off from the Genomac research institute, a leading Czech private research center widely recognized for its strong record of scientific projects in clinical cancer genomics. Originally developed at Genomac and now exclusively owned by Elphogene, the oncoMonitor™ liquid biopsy technology, will further be developed and validated in clinical setting at company headquarters and laboratories located near Prague Vaclav Havel airport in Ruzyne. ​ The initial investment was provided by the i&i Prague company, which is a leading Central European biotechnological incubator and investment centre providing financial support to promising projects in the field of living-nature science, biotechnology and modern medicine. “Liquid biopsy is a newly emerging field with fascinating growth potential, destined to fundamentally change modern medicine from diagnostics to therapy. We have been following the oncoMonitor™ technology for some time and we are now excited to collaborate with the team at Elphogene in its clinical implementation“ says Dr. Jaromir Zahradka, the CEO and a co-founder of i&i Prague. ​ In the long run, the Czech Republic has been occupying leading places in patients with colorectal carcinoma. Thanks to extensive campaigns aimed at the importance of screening and early detection of colorectal carcinoma, the number of patients who lose their fight with this insidious disease has been dropping. On the other hand, there is an ongoing lack of non-invasive methods which help post-op detection of recurring cancer activity and prolonging the lives of patients in advanced stages of the disease. ​ According to the available data from the National Cancer Registry, a total of 7800 patients was newly diagnosed with colorectal carcinoma in 2016, 1508 of which suffered verifiably from advanced stages with the occurrence of metastases. In the same year, almost 4 thousand patients succumbed to this disease. To compare the occurrence of colorectal carcinoma in Europe, according to the 2018 data by Globocan, the Czech Republic takes the 15th place in the number of newly diagnosed cases and the 18th place in death rate. In a whole-world comparison, it takes the 23rd place in newly diagnosed cases and the 22nd place in death rate. Colorectal cancer usually appears in older patients, and in the Czech Republic, colorectal carcinoma is a more frequent phenomena in men. Previous Next

< Back Startup Riocath is among Hello Tomorrow’s top 500 stratups in the world Hello Tomorrow, which recently partnered with i&i Prague to advance its mission of fostering advancements in deep technology startups and businesses, will hold its global summit in Paris on 14-15 March. As part of the summit program, Hello Tomorrow highlights 500 of the most outstanding startups in the field of deep technology. This year’s top 500 selection includes another of i&i Prague’s very successful partners, Riocath, a company specializing in tubular medical devices. Included with this honour is the opportunity for Riocath to compete for one of the limited showcase positions at Hello Tomorrow Global Summit 2019 . Previous Next